Saturday Bird Droppings: A day without baseball

Good morning, Birdland!

Well, at least one of the ALDS match-ups met our expectations. The Rays beat the Yankees 2-1 in dramatic fashion on Friday night to clinch a spot in the ALCS. It was Mike Brosseau that issued the death blow to the Bronx Bombers, lacing a 100.2 mph Aroldis Chapman fastball into the left-field stands for a Tampa victory.

Although there wasn’t a whole lot of offense in that Game 5, there was plenty of otherworldly pitching and a few nice defensive snags. It was what decisive playoff baseball should be.

Now, since both of the NLDS were sweeps we are left with no baseball to watch today. Instead, we have to wait until Sunday at 7:37 p.m. for more postseason perfection. What are we supposed to do with our time? Go grocery shopping? Yard work? Spend time with loved ones? Get real!

Links

Showing the way: 2020 rookies provide hope for those on farm - Steve Melewski
I was just talking to a friend about how cool it was that the Orioles had a bunch of legitimately interesting rookies debut in 2020. And yet, we still haven’t seen Yusniel Diaz. Yes, his star has dimmed since the O’s added him in the Manny Machado trade, but there still has to be something intriguing about his game.

A little more on Mullins - School of Roch
Who will be the Orioles center fielder on Opening Day 2021? Cedric Mullins seems like the favorite. He was more consistent than Austin Hays this past year. This is a good problem to have; two players that are capable of playing major league quality defense in center is a luxury that not all teams have at their disposal.

Orioles’ DJ Stewart and Chance Sisco had unique offensive seasons. What does it say about their future? - Baltimore Sun
These two ended the season with intriguing stat lines, but they were buoyed by a single hot streak in an extremely short season. I’m sure that buys them much more wiggle room than they had prior to 2020.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday this weekend? Happy birthday!

Only one former Orioles player was born on this day. The late Gordie Sundin (b. 1937, d. 2016) appeared in just one game for the 1956 O’s as an 18-year-old pitcher. The poor guy failed to record an out but did allow a run on two walks. As a result, he was saddled with a career ERA of infinity.

This day in history

1996 - The Orioles even up the ALCS at a game apiece, beating the Yankees 5-3. Rafael Palmeiro homers in the win.

2012 - Raul Ibanez breaks the hearts of Orioles fans in Game 3 of the ALDS. First, he pinch hits for Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning and hits a game-tying home run off of O’s closer Jim Johnson. Then, in the 12th inning, he homers again, this time off of Brian Matusz, to give the Yankees the win and a 2-1 lead in the series.