Sunday’s Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are in the win column?

Good morning, Birdland!

Seeing the Orioles win a baseball game feels like a natural phenomenon. It’s right up there with a solar eclipse or a shooting star. They happen, but the conditions have to be just perfect and you need to be in the right place at the right time. On Saturday night, all was right with the baseball world, and the O’s were victorious.

It was like the good old days. The O’s were hitting home runs, playing really good defense and pitching just well enough to win. Not to mention, those 1969-inspired duds they were wearing looked nice. The differences are slight, but the “Baltimore” script is a tad fancier than their current style. I dig it.

Despite their horrific play as of late, the Orioles have a chance to win the series today. That would be the perfect way to cap what was a 10-game losing streak.

Links

Orioles select Matt Wotherspoon - MLB Trade Rumors
The revolving door of Baltimore relef pitchers keeps turning. The team desperately needs to find more arms that can get outs with regularity. Beyond Paul Fry and Shawn Armstrong, it’s been ugly.

Hyde and Cossins catch up on friendship - School of Roch
Roch gives you a glimpse into how the two Orioles coaches first met in their twenties. But you have to buy the Orioles magazine to get the whole thing!

The losing streak ends at 10 as O’s beat Seattle 8-4 - Steve Melewski
Here is the obligatory MASN piece loaded with quotes following a game. For the first time in a long time, it’s filled with positive words because the team actually won. Huzzah!

For Norfolk’s Gary Kendall, his first season in Triple-A is a major deal - Baltimore Baseball
This is my favorite story of the day. I’ve always found the minor league game to be fascinating, and Tides manager Gary Kendall sheds some light on it here. Basically, it’s a hectic life with players coming and going between Triple-A and the bigs on a daily basis. But it also comes with some notable perks compared to the lower minor league levels.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

The only former Oriole getting a birthday shoutout today is Mark Hendrickson. The 6-foot-9 southpaw played in both the NBA and MLB. He finished up his big league career with a three-year stint in Baltimore, tossing 191.2 innings across 113 games.

1957 - The Orioles begin a streak of four consecutive shutouts by their pitching staff. The first one comes when Skinny Brown blanks the Detroit Tigers 6-0.

1973 - O’s pitcher Jesse Jefferson twirls a gem in his major league debut. But he loses his shutout with two out in the ninth inning on a home run by Red Sox shortstop Rico Petrocelli. The Birds would win any way on a run in the 10th inning, giving Jefferson the win.