Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where it’s Fall Classic time

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

The 2019 World Series has arrived, and fortunately for O’s fans, the matchup didn’t end up as the worst-case scenario we initially feared. The Astros held off the Yankees and are now the odds-on favorites to top the Nationals in the Fall Classic. That’s good news for most O’s fans, who aren’t excited about the idea of the regional rival Nats getting to celebrate a championship while the Birds are mired in a rebuilding phase.

[EDIT: The above was written before news broke about the Astros being unsympathetic asses about domestic violence. So now I’m rooting for the meteor.]

The Astros and Nationals don’t have much history against each other since Houston moved to the AL in 2013, playing just seven games since then (in which Washington has gone 6-1) and none since 2017.

Wherever your rooting interests lie, you should get to see a pretty darn entertaining series, especially if you’re a fan of great pitching. Each team boasts three aces (or almost-aces), so we’ll be seeing some more enthralling matchups than the “TBD vs. Bullpen Game” types that have littered this year’s playoffs. Tonight it’s a showdown between the two Cy Young favorites in their respective leagues, Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer. Tomorrow it’s Justin Verlander vs. Stephen Strasburg. We won’t even see Zack Greinke or Patrick Corbin until at least Game 3, which is how you know these staffs are loaded.

It all comes down to this. Let’s hear your predictions, Camden Chatters!

Links

Catching up on the Orioles’ catching situation - School of Roch
Adley Rutschman probably won’t arrive in Baltimore until 2021, but the O’s are still required by rule to have someone at the catcher position until then. Roch Kubatko looks at a few candidates for 2020.

Inbox: Exploring Martin’s role in 2020 - Orioles.com
Joe Trezza tackles readers’ questions about Richie Martin, the Zack Britton return package, and the Orioles’ plans for hiring a scouting director. Poor Sig Mejdal, though, seems destined to have his last name misspelled for however long his O’s tenure lasts.

Jim Palmer talks about Orioles’ rebuild, their pitching, and his health - BaltimoreBaseball.com
There’s no better interview than Jim Palmer, whose MASN analysis was sorely missed when he fell ill at the end of the season. Here, in classic Palmer fashion, he responds to each question with a four- to seven-paragraph reply.

Baltimore Orioles: Thoughts On FanFest, Austin Hays, And More - Birds Watcher
Nick Stevens is bummed about the Orioles’ rumored cancellation of FanFest, which had always been a fun event for his family. I’ve been hearing a lot of those sentiments from O’s fans, which makes me wonder if the club might reverse course and hold the event after all.

Orioles birthdays

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with popular recent former Oriole Darren O’Day, who turns 37. I must say, after O’Day suffered his season-ending injury in June last year (and subsequently had his salary dumped off on the Braves), and then languished on the IL into September this season, I thought his career was over. But kudos to him; O’Day worked his way back to make eight regular-season appearances for the Braves, then pitched in four of their five playoff games. It remains to be seen if he’ll pitch anywhere in 2020, but he certainly finished this year on an up note.

Other ex-Orioles celebrating birthdays today are righty reliever Hector Carrasco (50) and a trio of catchers: Jamie Quirk (65), Keith Osik (51), and Eli Whiteside (40).