Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles want a lefty

Hello, friends.

There are now 160 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2018. For today, at least, there is one game to be played that may entertain us. The Cubs avoided a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers on Wednesday night, meaning that Game 5 of the NLCS awaits.

It’s an off day for the ALCS as the series travels back to Houston. The Astros, after coming to New York in command of the series, get back to their home turf having to win a game just to force a Game 7. The meltdown has been rather epic in its scope - and tremendously un-fun to watch for this steadfast Yankees hater. Relying on other teams to do what must be done is no good.

Anyway, that series will wait until Friday for its next game. The NLCS may be over by then, or not, but even if it’s not, they’ll have their on travel day on Friday. So that makes Saturday the last day of the year that will have multiple MLB games being played - unless the ALCS doesn’t get to Game 7 or the NLCS doesn’t get to Game 6. The last two-game day could have been last night!

Let’s get down to more important business - the Orioles. There’s always something to talk about, although whether it’s something new is another story.

Around the blogO'sphere

Adding left-handed rotation upgrade will be a challenge for Orioles in offseason (Baltimore Sun)
The idea that there must be a lefty in the rotation is what gave us Wade Miley in the first place. Just get someone who doesn’t suck.

Jones on young outfielders, E-Rod surgery, Reimold news (School of Roch)
Adam Jones wanted the Orioles to get more athletic corner outfielders. He sounded satisfied about Trey Mancini and Austin Hays.

MLBPipeline's Jim Callis says O's farm has made solid progress (Steve Melewski)
Callis offers the opinion that the Orioles farm system has probably moved into the 15-20 range - which is a definite improvement compared to a year ago.

O's impressed with high-ceiling draft picks at instructs (Orioles.com)
Does it mean anything that the Orioles are impressed with DL Hall and Adam Hall in their instructional league? Probably not, but I guess it’s better than if they weren’t impressed.

Tickets for Orioles center fielder Adam Jones' annual Ravens tailgate benefit now on sale (Baltimore Sun)
Proceeds from the Fifth Annual #StayHungry Purple Tailgate will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore.

Could Phillies be in division with Orioles, Pirates? (The Morning Call)
One idea of an MLB expansion/realignment scheme floated in Baseball America earlier in the week. Things would seem weird compared to how they are now.

Chips fall to Ludington (Orioles) in district semi (Manistee News)
As you may know, it is the editorial position of this blog to celebrate the successes of all Orioles teams everywhere. Here, the boys soccer team of Ludington High School in Ludington, Michigan, knocked off a would-be Cinderella to advance in their playoffs.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There is one current Oriole with a birthday today. It's Anthony Santander, who is turning 23. The former Orioles who were born today are present-day Birdland villain Jose Bautista, 1988 pitcher Oswaldo Peraza, and 1966-67 backup catcher Vic Roznovsky. It is Roznovsky's 79th birthday today. An extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: baseball Hall of Famer Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown (1876), Merrill Lynch co-founder Charles E. Merrill (1885), author John le Carre (1931), boxer Evander Holyfield (1962), South Park co-creator Trey Parker (1969), and actress Gillian Jacobs (1982).

On this day in history...

In 202 BC, the Roman legions commanded by Scipio Africanus defeated the Carthaginian force under Hannibal in the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War in Rome's favor.

In 1789, John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.

In 1812 AD, Napoleon Bonaparte finally retreated from Moscow after five weeks, though more ill fortune awaited him as his army headed back towards France.

In 1900, Max Planck discovered the law of black-body radiation, which is appropriately enough now known as Planck's Law.

In 1950, the People's Republic of China entered the Korean War, with thousands of troops crossing the Yalu River to fight the United Nations forces.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on October 19 - or at least, unless something happens later, which it probably won't, because the playoffs continue to go on without the Orioles. Have a safe Thursday.