Saturday’s Bird Droppings: Where this is Cedric Mullins’s team now

Morning, Birdland!

Even when these Orioles are fun, they find a way to totally screw it up. Last night should have been an important night for the franchise. Cedric Mullins made his MLB debut, in turn pushing longtime center fielder Adam Jones over to right for the remainder of the season. Mullins turned up to Camden Yards ready to play, becoming the first Oriole to debut with three hits. The rest of the offense was excited too, producing 12 runs. But Dylan Bundy was atrocious, and the pitchers that followed him were no better. Poor Paul had to recap the 19-12 loss for us.

Bundy’s continued struggles are notably, but let’s try to stay positive. Mullins was mighty impressive. He brought the exact skillset that this roster lacked. He flashed his speed in the field and on the basepaths. He was quick and twitchy at the plate. And he exudes a quiet confidence that a last-place team, understandly, has very little of.

This is just a start, and he will not be a career .750 hitter, but he has all of the tools to be a solid regular in center field for the Orioles for a long time to come. The organization needs to bring in more pieces around him, but this is the beginning of a rebuild. This is what it should feel like; hopefully, attainable, exciting. These guys might be losers, but they are at least interesting losers.

Links

Orioles make worst kind of history with early elimination from division race - Yahoo!
I’m going to view this article as “The 2018 Orioles are record setters.” No need to read into it anymore than that.

One for the future: Evaluating Orioles pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis - Baltimore Sun
What is Jimmy Yacabonis? Is he a starter or a reliever. He has been a stud in Norfolk’s rotation, but has struggled in Baltimore. He will be starting game one today, but it is coming against the best offense in baseball so who know how fair of an assessment that will be.

Mullins’ debut a bright spot in 19-12 loss (with quotes) - MASN Sports
Quotes, baby, quotes! Roch has some words from Mullins and his manager, Buck Showalter.

Adam Loewen is trying to return to the majors for a fourth time - The Athletic
If you have the subscription, this is a good one to check out. Not only is it an interesting story, but you get to see Loewen with a beard. What more could you want?

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Some guy name Colby Rasmus turns 32. Never heard of him. Kurt Birkins is 38. He was a lefty reliever for the 2006 and 2007 Orioles while compiling a 5.85 ERA. John Mitchell is celebrating his 53rd big day. He had a 4.64 ERA for the ‘90 Birds. Dorn Taylor was on those same 1990 Orioles. The now-60-year-old had a 2.45 ERA in four games that year.

1966 - Frank Robinson saves the day with a home run-stealing catch that takes him into the stands during the 11th inning of a game the Orioles went on to win 6-5. He had done something similar two months earlier.

1991 - The Orioles are no-hit by Wilson Alvarez, who is appearing in his first game for the White Sox and only his second MLB game ever.

1993 - Dan Gladden, an outfielder for the Tigers, hits a grand slam against the Orioles on the second consecutive day. He is the 14th player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games.