Hello, friends.
There are now 82 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. That’s quite a long time, really, and a lot can happen in 82 days... although it is the case that essentially nothing has happened for the Orioles in the past 82 days before this - except, of course, for their picking three players in the Rule 5 draft when they already had one Rule 5 carryover on the roster.
We are also now down to 38 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Do you think that Dan Duquette will sign any player to an MLB contract between now and that report date? It can all change in one day, but the O’s sure aren’t doing much to make us think they might do anything at all.
It’s back to having something to talk about in the middle of the nothing, though, what with Manny Machado trade rumors reviving, sort of, yesterday. I don’t know whether they’re going to make something actually happen, but it sure gives you something to think about to keep hearing about Machado connected with the Red Sox or the Yankees.
Of course the only acceptable answer is that if the Orioles are going to trade Machado, they have to trade him to whoever offers them the best deal. It can’t be any other way. But if it is the Yankees who give the best offer, that doesn’t mean we have to enjoy that fact. Might as well get used to it, though, because in another year, Machado can just sign with the Yankees.
This is really not the most cheerful time to be an Orioles fan.
Around the blogO’sphere
Chris Davis on his “great offseason” and fighting the shift (School of Roch)
As a former president of this country once said: Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me... you can’t get fooled again!
As Orioles resume work after holiday break, club’s shopping list remains full (Baltimore Sun)
I’m a little bit confused at the idea that the Orioles had any pre-holiday work done that they might now resume. No, that’s unfair, I know - surely people in the Warehouse have done a lot of prep work that amounted to nothing for players the Orioles didn’t sign or won’t sign.
Revisiting Machado at shortstop and a look at Hosmer’s free agency (Steve Melewski)
We’re probably not talking enough about the fact that it seems like Machado is going to play shortstop if he isn’t traded, perhaps because the Orioles would be so foolish not to trade him that this scenario feels unlikely.
Former Orioles pitcher Tyler Wilson signs with the LG Twins of the KBO (Hardball Talk)
Tyler Wilson and Hyun Soo Kim are going to be teammates again! Best of luck to Wilson in Korea this year. Hey, speaking of Kim...
Back in S. Korea, ex-MLB outfielder Kim Hyun-soo regrets earlier comments on career (Yonhap News)
I’m not joking when I say this is a quote from the article: “‘...I think I was even a bit brash because things had been going so well for me,’ Kim said, thanking reporters for bringing up the issue.
Rafael Palmeiro posts video in batting cage, says “The comeback is real” (Bleacher Report)
No one give Duquette any ideas.
Birthdays and anniversaries
One current Oriole has a birthday today: Happy 27th to Kevin Gausman. Wait, Gausman is already 27? Dang. There are also a few former Orioles with birthdays today: 2008-09 pitcher Brian Bass, 1998 reliever Norm Charlton, and 1957-59/64 outfielder Lenny Green. It’s Green’s 85th birthday. Happy birthday to him!
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Shakespearean subject Richard II of England (1367), French martyr Joan of Arc (1412), poet Kahlil Gibran (1883), St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital founder/actor Danny Thomas (1912), baseball Hall of Famer Early Wynn (1920), novelist E.L. Doctorow (1931), Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett (1946), and current SNL cast member Kate McKinnon (1984).
On this day in history...
In 1540, Henry VIII of England married the fourth of his wives, Anne of Cleves, a marriage that would be annulled by the end of the year.
In 1912, a German geophysicist, Alfred Wegener, presented his theory of continental drift.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his “Four Freedoms” State of the Union address. The four freedoms all people should enjoy: Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 6 - or at least, unless something happens later. Have a safe Saturday.