Friday Bird Droppings: Where the season is two-thirds complete

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

The Orioles’ 2019 season is two-thirds of the way over already. Does anyone else feel like it was just getting started?

...No? Just me? All right then.

The Birds reached the 108-game mark last night with a game perfectly symbolic of their season so far, a complete blowout in which their pitching staff got torched for a bunch of home runs. Stacey recapped the latest bloodbath.

Fittingly, at the two-thirds mark, the Orioles have lost exactly two-thirds of their games. They’re now 36-72, the second-worst record in baseball, and are tied in the loss column with the 32-72 Tigers. The Birds are on pace to finish 54-108, which would be the second-worst mark in O’s history.

Still, at least to this point, they’re better than the travesty that was last year’s Orioles. That 2018 club reached the two-thirds point with a 33-75 record en route to a 47-115 finish.

So...they’re trending in the right direction, at least?

Links

Elias says he’s not disappointed he didn’t make a deal - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Mike Elias says, “I think there were some moments where it looked like something might happen.” What a truly exciting trade deadline this was!

Trey Mancini and Jonathan Villar on remaining Orioles - Steve Melewski
Mancini and Villar both say they’re happy to still be on the Orioles after the deadline. I believe them, but also I feel like they probably wouldn’t have hated the chance to go to a contender and play meaningful baseball down the stretch.

More on trade deadline, Rondón’s addition and Trumbo’s plans - School of Roch
Were you lying awake at night, worried that the Orioles didn’t have enough utility players on their roster? Relax! Jose Rondon is here to join the stable. And if you were also worried that Mark Trumbo wasn’t going to give a comeback one more try, this article will ease those fears as well.

After quiet trade deadline, it’s time for Orioles to consider keeping Trey Mancini long-term - Baltimore Sun
Is it, though? Mancini is under team control for three more years after this one, and he’s not a Manny Machado-type of player who will become exorbitantly expensive if you don’t lock him up before free agency. The O’s can afford to wait a while longer before considering Mancini’s future with the club.

Dorktown: The night that destroyed the 2007 Baltimore Orioles forever - SBNation.com
I wasn't particularly eager to relive the infamous 30-3 debacle, but Jon Bois and his patented use of clever graphics make it kind of delightful.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with Parker Bridwell (28), whom the O’s sold to the Angels in 2017, where he promptly went 10-3 with a 3.64 ERA and had O’s fans reliving Jake Arrieta nightmares. Bridwell, though, has appeared in only five big league games since then and is currently back in the Angels’ minor league system after getting waived by two other organizations. It’s also the 40th birthday of Matt Riley, the former hotshot prospect whose license plate read “24 KT ARM” and who made it to the majors by age 19. His career may have lasted only 26 games, but that’s 26 more games than you or I will ever get.

On this day in 1964, Brooks Robinson was robbed of a home run in Kansas City by third base umpire Jon Rice, who mistakenly called his fly ball in play even though it bounced off the foul pole. Robinson was thrown out trying to get to third base. If not for that, Brooks could’ve had 269 career home runs instead of a meager 268! This is why replay is a thing now.

With the Orioles having given up five home runs last night — their 14th game this year of five or more homers allowed — now is a good time to check in on the club’s pursuit of the single-season MLB and franchise records for gopher balls. They’re currently on track to obliterate both marks.

The all-time record holders, the 2016 Reds, gave up only one homer in their 108th game, but it was an untimely one: a walkoff blast by the Pirates’ Sean Rodriguez. The franchise record holders, the 2017 Orioles, gave up two roundtrippers in game 108 — both off Chris Tillman — in a loss to the Tigers at Camden Yards.