Wednesday’s Bird Droppings: Where Adam Jones played, but the Orioles still lost

Morning, Birdland!

Every month of Orioles baseball is a bad month, but this team is really trying to wrap up 2018 on a low note, aren’t they? Currently, they have just one win in the month of September. In nine games, they are 1-8. The latest loss was a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night. Ben Hansford was kind enough to actually watch the game and give a recap.

There is no way that the Orioles avoid a sweep in this series, right? The A’s are chasing down the Yankees for the top wild card spot in the AL, they have tons of talent, cool kelly green uniforms and everything else in their favor. The Orioles are...well, you know.

Links

A new low in the Orioles nightmare season - The Warehouse Podcast/Camden Depot
Weren’t the Orioles especially Orioles-y this past weekend in Tampa? We talked about it on the podcast and got real annoyed about the the treatment of Adam Jones, the lack of adjustments being made and the overall state of the club. It’s a real up-lifting episode!

Orioles call up outfield prospect DJ Stewart - Camden Chat
A lot of times, when a former first round pick gets the call to the bigs, it can be a franchise-altering move. DJ Stewart’s promotion probably won’t have that big of an impact, but at least he is a player actually worth “looking at.”

How much will Orioles’ Jones play in final weeks? - Baltimore Baseball
Stewart could take a further bite out of Jones’s workload, but I would argue that he shouldn’t. Instead, he should take away innings being given to John Andreoli or Joey Rickard. The O’s coaching staff very likely disagrees with me.

O’s decision to bench Adam Jones sets up awkward final weeks - Baltimore Sun
There is value in playing a guy like Jones in a lame duck season for both player and team. There could be a future Jones on the roster. Fast forward 10 years and maybe Cedric Mullins or Trey Mancini has imprinted their “legacy” on the franchise. If you treat players this way during their swan song with the club, you risk ever getting the another chance to sign solid players to longe term deals. Why would they want to do that when they know you won’t support them through the end of the contract?

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Happy 55th to Keith Hughes, an outfielder that appeared in 41 games for the 1988 Birds. Left-handed pitcher Mark Thurmond is 62 years old today. He was a member of the Orioles during the ‘88 and ‘89 seasons, pitching to a 4.21 ERA over 164.2 innings. Finally, it is the 84th birthday of Albie Pearson, an outfielder that played in 128 games for the Orioles between 1959 and 1960.

1964 - The Orioles set an MLB record for fewest at-bats in a nine-inning game with 19. However, they still win 1-0 over the Athletics. Baltimore’s Frank Bertaina and Oakland’s Bob Meyer both throw one-hitters, the fifth occurrence of such a feat in league history.

2009 - Brian Roberts hits a grand slam and a club-record 51st double of the season as the O’s beat the Yankees 7-3.

2014 - Chris Davis is suspended 25 games for testing positive for amphetamines. The Orioles would beat the Yankees in a doubleheader twice that day, 2-1 and 5-0, and go on to to win the AL East anyway before losing in the ALCS to the Royals.