Saturday Bird Droppings - A fond farewell to Hyun Soo Kim

Chris Tillman gives up eight runs in Orioles' series-opening 8-2 loss to Rangers - Baltimore Sun
"Right-hander Chris Tillman labored through 4 1/3 innings and left with eight runs on his account. The offense wilted in the Texas heat, managing a pair of runs on six hits. And the Orioles lost their third straight game to fall to 48-54 overall and 18-33 away from Camden Yards." But Jeremy Hellickson's gonna save us from all that!

So, the O’s did what????

Orioles acquire Hellickson from Phillies - School of Roch
"Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson was acquired from the Phillies along with cash for outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, Double-A Bowie left-hander Garrett Cleavinger and international signing bonus slots." Hellickson is a free agent after this season, Kim became an after-thought in this one, and Cleavinger was having difficulties in Bowie.

MLB trade deadline: Orioles acquire Jeremy Hellickson from Phillies - Beyond the Box Score
I'll just quote the first sentence of this article: "I really don’t know what the Orioles just did."

Analyzing the Orioles' acquisition of pitcher Jeremy Hellickson for Hyun Soo Kim - Baltimore Sun
"[I]t seems a marginal upgrade that doesn't fit with the idea of improving the team long term while keeping it in contention today. The money exchanged balanced out the remaining salary owed between he and Hyun Soo Kim and made it a wash. The roster flexibility gained, considering Kim simply couldn't get on the field, could be a bonus. But otherwise, there's a feeling that there's something else to be done here."

Phillies trade Jeremy Hellickson to Orioles | CSN Philly
"[Hyun Soo] Kim, a 29-year-old Korean, was hitting just .232 in 56 games for the Orioles this season, after batting at a .302 clip in 2016. Klentak said the newcomer will get more of an opportunity, “likely as a bench player,” but that the organization’s goal is still to develop its young outfielders."

Schmuck: Jeremy Hellickson deal proves Dan Duquette is one stubborn fellow - Baltimore Sun
"Give Duquette credit for not giving up on the 2017 season, but this deal — which sent South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, minor league pitcher Garrett Cleavinger and international signing bonus money to the Philadelphia Phillies — probably is too little too late." Ya THINK??????

In other news

Varying speeds leading to better results for Orioles' Kevin Gausman - Baltimore Sun
Referring to Just Verlander, Kevin Gausman said, "He's one of those guys who the first couple innings is 92, 93 [mph], and by the seventh, eighth inning is 98-99. That's one thing I've always thought would be great to be able to do."

Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle's move to third base met with positive mindset at Bowie - Baltimore Sun
"Trying to learn a new position is always going to take a little bit of time, but from short to third, it's nothing too crazy," Ryan Mountcastle said. "But the promotion and everything, it was a little bit of a crazy day, but once you get out here, it's just baseball. You just play hard."

Givens giving Orioles more reasons to consider bigger role - School of Roch
"Mychal Givens has allowed only two earned runs in 27 2/3 innings over his last 23 appearances since May 26, including two-thirds of a scoreless inning last night in an 8-2 loss to the Rangers. His .067 ERA in that span before last night ranked as the third-lowest among major league relievers with a minimum of 10 games."

Catching up with ... former Oriole Bob Milacki - Baltimore Sun
Bob Milacki remembers those whirlwind days of his call up in 1988, the Why Not! season of 1989, and why he left that combined no-hitter so early.

Birthdays and History

No current or former Orioles player has a birthday today, but if it’s yours, you share it with famous people including Italian dictator Benito Mussolini 1883; ABC News anchor Peter Jennings 1938; documentarian Ken Burns 1953; Rush bassist and singer Geddy Lee 1953; country singer Martina McBride 1966; and actor Wil Wheaton 1972.

On this day in Baltimore baseball history...

1972 - Brooks Robinson hits a two-out home run in the 11th to give Baltimore a 4 - 3 win over the Indians. Frank Duffy hits his first major league home run for the Tribe and John Lowenstein hits a home run in the 9th to briefly give the Indians the lead.

1988 - The Orioles trade pitcher Mike Boddicker to the Red Sox in return for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling. Boddicker will have two successful years with Boston while Anderson will become a productive lead-off man for Baltimore and Schilling will became one of baseball's most dominant pitchers of his era.

1997 - The Orioles purchase veteran Harold Baines from the White Sox. Baines is hitting .305 for Chicago.

2010 - The Orioles announce that they have hired Buck Showalter as their new manager. He will take over for interim skipper Juan Samuel on August 3rd.

On this day in world history...

1588 - The English defeated the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines.

1754 - The first international boxing match was held. The 25-minute match was won when Jack Slack of Britain knocked out Jean Petit from France.

1773 - The first schoolhouse to be located west of the Allegheny Mountains was built in Schoenbrunn, OH.

1786 - "The Pittsburgh Gazette" became the first newspaper west of the Alleghenies to be published. The paper's name was later changed to "The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette."

1914 - The first transcontinental telephone service was inaugurated when two people held a conversation between New York, NY and San Francisco, CA.

1958 - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was authorized by the U.S. Congress.

1981 - England's Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married.

Consider this your discussion space for UFC: Jones/Cormier 2. It’s gonna be a good one!