Wednesday’s Bird Droppings: Where everyone is hurt

Morning, Birdland!

Remember last week when the Orioles felt like a real baseball team? They were competing and winning games against good opposition. That was neat.

The Birds are now on a three-game slide, with the latest loss coming in 3-2 fashion against the Mariners last night. Our very own Ben Hansford watched and wrote about the atrocity so that you didn’t have to.

If things continue the way they are going, the O’s are going to run out of pitchers. Richard Bleier is already out for the rest of the season. Dylan Bundy is headed to the shelf for the next 10 days with an ankle injury. Now Darren O’Day is the latest Baltimore hurler to catch the injury bug. His is a hamstring issue, and it sounds like the team is semi-worried about it, which is just great.

It’s not clear that the Orioles are going to sell at the trade deadline like they should. However, they need proven veterans like O’Day, Brad Brach and Zach Britton to stay on the field and maximize their value. It doesn’t seem like this season can get worse, but a major injury to one of the main trade chips will send things down a very dark path.

Links

AL All-Star Ballot update - MLB.com
Manny Machado still leads the voting at shortstop over second-place Carlos Correa. No other Oriole is sniffing a bid to the Mid-Summer Classic. This news surprises no one.

Orioles notes: Chris Tillman ‘needs to get it going’ as rehab ramps up - Baltimore Sun
Buck Showalter does his best to not come off too cruel towards Chris Tillman, but it’s clear that he has been just as frustrated by the veteran’s “rehab” performances as the fanbase. But we all know that one positive outing will probably be enough to convince the manager that the righty is ready to start again in Baltimore.

Orioles’ Dylan Bundy placed on DL after baserunning mishap - ESPN
Luckily, this doesn’t sound too serious, but it does mean that tomorrow’s turn in the rotation is currently empty. No, it won’t be Tillman, but that could mean Yefry Ramirez rejoins the club or Jimmy Yacabonis finally gets a start in the bigs.

Does Adam Jones want to reunite with Nick Markakis - Camden Depot
It is that time of the week yet again! A brand new episode of The Warehouse Podcast. In the latest edition, the guys discuss Tillman’s rehab, Ryan McKenna’s promotion and Adam Jones’ cryptic Instagram posts. Listen on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean and TuneIn.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Infielder Jackie Gutierrez batted .185/.205/.205 over the 1986 and ‘87 seasons. He’s 58 today. Right-handed pitcher Lou Kretlow was a member of the 1955 and ‘54 O’s and pitched to a 5.09 ERA. Today would have been his 97th birthday, but he passed away in 2007. Nelson Simmons turns 55 today. The outfielder played in just 16 games for the 1987 team.

Jeff Conine was one of the better Orioles during the dark years. The now-52-year-old hit .287/.341/.442 over six seasons between 1999 and 2006. Oscar Salazar played for the 2008 and 2009 teams and hit .321/.394/.536 in a 51-game cameo.

The one active former Oriole with a birthday is Jim Johnson. The one-time closer saved 122 games and pitched to a 3.11 ERA, 139 ERA+ and 10.0 WAR in eight seasons with the O’s. He is now 35 years old and working out of the Angels bullpen.

Other notable birthdays: Hellen Keller (1880), Vera Wang (1949), J.J. Abrams (1966), Jim Edmonds (1970), Tobey Maguire (1975), Khloe Kardashian (1984) and Drake Bell (1986).

1895 - The Royal Blue makes its first run from Washington D.C. to New York City on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It is the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.

1967 - Frank Robinson collides with Al Weis in an Orioles 5-0 loss to the White Sox. Robinson experiences double vision as a result of the collision and goes on to miss 28 games because of it.

1977 - France grants independence to Djibouti.

1985 - The O’s acquire Alan Wiggins from the Padres in exchange for Roy Lee Jackson and a player to be named later (Rich Caldwell). Wiggins went on to hit .256/.320/.298 and accumulated a -0.7 WAR in three season with Baltimore. Wiggins pitched in 22 games for San Diego and had a 2.70 ERA. Caldwell never reached the majors.

1997 - Baltimore trades Jimmy Haynes to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Geronimo Berroa. Haynes went on to have a career 5.37 ERA and a 3.0 WAR in his career. Berroa played in 83 games for the 1997 Birds and hit .260/.347/.403.

2013 - NASA launches a space probe to observe the Sun called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph.