Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles get to play an NL team again

Hello, friends.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in last place in the American League East. The O’s are now 31.5 games out of first place in the division and 14.5 games behind the fourth place Blue Jays.

On their off day, the Orioles gained a half-game in their quest to avoid the worst record in MLB thanks to the Royals being beaten by the Indians. Although if your goal at this point is to see the Orioles get the #1 draft pick next year, then you might think of it instead as the Orioles losing a half-game.

Today marks four weeks to go until the non-waiver trade deadline. The Orioles have 28 days to get the value that they’re going to get in order to set up the franchise for a future that’s hopefully far less bleak than this season.

That’s a lot of time to get things figured out, although every day that goes by is one day fewer for any player to help his new team, so his potential value is lessened as well. Somebody tell Dan Duquette that it’s time for the Orioles to get things figured out.

Around the blogO’sphere

It’s already July. Where do the Orioles stand on the trade market for their departing stars? (Baltimore Sun)
Don’t expect an answer to the question in this article. It does suggest that the O’s perhaps should package two of their tradeable players in order to get a better return.

Tale of the tape makes Britton feel closer to his previous self (School of Roch)
I’m having a hard time getting excited about the milestone of Zach Britton having his ankle tape removed as part of his recovery from the Achilles surgery.

Orioles, Twins draft picks shine in College World Series (Minor League Ball)
The O’s third round pick, Blaine Knight, pitched well on a big stage. Now it’s time to get him signed.

Ryan McKenna earns back-to-back Orioles Minor League Player of the Month honors (Baltimore Sun)
Ryan McKenna got the bump from Frederick to Bowie and the O’s keep showing him some love. Also recognized: Minor league pitcher of the month Zac Lowther.

The D-Backs need to trade for Manny Machado (MLB.com)
They sure do. Now give us all of the prospects!

How MLB’s analytics revolution is getting to clubhouses (ESPN)
This is an interesting article about how things work nowadays. I don’t think that the Orioles make it work this way, though. Too much forward thinking required.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2011-16 cursing on television champion Tommy Hunter, 1979 one-gamer Jeff Rineer, and 1957-60 outfielder Al Pilarcik. Rineer’s one game was the only MLB appearance of his career. He faced two batters and got three outs, so he’s in the record books with a 0.00 ERA.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: early American painter John Singleton Copley (1738), author Franz Kafka (1883), Baltimore-born Midway admiral Raymond A. Spruance (1886), TV personality Montel Williams (1956), actor Tom Cruise (1962), Broadway actress Audra McDonald (1970), and singer-songwriter Elle King (1989).

On this day in history...

In 987, Hugh Capet was crowned as King of the Franks. The dynasty he began would reign until the French Revolution in 1792.

In 1775, George Washington took command of the Continental Army.

In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended in a Union victory, with Confederate troops retreating south after the failure of Pickett’s Charge.

In 1940, following the Franco-German armistice during World War II, the British attacked the French Navy at Mers-el-Kebir, fearing the ships of its very recent ally would fall into German hands otherwise.

In 1962, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 3 - or at least, until something happens later when the Orioles play the Phillies. Have a safe Tuesday. Go O’s!