Monday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are going to play the Tides

Hello, friends.

There are now a mere three days remaining before Orioles Opening Day. The orange carpet introductions are nearly upon us. When this post goes live, the beginning of the baseball season will be just about 80 hours away.

No more fake games in Florida are left to be played. There is one more exhibition to go, though, as the Orioles will make a stop in Norfolk this afternoon to play their Triple-A team, the Tides. That doesn’t mean it will strictly be an Orioles vs. Tides affair, as past years have seen some Orioles players getting at-bats on the Tides team in the game, as well as pitchers going back and forth to make sure everyone gets their innings.

If you didn’t see it over the weekend, the Orioles have pretty much set their Opening Day roster. These guys are the guys! At least until Alex Cobb is ready to pitch and Mark Trumbo is healthy again. Then there will be changes.

One bit of baseball news that interested me from Sunday, though it has nothing to do with the Orioles, is that the Phillies signed prospect Scott Kingery to a contract extension. This is interesting because Kingery hasn’t even played a big league game yet. The Phillies were going to muck with his service time, but they worked out a contract, with three club option years, as well. The Orioles need to do some aggressive stuff like this. They won’t, though.

Around the blogO’sphere

Bullpen won’t provide many options for Orioles (School of Roch)
Turns out that having two Rule 5 picks in the bullpen doesn’t give many chances for players to be constantly on a roster merry-go-round like Dan Duquette likes.

Orioles wrap up spring training having built roster while preparing in Sarasota (Baltimore Sun)
The Orioles signed 60% of their starting rotation after spring training started, which doesn’t seem any less unbelievable even though I know it’s what happened.

O’s could continue having Davis bat leadoff (Orioles.com)
The Orioles don’t have a great leadoff option. I don’t think this is the best of their not-great options.

Orioles celebrate Bobby Dickerson’s long-awaited diploma with crawfish boil (Baltimore Sun)
Adorable story alert!

After long road back, Branden Kline is chasing his big league dream (Steve Melewski)
Frederick’s own Branden Kline is still trying to make it to the show. Wishing the best for him.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 1998 short-timer Jesus Tavarez, 1995 reserve Jarvis Brown - no relation, 1989-90 pitcher Mickey Weston, and 1983 reliever Dan Morogiello.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: poet Robert Frost (1874), fashion designer Guccio Gucci (1881), playwright Tennessee Williams (1911), former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (1930), Watergate journalist Bob Woodward (1943), singer-songwriter Diana Ross (1944), and actress Jennifer Grey (1960).

On this day in history...

In 1344, after a siege lasting 21 months, the Castillian forces embarking on the reconquest of Spain captured Algeciras. The engagement was significant for being one of the earliest European military engagements where gunpowder was used.

In 1812, a Boston Gazette political cartoon introduced the word “gerrymander” into the American political lexicon, where it has remained ever since. The original term is named for Declaration of Independence signer and later Vice President Elbridge Gerry, who drew a district that the cartoonist believed looked like a salamander.

In 1945, the Battle of Iwo Jima came to an end. Over five weeks of fighting, there were 6,821 American fatalities. Nearly the entirety of the 21,000 strong Japanese garrison was wiped out in the battle.

In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington had its groundbreaking ceremony.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 26 - or at least, unless something happens later. Have a safe Monday.