Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are burning to the ground

Hello, friends.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in last place in the American League East. They now find themselves 30 games behind the first place Red Sox and 14 games behind even the fourth place Blue Jays. They are the only team in MLB that has not won at least 25 games.

At times during the 2018 season it has seemed like the Orioles invent new ways to lose every day. They found another on Wednesday night, dramatically taking the lead in the eighth inning on a Chris Davis Eutaw Street homer - really, in 2018! - before surrendering the same lead in the ninth inning and ultimately losing in extra innings. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for the not-so-lovely totals.

With the loss, the Orioles fall to 23-56 on the season. Thirty years ago, the 1988 Orioles were victorious in their 79th game, beating the Rangers, 7-4, in a game where Rick Schu hit a grand slam for the O’s. This raised their record to 24-55. So, the 2018 Orioles are now worse than the 1988 team up until this point. The 2018 O’s had to fail very, very hard to do this. They were up to that challenge.

There are 83 games left to be played for the 2018 O’s. If they keep their current pace with a .291 winning percentage, they will win just 47 games total this season. That is seven fewer than the 1988 team. If they play .500 baseball the rest of the way, they would finish with a 64-98 record.

I still have a sense of unreality about all of this. How are the Orioles this bad? Even when they score runs they still find ways to lose! Why are they utterly incapable of evaluating which starting pitchers they ought to sign? Why did Zach Britton’s Achilles have to tear?

The questions are many and the answers are painful. The season goes on this afternoon with the conclusion of this Mariners series at 3:05. Maybe the Orioles will not get swept, somehow. Don’t hold your breath, though.

Around the blogO’sphere

Manny Machado sweepstakes are under way - and Dodgers are favorites to land him (USA Today)
The Orioles need to trade Machado before the same hurt/suck demon that has felled Zach Britton, Brad Brach, and Darren O’Day catches up to him.

Manny Machado apologizes for not running out grounder, says ‘there’s no excuse’ (Baltimore Sun)
Now let’s put thie story to bed... and trade Machado before something happens to him.

Duquette on Harvey exam and trade market (School of Roch)
To the surprise of probably no one, there’s still no timetable for when Hunter Harvey might get back to pitching again.

Orioles host first LGBT Pride Night (Orioles.com)
On the field, the Orioles are not very good. Off the field - well, this is pretty good.

In every day role, Danny Valencia is rewriting his reputation (Baltimore Sun)
Maybe he will actually have a tiny bit of trade value!

Steve Wilkerson on his return to the Orioles (Steve Melewski)
It’s not hard to imagine that some of the Orioles might not be very happy about being on the Orioles right now. For a minor league grinder, though, this is just the place to be.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There is one former Oriole born on this day: The late Don Baylor of the 1970-75 O’s.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Marital problems pioneer Henry VIII (, Methodist founder John Wesley (1703), movie man Mel Brooks (1926), actress Kathy Bates (1948), rapper Savage (1981), singer-songwriter Kellie Pickler (1986), and YouTube personality Markiplier (1989).

On this day in history...

In 1575, Japanese generals Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu were victorious in the Battle of Nagashino, a battle that, due to revolutionary tactics with firearms, is often thought of as the first “modern” Japanese battle.

In 1709, Peter the Great’s Russians defeated the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava, signaling the rise of the Russian Empire and the decline of the Swedish Empire as a great power.

In 1846, Adolphe Sax patented his musical instrument, the saxophone.

In 1914, the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo, eventually sparking what we now call World War I. Exactly five years later to the day, with more than 15 million dead, the Treaty of Versailles was signed to officially end the conflict.

In 1969, the Stonewall Riots began in New York City. This marked the beginning of the gay rights movement.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 28 - or at least, until something happens later when the Orioles play the Mariners this afternoon. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!