Saturday Bird Droppings

Yes, it is April Fool’s Day, but it’s no joke - today is but a mere two days until Opening Day! That’s the Orioles uniform number of soul patch maven J.J. Hardy, and also personal favorite (and Adam Jones mentor) Mark McLemore. On to the news...

Orioles and Tides dodge raindrops in 3-3 tie at Harbor Park - The Sun

The news from this game is that it actually happened.

Trey Mancini makes Orioles’ Opening Day roster; final decisions loom - The Sun

Joey Rickard is a lock, but Craig Gentry must wait on some roster manipulation to learn his fate.

Oliver Drake gets final roster spot, plus more after O’s-Tides tie - MASN Sports

Is there ever really a final roster spot with the Orioles? Really?

Orioles prospect Xu Guiyuan resumes MLB quest after WBC - ESPN

In case you were wondering about Itchy Shoe.

Orioles sign Ryan Ripken to minor league deal - ESPN

I doubt he’ll get promoted to Delmarva by the time Tim Tebow rolls into town to play the Shorebirds, but it would be pretty interesting to see.

Birthdays and History

Happy Birthday to former Orioles Rich Amaral and Mike Kinnunen. They share today with famous people including the first chancellor of united Germany Otto Von Bismarck 1815; composer Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873; actor Lon Chaney 1883; actor ("Throne of Blood", "The Seven Samurai") Toshiro Mifune 1920; actor ("WKRP in Cincinnati") Gordon Jump 1932; actress Debbie Reynolds; reggae legend Jimmy Cliff 1948; SCOTUS justice Samuel Alito 1950; rapper Method Man 1971; and journalist Rachel Maddow 1973.

On this day in Baltimore baseball history... nothing really happened, but Sports Illustrated printed maybe the greatest April Fool’s Day hoax in sports writing history with The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

On this day in world history...

0527 - Justinianus became the emperor of Byzantium.

1572 - The Sea Beggars under Guillaume de la Marck landed in Holland and captured the small town of Briel.

1578 - William Harvey of England discovered blood circulation.

1621 - The Plymouth, MA, colonists created the first treaty with Native Americans.

1748 - The ruins of Pompeii were found.

1853 - Cincinnati became the first U.S. city to pay fire fighters a regular salary.

1946 - Weight Watchers was formed.

1948 - The Berlin Airlift began.

1952 - The Big Bang theory was proposed in "Physical Review" by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow.

1976 - Apple Computer began operations.

1996 - U.S. President Bill Clinton threw out the first ball preceding a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles.

Consider this your discussion space for NCAA Softball: Maryland vs Michigan State. Because if there’s a team that needs more help with starting pitching depth than the Orioles, it’s Maryland Softball.