Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles have tied the home run record

Hello, friends.

The Orioles have made it one more day without setting a brand new record for home runs allowed in a season. In the process of thrashing the Royals last night by an 8-1 score, they did allow their 258th home run of the season to tie the mark set by the 2016 Cincinnati Reds, so they’re still on the verge of history, perhaps to be made as soon as tonight against the Rays.

After the tough Yankees-Astros-Yankees-Red Sox stretch was over, it’s nice that the Orioles could immediately pick up a series win against one of the few teams that could be close to as bad as they are. A team’s offense has some major problems if they score two runs in two games against this pitching staff. Check out Andrea’s recap of the Wednesday win for some lovely totals.

The respite of playing another crummy team doesn’t last for long. Four games against the Rays are followed by two more against the Nationals. If the O’s get hot again, or at least return to July form, they could do a little dashing of some wild card chances in the next week. Let’s not kid ourselves, though.

With the Tigers picking up a surprising win against Houston on Wednesday, the Orioles keep pace with them in the chase for the #1 pick next year. The teams are tied in the loss column with 86 apiece, though there are 1.5 games separating them in the standings because the Orioles have played, and won, three more games. Four games separate the O’s and Royals, who currently hold the #3 pick.

The O’s winning the series against the Royals puts the team on pace to win 52 games overall on the season. That’s five games better than what last year’s jabronis managed, though of course it still stinks a whole lot. In their 127th game last year, the O’s lost to the Jays, 6-0, to fall to 37-90. It was the fourth loss in what was ultimately an eight-game losing streak.

There have been 215 days since Mike Mussina was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Orioles have not yet announced any plans to retire his jersey number or erect his statue at Camden Yards.

Around the blogO’sphere

Harvey has O’s excited, but cautious about use (Orioles.com)
Manager Brandon Hyde was peppered with questions about Hunter Harvey before Wednesday’s game, including about whether he’ll be staying in the bullpen.

Hunter Harvey on bullpen role: “I hope I stay there” (Steve Melewski)
Though Hyde was noncommittal about whether Harvey might get back into the rotation, it is interesting that Harvey himself has the pen as his preference.

Hyde, Royals bench coach Dale Sveum commiserate over managing in a rebuild (Baltimore Sun)
Hyde and Sveum were both in the Cubs organization during some of the brutal years for that team. Sveum, as the Cubs 2012-13 manager, surely knows what Hyde is going through now.

Adley Rutschman keeps winning on and off the field (NBC Sports)
Long ago on Camden Chat, we had a saying that we didn’t care if a player ate kitten tacos as long as they played well. But it’s even nicer when they play well and seem like nice people too.

Wojciechowski aiming for spot in the 2020 Orioles rotation (Baltimore Baseball)
If Wojciechowski finishes the season with a decent stretch, I wouldn’t be opposed to penciling him in until the current Norfolk prospects like Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer, and Bruce Zimmermann are forcing their way up. Hopefully they force their way up.

O’s D-III draftee Toby Welk, Juco hitting coach Tom Eller showing ‘opportunities are in unusual places’ (Baltimore Sun)
This is one of those articles that makes me so very glad that Dan Duquette is gone and Mike Elias is in his place. Says Aberdeen hitting coach Eller, “You can’t go to battle with science.” Indeed!

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1966, at a team party, Andy Etchebarren jumped into a swimming pool to save Frank Robinson from drowning.

In 2007, the Orioles played a doubleheader against the Rangers, one game of which went very, very badly.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2012 five-gamer Randy Wolf, 2005 reliever Steve Kline, and the late Angelo Dagres, who played in eight games for the 1955 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: composer Claude Debussy (1862), author Ray Bradbury (1920), go-go godfather Chuck Brown (1936), baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (1939), The Sopranos creator David Chase (1945), baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor (1956), musician Tori Amos (1963), TV chef Giada De Laurentiis (1970), actress Kristen Wiig (1973), and comedian James Corden (1978).

On this day in history...

In 1485, Richard III was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, marking the end of the Wars of the Roses and the Plantagenet dynasty. Richard is the last English monarch to die on a battlefield.

In 1642, the English Civil War began as a later king, Charles I, raised his standard to assemble an army. He eventually lost and his victorious opponents put him on trial and then cut off his head.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt made a public appearance in an automobile, making him the first US president to do so.

In 1978, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment passed Congress. The amendment, which would have given full voting representation to DC for Congress, in the Electoral College, and for amending the Constitution, was only ratified by 16 of the 38 necessary states. Maryland was one of the 16 states to ratify.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 22 - or at least, until the Orioles play the Rays later tonight. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!