Saturday’s Bird Droppings: Where the hot stove has gone cold

Morning, Birdland!

The hot stove is not so hot at the moment; it’s downright cold. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Reports indicate that Manny Machado has told teams he will not be picking his new team until after the new year.

What does that matter to the Orioles? There won’t be a reunion with Machado, however, it has been said that Mike Elias is prepared to wait out the free agent market before picking the one or two role players that the O’s will sign. Before that waiting game can happen, the names at the top of the market need to sign with new teams. Machado delaying for the next 10 days also pushes back the timeline for less renowned names.

Links

Hyde talks about process of hiring coaches - MASN Sports
This is from Roch’s blog yesterday, so it’s a bit of old news. Brandon Hyde has basically left the door open that several members of the Orioles coaching from last year could return to the dugout in 2019. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Regardless of what the opinion may be of the fan base, there seems to be a ton of respect for the likes of Bobby Dickerson, Wayne Kirby and John Russell inside baseball.

Bowie Baysox rotation could be one to watch in 2019 - Birds Watcher
For the next year or two, it may be more entertaining for Orioles fans to check out the minor league affiliates rather than the big boys.

Davis, O’s host holiday event for local kids - MLB.com
Say what you will about Chris Davis, but he and his wife, Jill, always seem to be at a hospital visiting sick kids, and that’s pretty darn awesome! I understand that the players with big contracts are expected to participate in charity events, but it’s still nice to see and gives you a fuzzy feeling.

Brandon Hyde epitomizes Santa Rosa pedigree - San Francisco Chronicle
Learn a little more about the background on the O’s new manager from his hometown paper.

Orioles have several bounce-back candidates. How would you rank them? - The Athletic
Just about the entire roster could do with a bounce-back season. Davis is the player that could potentially make the biggest leap forward, but that may not be realistic. Dylan Bundy feels like a logical selection. He has oodles of talent, and may just need some tweaks to his instruction in order to thrive.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

It’s a big day for birthday celebrations in Birdland, so we won’t get to dedicate too much to each one.

Current free agent Rey Navarro is 29 years old; he spent 10 games with the O’s back in 2015. Utilityman Blake Davis, who played in 25 games for the 2011 Birds is 35. Chris Jakubauskas appeared in 33 games and tossed 72.1 innings back in 2011; he is 40. The 63-year-old Lonnie Smith was in the bigs for 17 years, but spent just 44 games in Baltimore between ‘94 and ‘95. And Tom Underwood (b. 1953, d. 2010) pitched in 37 games back in ‘84.

Special shoutout to Zach Britton, who celebrates his 31st. The left-handed reliever saved 142 games and posted a 3.21 ERA over eight seasons, including a 2016 season in which he had a 0.54 ERA.

Finally, we would be remiss to not wish a happy birthday to the late, great Elrod Hendricks. The former catcher had three different stints with the team as a player, but he became an institution in town after serving as the bullpen coach for the final 28 years of his life. Hendricks passed away back in 2005, but remains a legendary figure in O’s history.

1915 - Two baseball organizations, Organized Baseball and the Federal League, come to an agreement that includes the end of the Federal League (FL). The ownership group of the FL’s Baltimore Terrapins were not offered any of the buyout money that resulted, so they sued and eventually took their case to the Supreme Court (Federal Baseball Club v. National League), where they lost.

1953 - The name “Orioles” is turned over from Jack Dunn III, who had run the International League Orioles for several years, to the new major league franchise in town.

1999 - Left-handed pitcher Buddy Groom inks a two-year contract with the Birds.