Wednesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are back to their losing ways.

Good morning, Birdland!

You know what makes a three-game losing streak better? When John Means is the scheduled starter. Tonight’s outing will likely be the lefty’s final trip to the mound ahead of next week’s all-star game.

As an Orioles fan, it’s weird for me to have a starting pitcher that I legitimately think will shutdown an opposing lineup. In recent memory, we have had Chris Tillman, who was as steady as they come for a few years. We also had Kevin Gausman, who brought electric stuff to the mound but always seemed to fall a but short. Means is a different beast. His stuff seems only so-so, but he commands it well and keeps opposing offenses off-balance throughout his games.

The only thing Means is missing is the ability to go deeper into games. It’s possible that he never gets to that point. Instead, he could be Wei-Yin Chen part II. Honestly, I would be fine with that. Chen was a valuable piece of some very good Orioles teams.

Links & Notes

The 2019 Orioles Might Be the ’27 Yankees of Awful - The Ringer
Eh, they are bad. Like, really, really bad. but worst ever? Nah, probably not. The pitching has nowhere to go but up (hopefully). If they can even kinda/sorta get that piece figured out, they will win at least a few more games and could still end up better than they were just a year ago.

July 2 international signing class represents ‘big day’ for franchise - The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles are signing more international free agents, but throw some cold water on those expectations. None of the guys they have added are in the top tier of their class, so these signings may not result in big-time players. That said, Jonathan Schoop wasn’t a big name as an amateur, and then he became an all-star.

Orioles option Eshelman to minors 1 day after debut - ESPN
In case you missed it, the O’s did send Tom Eshelman back to Norfolk in order to recall Asher Wojciechowski. But Eshelman will almost certainly make another start for the black and orange this season. He was solid in his debut, which is more than you can say about several of the other starting options in the organization.

Santander’s catch, Wojciechowski’s start and Davis’ home run - School of Roch
Roch has the reaction from the coaches and players to yet another Orioles loss.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Tommy Hunter, the beer-loving reliever that pitched in 224 games for the Orioles between 2011-2016 turns 33 today. Jeff Rineer, a left-handed pitcher with a one game (1979) MLB career is 64. And the late Al Pilarcik (b. 1930, d. 2010), an outfielder for the O’s from 1957 through 1960, was also born on this day.

1963 - The Orioles split a doubleheader with the Twins. Throughout the day, Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles ties an AL record with five errors.

1976 - The O’s are shutout by Mark Fidrych, the Tigers rookie pitcher had become a household name due to his goofy antics on the field.