Sunday Bird Droppings: Where the end is here

Happy Sunday, Camden Chatters! It’s the last day of the regular season. We made it! Orioles fans have a lot of experience with the sweet feeling of relief when a season finally comes to an end, but if you’re like me, you’ll be missing the Birds by January. There is postseason baseball to fill the void for a little while, but once that’s over there is nothing like baseball to be there for you every single day.

Rookie sensation John Means finished off his season yesterday. It started off rough, but he finished strong. Means was such a wonderful surprise in a year that we didn’t expect much from. You can read about his performance in yesterday’s win in Paul Folkemer’s game story. There were also dingers! A win today and the Orioles can finish their season with a sweep. I would like that very much.

Links

Driven by data, O's farm arms make huge strides - Orioles.com
I enjoyed following the minors this season. Joe Trezza has a nice story on the new organizational philosophy for player development and Chris Holt, the minor league pitching coordinator.

Checking a few lists as the season finale arrives - Steve Melewski
Villar stole his 40th base yesterday and Trey Mancini hit his 35th home run. These two guys are part of what made this season (sometimes) watchable.

Mark Trumbo: The exit interview - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Today might be the last day that Mark Trumbo is a major leaguer. Things have been up and down with him since he joined the Orioles in 2016. His contract extension was ill-advised, but like the Chris Davis contract, that's not his problem. That's the Orioles' problem. I will try to remember him for his 2016 season, where he hit 47 dingers and put on such a good show at the HR derby.

Just how bad was the Orioles pitching this season? Doug Brocail assesses the damage – The Athletic
Some insight from Doug Brocail on the terrible, awful season of Baltimore Orioles pitching. One thing I learned about Brocail this year is that he likes to yell at umpires from the dugout.

'Why Not?' Remembering the 1989 Orioles' remarkable turnaround 30 years later | fredericknewspost.com
The last day of the season doesn't seem to me like the best timing on a 1989 remembrance, but it's still a fun story.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including current Oriole Branden Kline. Kline, who made his major league debut this season, turns 28 years old today.

It’s also the birthday of former Orioles Calvin Pickering, Craig Lefferts, and Mike McCormick. Pickering appeared in parts of five major league seasons in his career, including 1998-99 with the Orioles. That’s really not bad for a 35th round pick! Today is Pickering’s 43rd birthday.

Craig Lefferts pitched in the majors from 1983-94, including five games with the Orioles at the end of 1992. Today is his 62nd birthday. Mike McCormick pitched for the Orioles from 1963-64 and is celebrating birthday umber 81.

On this day in 1953, the American League announced that the St. Louis Browns had been sold to a group headed up by Baltimore mayor Tom D’Alesandro and that team would be moving to Baltimore for the 1954 season.