Monday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles still want a lefty outfielder

Hello, friends.

There are now 38 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. This number was in use for the last two seasons by Wade Miley, who, fortunately for me, will not be returning to claim it to begin the 2018 season. Don’t post a high WHIP today - or whatever the equivalent of a high WHIP would be in your line of work.

Today also marks the first full squad workout for the 2018 Orioles. That’s not to say that everyone at the workout is everyone who will be on the team, because there’s still the possibility of additions during spring training.

One addition is apparently going to be some free agent lefty-batting corner outfielder. Maybe the Orioles will actually sign another starter. And there’s always the waiver wire for roster fodder whose sole advantage is that another team is willing to get rid of them while they still have a minor league option remaining. This is, indeed, not much of an advantage at all.

Around the blogO’sphere

Adam Jones: “It’s not about money. It’s winning” (School of Roch)
Adam Jones wants a World Series ring, and if he doesn’t think that’s happening here, he might not be hanging around even if the O’s want him to - about which they’ve given him no sign anyway.

Duquette anticipates another free agent pitcher signing; Susac misses workout (Baltimore Sun)
I’m going to be in a car for a lot of today, so I expect there’s a very good chance of that free agent signing happening while I’m not around.

Some Chris Tillman talk, plus a late night deal (Steve Melewski)
Perhaps Chris Tillman will be that pitcher. He’s believed to be choosing between the Orioles, Tigers, and one other team.

Is Andrew Cashner the O’s new Yovani Gallardo? (Camden Depot)
This is also a question I have wondered about the Cashner signing. Here at the Depot, Matt Kremnitzer tackles it as well.

Are the Orioles a fit for just-designated outfielder Corey Dickerson? (Baltimore Sun)
Strikeouts, a not-great OBP, dingers but not an overwhelming number of dingers. Don’t sleep on the possibility of his being the next great one year Oriole. Of course, there’s also the possibility of his being the next Oriole who annoys you because he’s blocking a prospect you like.

Birthdays and anniversaries

Out of all of the players to ever suit up for the Orioles, not a single one has ever had a birthday today.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: astronomer Nicolas Copernicus (1473), novelist Carson McCullers (1917), actor Jeff Daniels (1955), singer-songwriter Seal (1963), movie man Benicio del Toro (1967), and Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown (2004).

On this day in history...

In 197, Roman emperor Septimius Severus defeated the usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the largest intra-Roman battle in history. Severus reigned for another 14 years before dying at age 65.

In 1600, a stratovolcano in Peru named Huaynaputina erupted, which is, according to history, the most violent eruption ever in South America.

In 1878, Thomas Edison received the patent for the phonograph.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, the order under which Japanese-Americans were rounded up into internment camps. This order remained on the books until this day in 1976, when President Ford formally rescinded it with Proclamation 4417.

In 1945, 30,000 American Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima, kicking off a five-week battle that would see 6,821 fatalities among American personnel before the island was secured.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on President’s Day - or at least, until something happens later at the full squad workout. Have a safe Monday, and go Team USA!