Friday Bird Droppings: Where others covet the Orioles players

Hello, friends.

There are now 138 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2018. There's nothing going on in the baseball world today unless somebody surprisingly signs this early.

There's still another six days to go before the nine qualifying offer free agents are required to make a decision about whether or not to accept the $17.4 million 2018 salary offered to them by their teams. I don't figure on there being a whole lot of movement for anybody until those decisions are made. After all, until those guys decide, nobody even knows what the market is.

You know that it's a slow news day when the biggest thing to talk about is minor league free agents from the organization who are now out there looking for deals. The Orioles will surely sign some of the guys who have been freed from other teams as the offseason goes along, fodder to stash at Norfolk or even Bowie in case of future desperate need.

That's early November for you. The hot stove still needs time to heat up, you know? So here's what's going on for today.

Around the blogO'sphere

Nuno's departure and more on Orioles minor league free agents (School of Roch)
Bobby Bundy and Sharlon Schoop - elder brothers to two current Orioles - are among the minor league free agents, along with a bunch of others, including, apparently, someone named Karl Triana, who I think may be made up.

O's Brian Graham on DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, Keegan Akin, and more (Steve Melewski)
“Don’t be fooled by a 6.97 ERA” is not the ideal first sentence to read in an article.

How the Orioles, with Joseph and Sisco, might benefit from not having a primary catcher in 2018 (Baltimore Sun)
This one is about how Caleb Joseph plays better when he gets regular playing time and doesn’t even mention the benefit of not taxing Chance Sisco, who’s never started more than 93 games at catcher in a season.

Cardinals trade partner profile: Baltimore Orioles (Viva El Birdos)
You never know just how you look through other people’s eyes, but sometimes you can read about how another team’s fan - in this case, from our friends at the SB Nation Cardinals blog - thinks about your favorite baseball team.

Looking ahead to baseball's 2018-19 free agent bonanza (ESPN)
A million articles have already been written about this subject and they will only increase in frequency as we get closer to that apocalypse.

We've reached peak shift (Fangraphs)
For the first time in a decade, the tide of shifting receded somewhat in the 2017 season. It’s not a huge decline, though, with just a 5% decrease in total shifted plays compared to 2016.

Birthdays and anniversaries

No one who has ever played for the Orioles was born on this day. What are the odds? The Orioles drafted a player with a November 10 birthday in the fourth round this past year. That was Jack Conlon, who didn't sign due to a physical issue... who later was declared a free agent, signed with the Giants, and had THAT deal cancelled due to probably the same physical issue. But that's no way to break the 11/10 drought!

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Ninety-Five Theses writer Martin Luther (1483), flush toilet inventor George Jennings (1810), AK-47 designer Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919), film composer Ennio Morricone (1928), author Neil Gaiman (1960), comedian Tracy Morgan (1968), actress Brittany Murphy (1977), and country artist Miranda Lambert (1983).

On this day in history...

In 1674, following the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the colony of New Netherland, which land is part of the present-day United States, was ceded to England.

In 1775, the United States Marine Corps was founded at a tavern in Philadelphia.

In 1942, Nazi Germany invaded its puppet state of Vichy France after France did not resist Allied landings in North Africa.

In 1969, Sesame Street made its television debut.

In 1970, an entire week had passed with no reported American combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 10 - or at least, unless something happens later. Something called the Defensive Players of the Year awards are being handed out tonight. They sound like off-brand Gold Gloves. Maybe Manny Machado will win one, but if he does, who cares? Have a safe Friday.