Saturday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles have optioned Chance Sisco again

Morning, Birdland!

Despite the best efforts of the Kansas City Royals, the Orioles refuse to give up the stranglehold they have on the worst record in Major League Baseball. The Birds are the first team to 69 losses (nice!). They made it there with a 5-4 defeat to the Texas Rangers in which things went well, for the most part, but then Tanner Scott entered and promptly imploded. He fits right in! Mark Brown recapped the action for you.

Shortly after the game, Chance Sisco was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk for the second time this season. Unless I missed something, it does not appear that a corresponding move has been announced yet.

Why demote a player that was once your organization’s top prospect? He hasn’t been very good, you say. Fair enough. Caleb Joseph has been the better catcher lately. However, Sisco will need to be replaced by someone. Austin Wynns is hitting .120/.185/.120 in July. Andrew Susac doesn’t have a batting average above .183 in any month this season since April. Sisco is still, and has been for the entire season, one of the club’s top two catchers. Therefore, he should still be in Baltimore.

Sisco has nothing to learn in Norfolk. He has played as well as he possibly can at that level. It is the majors where he has issues. Not to mention, the guy you are going to call up in his place has already had a shot in the bigs this year, and he has been worse than Sisco.

What message do some of the decisions being made send to the rest of the players at the club? Sisco being demoted in favor of a worse player is bad. What will be worse is if Chris Tillman really does start on Sunday.

Links

Open letter from a fan to Machado — ‘You gave us hope, Manny’ - Baltimore Baseball
The All-Star break is nearly upon us. It sure seems like the O’s want to get past the Mid-Summer Classic before dealing Manny Machado. It makes sense. He is one of the sport’s finest talents and it would be cool to see him in the black and orange one final time on an international stage. That means goodbyes are coming, and boy do they hurt.

Gates Signs Free Agent Contract With Orioles - NWA
The O’s are dipping their toe into the undrafted free agent pool. These guys have a long road to the majors, but it has happened before. Bobby Bonilla and Larry Walker are just two examples of guys who were overlooked in the draft but went onto successful MLB careers.

Orioles, Indians Have Discussed Adam Jones Trade - MLBTradeRumors
Seeing Adam Jones in another team’s uniform may hurt more than the loss of Machado. While Manny may be the best Oriole of this generation, Jones has remained the face and heart of the team. Maybe he finds his way back to town for 2019, but even a couple of months without him will sting.

Orioles Sign Sean Gilmartin - MLBTradeRumors
Add another name to the Norfolk shuttle. Gilmartin is headed to the Tides for now. The left-handed reliever pitched for the Mets from 2015-17 and collected a 4.14 ERA over 78.1 innings out of their bullpen. It’s always good to have a southpaw bopping around the system.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Bernie Castro, 39, played in 24 games for the ‘05 O’s and hit .288/360/.350. Derrick May, 50, batted .265/.315/.510 in 26 games back in 1999. Utility infielder Vic Rodriguez, 57, popped up in 11 games for the 1984 team. Billy Smith, 65, was a regular member of the O’s infield from 1977 through 1979, flashing an above-average glove and a .237/.304/.357 stick. Earl Williams (d. 2013) was a member of the 1973 and ‘74 Orioles.

Finally, happy 71st birthday to 1980 AL Cy Young Award winner Steve Stone. The righty won a league-high 25 games that season while pitching to a 3.23 ERA, 123 ERA+ and 3.98 FIP. He played three season in Baltimore before retiring after the ‘81 season.

Other notable birthdays: Kyle Gass (1960), Jane Lynch (1960), Tim Hudson (1975) and Conor McGregor (1988)

1938 - Howard Hughes sets a record with a 91-hour flight around the world.

1960 - Jane Goodall arrives in what is now Tanzania to begin a study of chimpanzees.

1964 - Bob Johnson of the Orioles gets his sixth consecutive hit as a pinch hitter, an AL record.

1976 - Canada abolishes capital punishment.

2015 - New Horizons, a NASA probe, performs the first flyby of Pluto.