Memorial Day Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles can now make up their minds

Hello, friends.

Since the founding of this country, people have died while fighting for it. In the earliest days, they fought for the freedom to govern themselves. Later, they fought for freedom for themselves and others, such as freedom from slavery in the Civil War and freedom from tyranny in World War II. We remember them on this Memorial Day.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in last place in the American League East. They remain 19 games behind the division-leading Red Sox and are eight games behind even the fourth place Blue Jays. They are ahead of the worst record in MLB by a mere .001 in their winning percentage.

Today, supposedly, is the day where the Orioles have set to decide what kind of team they have. I think this has been apparent for quite some time and I think that they are well aware of that too. But maybe now the trade rumor mill will start to fire up more... unless the Orioles are waiting until after the draft, as one of today’s links suggests.

If you were out barbecuing or something yesterday, I sure hope you weren’t impacted by any of the rain and flooding that hit in the Ellicott City area. Be safe wherever you end up today!

Not getting to watch yesterday’s loss was not a bad thing for anyone. Check out Tyler Young’s recap for the not-so-lovely totals from an 8-3 defeat.

Through 53 games, the 1988 Orioles had a 12-41 record. They actually won their 53rd game, a 14 inning affair against the Yankees, overcoming both a ninth inning blown save and giving up two runs in the top of the 14th inning to win, 7-6. Three runs scored after a throwing error on the same play with two outs in the ninth inning. Sounds wild.

So, for now, the 2018 Orioles are five games ahead of those guys. The 1988 O’s didn’t win their 17th game until they were 17-47. The 2018 O’s will stay ahead for now unless they lose their next 11 games. However, this year’s team is on pace to win just 52 games, which is two fewer than the 1988 team. Ignominy is still within reach, especially once they start trading guys.

Around the blogO’sphere

Hot commodities in the relief pitching market (ESPN)
Don’t lead the headline fool you, because tucked into this Buster Olney column is a conclusion that the Orioles will start seriously engaging with the trade market after next week’s draft.

Orioles target polished arms in 2018 draft (Orioles.com)
Speaking of the draft, here are some names who are said to be on the Orioles radar.

Showalter on Jones, Trumbo, Beckham, and more (School of Roch)
Mark Trumbo hasn’t played since May 22. The last several days have began with Trumbo expected to play. That is also true today. Why didn’t they just put him on the disabled list?

Kevin Gausman’s two-strike struggles lead to shortest outing of season (Baltimore Sun)
Some days I wonder whether Gausman secretly wishes that the Orioles would trade him to a team that can actually develop pitchers.

More on the struggling offense, plus minor league notes (Steve Melewski)
You can sign me up for wanting to see Cedric Mullins sooner rather than later.

Sunday Notes: Richard Bleier’s brilliance is unique and under the radar (Fangraphs)
A recent Jon Heyman article indicated that in the minor leagues, Richard Bleier had the nickname of Big Dick. I’m bringing this up because I’m immature, and also because he’s getting some praise from Fangraphs’s Sunday notes column.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are two former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2004-08 pitcher Daniel Cabrera, and the late Bob Kuzava, who pitched four games for the inaugural 1954 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: UK prime minister William Pitt the Younger (1759), blow torch inventor Carl Richard Nyberg (1858), American Olympic legend Jim Thorpe (1888), novelist Walker Percy (1916), Appalachian Trail aficionado Mark Sanford (1960), singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue (1968), and actress Carey Mulligan (1985).

On this day in history...

In 585 BC, a solar eclipse occurred. This had been predicted by the Greek philosopher/scientist Thales. As the eclipse coincided with the Battle of Halys and prompted a truce in that battle, this is one of the early historic days from which other days can be calculated.

In 1533 AD, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to be valid. Henry’s daughter Mary - the child of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon - later had Cranmer put to death.

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. This led in time to the Trail of Tears as they were removed.

In 1936, Alan Turing submitted his work On Computable Numbers for publication.

In 2002, the last steel girder was removed from the World Trade Center site in New York City. This marked the end to cleanup from 9/11 in NYC.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 28 - or at least, until something happens later when the Orioles tackle their rivals from the pharmaceutical industry. Have a safe Memorial Day. Go O’s!