Thursday Bird Droppings: Where we get a day off from the Orioles losing

Hello, friends.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in last place in the American League East. After their latest sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, they are now a remarkably horrible 27 games out of first place, and they even trail the fourth place Blue Jays by a whopping 8.5 games. They are three games ”up” on the Royals for the worst record in MLB. The Orioles are now in the midst of their third seven-game losing streak of the season.

The good news is that the Orioles cannot possibly lose a game today. That is because they will not be playing. The day off is a mercy for all involved, especially fans like us who have a problem and just cannot avoid watching the Orioles regularly, no matter how awful they are.

Wednesday’s loss to the Red Sox was not just another ho-hum loss. Richard Bleier suffered what may turn out to be a serious lat injury, dealing a blow to an already-beleaguered Orioles bullpen. The other downside to this is that Bleier might have actually had trade value. Well, not any more.

If you want the rest of the not-so-lovely totals from yesterday’s 5-1 loss, check out my recap of the game. Things could have gone better for Yefry Ramirez (pronounced Jeffrey) in his MLB debut. It looks a little bit worse than it actually was because Mike Wright Jr. failed to strand the inherited runners.

These sad-sack Orioles are now 19-48. In the 67th game for the 1988 Orioles, they also lost. The O’s of three decades ago fell to the Blue Jays, 15-7, with reliever Mark Williamson giving up six runs in 4.2 innings after starter Dickie Noles gave up four runs in just 1.1 innings. Future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray had three hits in the losing effort. This dropped the 1988 O’s to 18-49.

The 1988 Orioles did not win their 20th game until they were 20-52. So, the 2018 team still has five more games where they can manage to stay at least level with where the 1988 squad was up to this point. However, it’s worth noting that the O’s are now on a pace to win just 46 games - eight fewer than the 1988 team did. What a mess.

So what are you going to do to make you happy with an evening off from the Orioles? Movies, television, books, music, something else? Tell us about it! We could all use something cheerful.

Around the blogO’sphere

Updating Bleier and Cashner following 5-1 loss (School of Roch)
The Orioles are still acting like Andrew Cashner will only miss the minimum ten days. Bleier... it might be a while.

Ramirez solid in debut, but O’s get swept - with quotes (Steve Melewski)
You probably have to be either Melewski or Jim Hunter to call Yefry Ramirez’s debut solid, but it could have been worse. Some quotes from Ramirez are in here.

Current state of the Orioles: Really Bad (Camden Depot)
Not that any of us who have been watching this team need the reminder. Here’s the Depot’s Matt Kremnitzer to lay out some of the ugly stuff, including weakness from the farm system.

Manny Machado will be traded, and maybe the Orioles won’t screw this up (SB Nation)
One person who is more optimistic than me about the Orioles handling of the Machado situation is SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee.

Baltimore bar offering free shots whenever Chris Davis gets a hit (Hardball Talk)
I don’t think that this bar is going to go broke any time soon.

Al Roker surprises Orioles fan (WBAL Baltimore)
I, too, would be surprised if Al Roker showed up randomly.

Orioles fan in Georgia surprised with meet and greet with Manny Machado after tweet (Baltimore Sun)
...unless the Orioles trade Machado in the next ten days before the game this fan has the tickets for, anyway. I don’t expect they will be losing any sleep over the possibility of Dan Duquette striking boldly or quickly.

Birthdays and anniversaries

In 1985, Earl Weaver came out of retirement to manage the Orioles for the remainder of the season, as well as the next. Though Earl presided over a 53-52 stretch for the 1985 squad, they went just 73-89 the next year.

Of all of the players to ever suit up for the Orioles, not a single one has a birthday today.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: author/abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811), early 20th century progressive “Fighting Bob” La Follette (1855), neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864), actor/singer Burl Ives (1909), novelist Jerzy Kosinski (1933), golfer and University of Maryland product Fred Funk (1956), and actress/singer-songwriter Lucy Hale (1989).

On this day in history...

In 1775, the Continental Congress established the Continental Army. This is still recognized today as the birth of the United States Army.

In 1807, the Grande Armee of Napoleon defeated the Russians at the Battle of Friedland, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition in favor of the French

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill into law that added “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1966, the Vatican announced that it had abolished the Index Librorum Prohibitorum - the index of prohibited books. This index had first been instituted in 1557. Banned books through those centuries included Paradise Lost, Candide, and the complete works of Jean-Paul Sartre.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 14 - or at least, unless something happens later, which it might, if the Orioles decide to hold anyone at all accountable for their performance to date. In other words, not likely. Have a safe Thursday.