Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are still in last place

Hello, friends.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in last place in the American League East. With their 13-29 record, they are 16 games behind the first place Yankees and 6.5 games behind the fourth place Rays. If the Orioles won every single one of their remaining May games, they would still be below .500 for the season at the end of the month... and they’re about to go on the road, where they’re 3-16 this season.

One might say that the Orioles lulled us into forgetting over the last week that they are a bad baseball team. Two consecutive series wins at home against losing teams, plus an off-day and a rainout, postponed that realization for a while. It’s still true, though, as they demonstrated while losing Wednesday afternoon’s game. Check out my recap of the 4-1 loss for the not-so-lovely totals.

With four games against Boston awaiting, things may not head back in the right direction for the next little while. You never really know with baseball, of course - but, also, it’s not an accident that the last time the Orioles won a road game, it was April 8. Really. We also didn’t think about that during the recent homestand, but they have lost 12 straight road contests. Some of the things about this Orioles team are mind-bogglingly bad.

Around the blogO’sphere

Zach Britton throws batting-practice session (Orioles.com)
I’ve been skeptical all along of the idea that Britton might be back with the O’s in early June, but he’s hitting all of the targets, so maybe he actually will.

Updates on O’Day, Sunday starter, Tillman, and more (School of Roch)
“The Orioles haven’t mapped out Tillman’s schedule and can’t provide any sort of timeline.” Not for the first time, I wonder why they didn’t just release Tillman.

Cashner on his outing, Jones on Pivetta, and more from the O’s loss (Steve Melewski)
Adam Jones is a fan of Andrew Cashner.

Josh Edgin exercises opt-out clause with Orioles (MLBTR)
There was a lot of ink spilled about Josh Edgin in spring training. The lefty reliever has opted out - as have outfielders Michael Saunders and Alex Presley. Clearing room in Norfolk for younger players.

Hunter Harvey’s four inning stint in Bowie shows promise, work to be done (Baltimore Sun)
This is the kind of routine development stuff that it’s a shame that Harvey wasn’t able to be doing two years ago.

Triggering the Miguel Castro starting experiment makes sense in a season that should mainly be about the future (Baltimore Baseball)
The rain wiped out Miguel Castro’s chance to start on Wednesday, but Dan Connolly is in favor of getting Castro into the rotation soon.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 1992-95 catcher Jack Voigt, 1959-62 reliever Billy Hoeft, 1962 one-gamer Ozzie Virgil, and Jim McDonald of the 1955 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Baseball Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell (1903), actor Bill Paxton (1955), boxer Sugar Ray Leonard (1956), funny man Bob Saget (1956), singer-songwriter Enya (1961), late night show host Craig Ferguson (1962), and Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor (1965).

On this day in history...

In 1536, the marriage of Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn was annulled. That same day, Anne’s brother George was among five men executed for treason. George Boleyn was accused of incest - Anne outlived him by only two days.

In 1869, the last forces of the Tokugawa shogunate were defeated in the Battle of Hakodate, ending the Boshin War and paving the way for Imperial rule in Japan.

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine from 1896 that allowed segregation: “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

In 1973, televised Watergate hearings began.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 17 - or at least, until something happens later when the Orioles play the Red Sox, even if what happens may not be any good for the O’s. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!