Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles won’t have a dugout fight today

Hello, friends.

The 2019 Orioles season sure feels like it has found a new low point. As you’ve almost certainly heard by now, there was a little dugout altercation caught on MASN cameras between Chris Davis and manager Brandon Hyde during last night’s blowout loss at the hands of the Yankees.

Whatever happened seemed to be very minor, really just yelling, and very quick, but it’s now going to be the dominant story around the team for the next little while. Even the dark years didn’t feature players snapping at managers on camera.

If it makes you feel any better, on the post-game show following the game, Rick Dempsey’s “back in the day” take was that that kind of stuff happens even on winning teams and it just didn’t get caught on cameras when there were fewer cameras. He would know better than me. All I know is that it stinks to have something like this happen.

Davis was promptly removed from the game after the incident, which Hyde confirmed to reporters after the game was a result of what happened. Hyde’s main comment on the whole thing during the MASN post-game presser was, “We’re going to keep it in house.” Hyde would not say what started it or what was said when it happened.

Davis was gone before the reporters were in the clubhouse, so his perspective on what happened remains a mystery.

The O’s Xtra post-game show highlighted a couple of plays that may have drawn Hyde’s fire to Davis. There was a foul pop-up in the third inning that Davis gave up on even though it ultimately landed in a place where he might have been able to catch it. In the top of the fifth, Davis couldn’t pick a slightly errant throw by Jonathan Villar; the error was charged to Villar, but perhaps Davis should have had the ball.

What’s certain is that there won’t be any more fighting today because the Orioles have the day off. It seems like an ideal time for a day off. If there is any bad blood, there’s time for it to dissipate. We’ll see if there’s anything that lingers from this. Hyde didn’t sound like a guy who’s about to hold grudges over whatever was said.

Still, there was a yelling match between the manager and a player in the dugout and that is no fun for any fan trying to find something to cling to and appreciate in the middle of this crummy season. Between this and the on-field results of the three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, any good feelings from the .500 July have been completely blown away.

As for the game itself, here’s Stacey Folkemer’s recap about all the things that stunk in a 14-2 loss. One of those things is that they gave up five more home runs. Really.

Mike Mussina was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame 201 days ago. The Orioles have not yet announced any plans to retire his jersey number or erect his statue at Camden Yards.

Around the blogO’sphere

Orioles and Red Sox to play in 2020 Little League Classic (NBC Sports)
The 2020 Orioles got picked to be a part of a unique game! How odd. The O’s will be the home team in Williamsport on Sunday, August 23, 2020 - the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.

Updating Stewart’s concussion (School of Roch)
DJ Stewart suffered a concussion in his first game back with the Orioles and is already back on the injured list. It’s a bummer. Hopefully he is better soon, especially if his absence means more Hanser Alberto in left field.

Keegan Akin dominated at Double-A. He’s been forced to remake himself at the next level (Baltimore Sun)
I had hoped we might even see Akin in Baltimore by now, but with him walking 48 batters in 91 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, I can see why we haven’t.

Trey Mancini explains ‘Boomer’ nickname (Orioles.com)
Mancini’s special Players Weekend jersey has “Boomer” on the back. Here is his story.

Orioles release Nate Karns, outright Jose Rondon (MLBTR)
The transaction wire has Orioles activity almost every day this season. Oh, and they optioned David Hess back to Norfolk after last night’s loss. Hess is only one home run behind MLB leader Justin Verlander, except Hess has thrown 82.2 fewer innings.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. The only one still living is 2004/06 reliever Eddy Rodriguez. Also born today: 1962 second baseman Johnny Temple, and 1954 reliever Marlin Stuart.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: early Maryland proprietor Cecil Calvert, the second Baron Baltimore (1605), Maryland-born Arctic explorer Matthew Henson (1866), actor Dustin Hoffman (1937), PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi (1950), U2 rocker The Edge (1961), and performing artist Shawn Mendes (1998).

On this day in history...

In 1503, James IV of Scotland married Margaret Tudor, daughter of the reigning English king, Henry VII. One result of this marriage is that 100 years later, James’s great-grandson James VI became king of England (James I) and unified the two thrones following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, who had no heirs.

In 1588, the Spanish Armada and the English Navy waged the Battle of Gravelines. The English victory ended Spanish plans to escort an army across the Channel to invade England. Only 67 of the 130 ships of the Armada made it back to port near Santander, Spain.

In 1918, during World War I, the Allied forces launched a campaign with the Battle of Amiens, the start of a series of victories known as the Hundred Days Offensive which brought the war to its end.

In 1969, the members of The Beatles were photographed while crossing a road - later the cover photo of their album Abbey Road.

In 1974, President Nixon gave a nationwide televised address to announce that he would be resigning the presidency effective at noon the following day.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 8 - or at least, unless something happens later on the off day, which it probably won’t, although you never know. Have a safe Thursday.