Monday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are still interested in bad pitchers

Hello, friends.

There are now 52 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. This number was used, if not memorably, by both Vidal Nuno and Richard Rodriguez in 2017, and has also been used more memorably by 1983 postseason hero Mike Boddicker.

Only eight days remain until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota to mark the start of spring training. Or, if I might borrow a commenter’s joke, until Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, and catchers report to Sarasota. Yes, yes, there’s still the relievers, but come on. It’s February 5 and the Orioles have 40% of a starting rotation. Time is running short.

For today, there is at least some shred of goodness in the sports world as the Patriots were vanquished in the Super Bowl by the Eagles last night. As a fellow great vanquisher of a Boston sports team, Robert Andino, once said, “End of the season like this, to make Boston go home sad, crying, I’ll take it all day.” As will all right-thinking people, Robert.

Around the blogO’sphere

Hutchison a consideration as Orioles seek starting pitchers (School of Roch)
More than three months ago, I wrote that the Orioles don’t seem to be serious about trying to improve their starting rotation, and well... they haven’t done anything to show me any differently.

Orioles camp roster contains many pitchers but is short on starting rotation experience (Baltimore Sun)
If this season turns into a complete disaster for the Orioles, no one will be able to say that the warning signs weren’t there all along.

2018 Orioles: Historically bad or pretty good (Camden Depot)
The Depot sees some hope for this season if the Orioles make the right signings. Sadly, they don’t seem to be heading towards making those right signings.

Three Orioles prospects to know (Minor League Ball)
A lot of words have been written about Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes, since the Orioles seem like they want to hand him a rotation spot, but you may not know to keep an eye on the other two.

Can Chris Davis combat the shift, plus more on Andrew Susac (Steve Melewski)
If you didn’t see it from the weekend, the Orioles added another catcher to the mix. As for Davis, I think if he can avoid striking out looking so much this year, the rest will sort itself out.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2014 reliever Ryan Webb, 2002 reliever Chris Brock, 1996-98 second baseman and Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, and the late Chuck Diering of the 1954-56 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Dunlop rubber founder John Boyd Dunlop (1840), novelist William S. Burroughs (1914), actor Red Buttons (1919), baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron (1934), painter H.R. Giger (1940), and footballer Neymar (1992).

On this day in history...

In 1810, French forces initiated a siege of the Spanish naval base of Cadiz. More than two and a half years later, having failed to capture Cadiz, the French retreated, eventually tilting the Peninsular War towards Spain and her allies.

In 1869, the largest gold nugget ever discovered was found in Moliagul in Australia. The nugget came to be known as the Welcome Stranger.

In 1958, during an Air Force training exercise, a mid-air collision led to a B-47 bomber having to drop a hydrogen bomb to prevent detonation in the event of a crash landing. The bomb, known as the Tybee Bomb, landed in the water near Tybee Island off the cost of Georgia, did not detonate, and has never been located.

In 1962, French President Charles De Gaulle called for Algeria to be granted independence, leading to official independence the next month.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 5 - or at least, unless something happens later. Have a safe Monday.