Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where Buck rumors are still floating around

Hello, friends.

There are now 162 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2018. For today and tomorrow, at least, there will be two baseball games to possibly entertain us, as both the ALCS and NLCS will be in action. The AL starts at 5 o'clock, while the NL starts at 9 o'clock.

It was probably too much to hope that the Yankees would get swept by the Astros. Especially once the name of Jeffrey Maier was invoked in the series, there is only one just outcome for the universe. Yet as we know all too well, where baseball is concerned, the just outcome is not always the one that plays out. The baseball gods are fickle indeed.

What's going to happen is what's going to happen. It's not like Orioles fans have any control even when the Orioles are playing in the postseason, but it's even more pronounced when looking to some other team to beat the Yankees. Either they're good enough or they aren't, and if they aren't, then perhaps we'll have to hope for the National League team to take care of business.

Speaking of the National League, it’s Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks in action for the Dodgers and Cubs tonight as the series resumes in Chicago. Darvish is about to be a free agent, but there’s no point in coveting him, because honestly, can you imagine the Orioles actually signing a top free agent pitcher and having him come to Baltimore and be good?

Around the blogO’sphere

How the Orioles should use the playoffs to influence their starting rotation rebuild (Baltimore Sun)
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that the Orioles should have needed to observe the playoffs to tell them “get starters who can go 6-7 innings” and “get pitchers who can throw hard effectively.”

This, that, and the other (School of Roch)
Roch has used a “Because you asked” and a “This, that, and the other” in the span of the same few days. It’s tough out there right now. In this edition, he wonders why bench coach John Russell isn’t a candidate for any of the open managerial jobs.

Tap-in question: Which fan base has it worse right now, Orioles or Nationals? (Baltimore Baseball)
The Nationals just won 97 games and the Orioles just won 75, so, uh, is this really a question?

Joe Maddon pulled a Buck Showalter and it cost the Cubs Game 2 of the NLCS (Yahoo Sports)
It seems that every instance of a manager not using his closer in a tie game on the road in the playoffs is now going to be an excuse to talk about Buck not using Zach Britton last year.

‘Sights set’ on Orioles’ Buck Showalter? Latest on Phillies’ manager search (NJ.com)
This NJ.com article uses a Nick Cafardo article from the Boston Globe as its source that the Phillies “have their sights set” on Showalter. Cafardo, in my experience, has been known to write a lot of, uh... how can I say this politely... speculation that never proves to have any connection to reality.

Pitching labels are increasingly irrelevant (Fangraphs)
Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs wonders if we’re headed towards an era where, outside of a few no-doubt aces, there are no starters or relievers any more, just pitchers.

Sunday Notes: Under-the-radar O’s prospect Drew Dosch on hitting (Fangraphs)
David Laurila’s weekly notes column includes some thoughts from an O’s prospect you probably haven’t spent much time thinking about, but who could still be on the fringe of the picture.

How many ways can the Nationals lose? (Beyond the Box Score)
This one doesn’t have much to do with the Orioles, but it does have a whole lot to do with a topic that makes this Orioles fan happy.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 1984-87 pitcher Ken Dixon, 1985-86 reserve Kelly Paris, and 1975 four-gamer Jim Hutto.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Nathanael West (1903), playwright Arthur Miller (1915), actress Rita Hayworth (1918), stuntman Evel Knievel (1938), author Robert Jordan (1948), rapper Wyclef Jean (1969), rapper Eminem (1972), and actress Felicity Jones (1983).

On this day in history...

In 1604, astronomer Johannes Kepler observed a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus, the most recent time a supernova in our galaxy has been visible to the naked eye on Earth.

In 1781, British General Cornwallis surrendered, concluding the Siege of Yorktown and effectively ending combat operations in the American Revolutionary War.

In 1814, eight people were killed in the London Beer Flood.

In 1931, Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion.

In 1989, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck in California. Due to the Oakland-San Francisco World Series having a game in the Bay Area that night, this became the first major earthquake to be broadcast live on television.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 17 - or at least, unless something happens later, which it probably won’t, because the postseason is continuing and the Orioles still aren’t in it. Have a safe Tuesday.