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Happy Thursday, Camden Chatters! As you may have noticed, things aren’t going so well for the Orioles at the moment. They were just swept by the Blue Jays, the team directly below them in the standings. They are now just 0.5 game ahead of the Jays in the standings. They have fallen back to .500 but still hold a playoff spot for now, the 8th and final seed. By tomorrow that could be gone as well.
If you missed yesterday’s day game and want to get all the details, be sure to check out Mark Brown’s game recap.
Tonight the Orioles start a four-game series against the last place Boston Red Sox. If they can’t win at least three of those against the truly pathetic Red Sox, then they probably are as bad as we thought going into this season.
Links
Orioles can't get Grichuk or avoid sweep - School of Roch
If you're hankering for player and manager quotes after yesterday's loss, Roch has you covered. One big quote is about who is providing leadership in this young clubhouse.
Retro Baltimore: Joe Hauser, a minor league Orioles slugger, was a big league talent - Baltimore Sun
Do you like stories about old timey Orioles? Like, so old timey that it's from when they were a minor league team? This is for you.
Baltimore Orioles Anthony Santander on Way to Batting Title - Birds Watcher
This was written before yesterday's game, in which Santander went 1-for-3 with two walks (but no RBI). I don't really care about RBI much, but it would still be cool if Santander racked up the most in the league this year. His 14-game hit streak is also pretty good.
Gary Thorne agrees to 2020 deal with MASN, ending contract dispute with Orioles – The Athletic
It turns out that Gary Thorne and MASN have been in a contract dispute this whole time. I really just thought he was out due to the COVID things. But he's back, baby! Still no word on exactly how he'll be used, probably similar to how we've seen Jim Palmer on Zoom.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies:
- George Zuverink (b. 1924, d. 2014) spent five seasons with the Orioles from 1955-59 as a relief pitcher. He pitched in 197 games in those years, leading the league in appearances in 1956 (62) and 1957 (56).
- Gene Kingsale (44), appeared in 71 games as an outfielder from 1996-2001. I remember Kingsale as a lanky outfielder who couldn’t really hit. I also remember him being named Eugene, but maybe I was wrong about that.
On this day in baseball history, via NationalPastime.com:
- In 1948, 78,382 people watch Satchel Paige become the fourth consecutive member of the Cleveland Indians to pitch a shutout. That is the largest crowd to attend a night game.
- In 1953, the St. Louis Browns defeated the minor-league Baltimore Orioles 8-2 in an exhibition game in Baltimore. Afterwards, Browns owner Bill Veeck is given permission to move his team to Baltimore.
- In 1998, Mark McGwire becomes the first player to hit 50 home runs in three straight seasons.
- In 2008, umpires sign an agreement to begin using instant replay.