Wednesday’s Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles might play a game today

Morning, Birdland!

The Orioles didn’t play last night because of rain. The amount of time they wasted, waiting for a window that never came, was very dumb. Details on the makeup date are in a tweet below. Let’s not dwell on it. Instead, let’s talk about a non-Orioles story that is really awesome and deserves all of the pub it is going to get today.

Stephen Piscotty is an outfielder for the Oakland Athletics. Up until this past offseason he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Less than a year after signing a six-year extension to stay with the Cards, Piscotty requested a trade to the west coast in order to be closer to his mother, Gretchen, who was in poor health.

Piscotty is from Pleasenton, Calfornia, a half-hour drive east of Oakland. On December 14, he was traded to the A’s, allowing him to see his mom as much as possible. On Sunday, May 6, Gretchen Piscotty died after a battle with ALS.

Obviously, this is bigger than baseball, but sports can provide such a unique canvas on which these sorts of episodes are allowed to play out. Piscotty returned to the lineup later that week and received a warm ovation from his home fans and an awesome showing of grace from the visiting Houston Astros.

Piscotty then missed a few games to tend to family matters. Last night, he again returned to the Oakland batting order. In his first at-bat, he hit a solo home run over the Green Monster. As he touched home plate, he tapped his chest, which he says is one of the few ways his mother was able to communicate in the last months of her life.

I mean...wow. That’s all I can think to say. Wow.

Links

Britton takes another step toward return - Baltimore Sun
The Orioles are getting healthy, which is great. The damage has already been done, but winning baseball is always more fun to watch. Zach Britton at 100 percent is a good thing on two accounts. 1. It makes the team better. 2. He could be a valuable trade chip IF he pitches well.

David Hess Was Fine, And That’s A Good Thing - Camden Depot
If the O’s can get regular starts out of David Hess like they saw on Saturday afternoon, they will be very happy with it. It won’t wow you in the box score, but it was a steady six-inning performance.

Davey Johnson Still Loves Baltimore And The Orioles - Press Box
One of the 105.7 shows (I know, I know) had Davey Johnson on earlier this week. He referred to some of the modern scouting tools in baseball as “Cybernetics”. That was about all I needed to hear.

Rule 5 picks can be worth a shot - Baltimore Baseball
The Rule 5 draft is a fine way to find players, but the Orioles need to stop using it as much as they do, especially selecting and holding onto multiple players at a time. It’s not the reason they are a bad team this season. However, it certainly did not help.

Doing things that are not characteristic of the Orioles (Podcast) - The Warehouse
Some self promotion here. You have a lot of listening options regarding the goings-on of the Baltimore Orioles. Now, you have another! This is the weekly podcast that I do with a couple of buddies. Some of you awesome Camden Chatters have already gotten involved. Thank you so much for that! You guys and gals are the best!

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday! The O’s make it just a modest gathering today.

Luis Sardinas is 25 years old. He has appeared in eight games for this year’s team, but may pop up in a few more once he returns from the dreaded lower back strain. Remember Ivanon Coffie? He played in 23 games for the 2000 Birds, slashing .217/.284/.317 in his only major league experience, and he turns 41 today. Finally, it would have been the 98th big day for Dave Philley, a outfielder and first baseman for the O’s between 1955-56 and again from 1960-61. He passed away in 2012.

Other famous birthdays: Liberace (b. 1919, d. 1987), Janet Jackson (b. 1966), Tori Spelling (b. 1973) and Megan Fox (b. 1986)

1866 - The nickel is established by the United States Congress.

1929 - The inaugural Academy Awards take place.

1984 - The Orioles release Jim Palmer. The 39-year-old was 0-3 with a 9.17 ERA. According to Baseball Reference, he was asked to retire and take a job elsewhere in the organization. He declined and would never pitch in the majors again.

1986 - Tony Phillips of the Oakland Athletics hits for the cycle in a 5-for-5 performance as the A’s beat the Orioles 8-4.