Sunday Bird Droppings: Where the O’s don’t stop at rock bottom

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

There is very little left to say about this 2018 Orioles team. They have lost seven in a row to fall to 17-41. They have the worst record in baseball. At one point in last night’s loss, they committed three errors on consecutive plays. (Harrison Jozwiak’s recap has the brutal details.) They are a travesty, a sham, and a mockery. A traveshamockery.

And yet the season has only just passed the one-third mark. We are nowhere close to escaping this nightmarish 2018 Orioles experience. We can only wonder: how low will they go?

For now, the Orioles have one game remaining in their weekend series against the Yankees, with Adam Jones look-alike Domingo German pitching for the Bombers. A sweep appears inevitable, but the Orioles will win again at some point this year, right?

Actually, don’t answer that.

Links

Manny Machado homers in loss vs. Yankees
It is becoming a familiar refrain for Manny Machado to be the only highlight in any given Orioles game.

Orioles option Susac, Showalter on today's loss - School of Roch
The Andrew Susac experiment is over after nine games, at least for now. According to a Roch update this morning, Austin Wynns will be recalled today for his big league debut.

Schmuck: Orioles should beware of the quick fix, because this season is not fixable (Baltimore Sun)
Peter Schmuck’s argument here seems to be that the Orioles shouldn’t bother firing anyone because the season is already lost. I can’t say I agree with that.

Mourning loss of former O's scout Bruce Kison (and a Zach Britton update) - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Longtime O's scout and former pitching coach Bruce Kison passed away on Friday night. Dan Connolly shares his favorite Kison story.

Hanley Ramirez Possible FA Target for Orioles, GM Dan Duquette Confirms | Bleacher Report
The Orioles are apparently interested in signing Hanley Ramirez, and if anyone can explain the logic of that one, I'm all ears.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies, including Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Gentile (84). Gentile was quite the run producer during his four-year Oriole career from 1960-1963, collecting 124 homers and 398 RBIs.

An interesting story about Gentile: in 1961, after his 141 RBIs were one short of Roger Maris for the AL title, the Orioles said they would’ve paid him a $5,000 bonus if he’d led the league in RBIs. Almost 50 years later, in 2010, baseball historians discovered an error that had mistakenly given Maris an extra RBI in 1961, which meant Gentile actually tied for the AL RBI lead that year. Fulfilling their promise, the Orioles held a pre-game ceremony in August 2010 awarding the then 78-year-old Gentile his $5,000 check.

Your other O’s birthday buddies are 1981-88 outfielder Jim Dwyer (68), 1997 infielder Aaron Ledesma (47), 2002 one-game catcher Izzy Molina (47), and 2003-2004 catcher Robert Machado (45), no relation to Manny.

2018 Orioles vs. 1988 Orioles

In their 58th game, the ‘88 Orioles defeated the Yankees, unlike the 2018 version. The O’s scored three runs in the first and two in the fifth to take down the Yanks in the Bronx. Mike Boddicker was the pitching hero, tossing a complete game that included nine strikeouts. Eddie Murray blasted a two-run homer and Jim Traber drove in a pair.

After that game, the ‘88 Orioles were 15-43 — don’t look now, but they were only two games behind the 2018 Orioles.