Friday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are still the worst

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

It is a day ending in “Y,” so chances are the Orioles have just lost. Aaand... (checking) ...yup. The O’s dropped a winnable game against the Nationals last night, sealing yet another road series loss. Check out my recap for the full details. They’re 2-9-1 in road series this season, and that mark doesn’t figure to improve as they head next to Atlanta to face the first-place Braves.

Of course, it’s not as if the Orioles are any great shakes at home, either, having just gone more than a month between victories at Camden Yards. They’re real bad everywhere, in case you didn’t know!

Believe it or not, though, the Orioles would’ve no longer been the worst team in baseball if they’d won last night. The Kansas City Royals have been low-key horrendous; they have as many losses as the O’s and just one extra win. Four years ago these two teams were playing each other for a trip to the World Series. Now look at ‘em both.

Links

Orioles notes: Davis to return ‘in the next couple days, for sure’ as Showalter outlines prep work (Baltimore Sun)
Good news, Orioles fans: Chris Davis will be back from his week-long hiatus within the next couple of days. To me, Buck Showalter doesn’t sound particularly confident that Davis will actually be better. His quotes have an air of, “I dunno, let’s hope, lol.”

WTOP | Column: Orioles need to blow it all up immediately
This guy wants the O’s to make trades, and he wants them NOW NOW NOW.

Who’s worthy of a promotion if Orioles go younger? - School of Roch
Time to bring up the youngsters, right? Not so fast, says Roch Kubatko. Most aren’t deserving of a call-up just yet.

Camden Depot: This Isn't The Alex Cobb The Orioles Hoped They Were Getting
In case you haven't noticed, Alex Cobb has stunk this year. Matt Kremnitzer dives into why that may be.

Heyman | Could Padres be surprise entrant in Machado derby?
According to Jon Heyman, the latest team interested in Manny Machado is...the Padres? Okay then. Quick quiz: name three current Padres!

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You are awash in O’s birthday buddies, including one 2018 Oriole, utility man Engelb Vielma (24). He appeared in six games for the O’s in April and May, going 1-for-7. He’s currently on the shelf with a knee injury, which he suffered tripping over a bullpen mound for Norfolk on May 9.

Your most well-known O’s birthday buddy, at least for long-time fans of the club, is Russ Snyder, who spent seven years as an Orioles outfielder from 1961-67. He turns 84 today.

Four other former Orioles have birthdays today, all of whom had very brief stints in Baltimore: 1978 outfielder Mike Anderson, 1996 righty Brian Sackinsky, 1996-97 righty Esteban Yan, and 2001 outfielder Willie Harris.

On this day in 1962, Boog Powell blasted a 469-foot homer that was the first to ever clear the center field hedge in Memorial Stadium.

2018 Orioles vs. 1988 Orioles

In their 73rd game, the ‘88 Orioles lost in Boston, 10-3. It was actually a tie game entering the eighth before the Red Sox posted a seven-run inning — on seven singles and two walks — against O’s relievers Mark Williamson and Doug Sisk. Orioles starter Mike Boddicker pitched seven strong innings that day, which is perhaps what convinced the Red Sox to trade for him a month later. The defeat dropped the ‘88 Orioles to 20-53, one game worse than this year’s club.

When last I ran this feature nine days ago, there were four teams within five games of the Orioles’ badness. Now that list has been whittled to just two: the White Sox and Royals. Neither played yesterday; the White Sox were rained out, while the Royals had a scheduled day off.