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Good morning, Camden Chatters.
After their off day yesterday, the Orioles’ AL East road trip continues tonight with a three-game set against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
It was just about a month ago that the cellar-dwelling O’s won two out of three games against the Red Sox at Camden Yards, sending Boston fans and media into a frenzied panic — or perhaps a panicked frenzy — about how the Sox were a joke and an embarrassment who should tear up their team at the trade deadline.
The Sox didn’t sell. But perhaps they should have. Starting with that Orioles series, they’re 11-15 in their last 26 games, and they enter tonight’s contest barely hanging on the fringes of the postseason race. The Sox are 7.5 games behind the Rays for the second wild card spot, and it’s looking increasingly likely that they won’t even get to play any October baseball, let alone make a return engagement to the World Series.
A single tear streams down my face. Poor, poor Red Sox.
In any case, the Orioles can continue to push the Sox further away from relevance if they’re able to win a game or two in this weekend’s series. If it happens, I look forward to hearing the sports commentary out of Boston.
Links
Another door opens: How the biggest draft bust in Orioles history reinvented himself as a door installer – The Athletic
Most Orioles fans who hear the name Matt Hobgood think “bust” and move on. But Dan Connolly takes a deep dive into what went wrong with Hobgood’s career and what he’s up to now. Hint: if you live in Surprise, Ariz., and you need a new door, you might just run into him.
Brocail on pitching inside and fixing Means - School of Roch
You gotta appreciate Doug Brocail’s bluntness. “It absolutely blows my mind that you want to go out and you want to pitch to one side of the plate and continue to get hit like we get hit, but you’re not doing anything about it.” Yeah, even the pitching coach knows these pitchers are bad.
Is rebuilding bad for baseball? - Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski gives a perfect response to Jon Heyman’s recent tweet complaining about the Orioles’ rebuilding process. It’s basically a more polite version of, “Stuff a sock in it, Heyman.”
After throwing no-hitter, Michael Baumann isn’t slowing down in Bowie - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Michael Baumann is one of my favorite O’s minor leaguers, and not just because he shares my birthday. OK, a lot of it is that. But also he’s pretty good! Justin Fitzgerald discusses what’s been clicking for Baumann.
What If Gleyber Torres Played Only the Baltimore Orioles? - The Ringer
You might have heard the jokes. If Gleyber Torres got to play every game against the Orioles, he’d be the best player in baseball history! Well...as a matter of fact, he would, and The Ringer has the math to prove it.
MASN’s Gary Thorne On Calling Gleyber Torres’ Home Run Binge Against Orioles - PressBoxOnline.com
Speaking of Torres, Gary Thorne’s exasperated calls of his home runs have become an internet craze. Here, Thorne talks about trying to stay professional throughout the Orioles' many savage beatings from the Yankees.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your only living O’s birthday buddy is 1995 second baseman Bret Barberie (52). It’s also the birthday of two late Orioles named Gene: outfielder Gene Woodling (b. 1922, d. 2001), an O’s All-Star in 1959, and righty Gene Brabender (b. 1941, d. 1996), a reliever on the 1966 Orioles world championship team.
On this day in 1998, Eric Davis’ 0-for-3 game in Cleveland snapped his 30-game hitting streak, which was (and still is) the longest in Orioles history. Davis batted a cool .400 with an 1.137 OPS during the streak, and overall that season he hit .327/.388/.582 with an OPS+ of 151. Man, I’d forgotten how good Davis was for a bad Orioles team.