Friday Bird Droppings: Where it’s four days until the trade deadline

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

You know, when you lose 74 of your first 103 games, some of those defeats just aren’t going to stick out very much. Last night’s game against the Rays was one of those unremarkable, cookie-cutter losses. The Orioles didn’t have a huge meltdown or a series of embarrassing plays. They just flat out didn’t do enough to win, as usual. Tyler Young’s recap has the full details.

The now 2-14 Alex Cobb is not one of the Orioles who will be traded by next week’s deadline. But several other Orioles may be, including Adam Jones, Brad Brach...and dare I say Jonathan Schoop or Kevin Gausman? At this point, I could certainly get behind the “everything must go” mentality. I don’t think the Orioles’ front office has reached that point, though.

Either way, it speaks volumes about the Orioles that the most exciting thing about their season is the rumors of trading away veterans. These guys were once the core of the team, the key contributors to Orioles playoff teams, and now we’re left wondering if the O’s can get any good prospects for them. This is what the 2018 season has become.

Links

Orioles’ Jones isn’t sure what he’d do if approached about trade - BaltimoreBaseball.com
The always thoughtful Adam Jones discusses some of the factors he’d have to consider if the Orioles asked him to waive his no-trade clause in the upcoming days or weeks. Reading between the lines, I think he’d accept a deal to a contender -- and who knows, maybe he’d return to the Orioles next year.

Red Sox angry after 2 1/2-hour rain delay leads to postponement of game against Orioles (Baltimore Sun)
The Red Sox are all in a tizzy after their 5-0 lead in the second inning got washed out Wednesday, and they blame the Orioles. Buck Showalter basically responded with, “Dude, we don’t control the weather.”

Rotation adjustment and injury updates - School of Roch
Dylan Bundy has been moved up to Sunday's start after his rain-shortened (but awful) two-inning outing Wednesday, and Buck Showalter offers his thoughts on the struggling righty.

Yusniel Díaz: "It feels good to be the key of this trade" - Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski interviews one of the newest Orioles prospects, Yusniel Diaz. You'll be shocked to learn that Diaz says he's happy to be here and is fitting in well.

Camden Depot: The Orioles Should Trade Gausman To The Rockies
Well, maybe. It kind of depends on what the Rockies offer, right?

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share a birthday with unforgettable utility man Ryan Flaherty, who turns 32 today. After ending his six-year Orioles career in 2017, Flaherty got off to a scorching start with the Braves this season, and O’s fans were all, “Oh, sure, NOW he’s good.” But it turns out he still isn’t. His numbers have come crashing back to earth and he now has a .638 OPS this year, almost exactly matching his career mark (.639). Good old Flahrt.

It’s also the birthday of Orioles Hall of Famer Rich Dauer (66), who spent his entire 10-year career with the Birds from 1976-1985, mostly playing second base. Other ex-Orioles with birthdays are 1980s bench guy Floyd “Sugar Bear” Rayford (61) and 2014 righty Preston Guilmet (31).

On this day in 1969, the Orioles erupted for their biggest shutout win in franchise history, a 17-0 drubbing of the White Sox. The pitching star was Jim Hardin, who threw his fifth career shutout, a two-hitter. The hitting stars were...basically everyone in the lineup. Mark Belanger, Don Buford, Paul Blair, Boog Powell and Davey Johnson each had three or more hits. Frank Robinson crushed two dingers, Powell one, and even the pitcher, Hardin, hit a homer.

2018 Orioles vs. 1988 Orioles

In their 103rd game, the ‘88 Orioles lost to Kansas City, 4-1. The Royals’ Charlie Leibrandt threw a complete game four-hitter, with a meaningless Cal Ripken homer in the ninth accounting for the Birds’ only run, long after Bo Jackson decided the game with a three-run blast in the fourth. The loss dropped the Orioles to 32-71, three games better than the present-day club.

The Royals lost, 7-2, at Yankee Stadium last night — a game in which Zach Britton made his Yankees debut, pitching a perfect eighth inning. We miss you already, Zach. So the race for the majors’ worst record remains the same, with the Orioles two and a half games more awful than Kansas City.