Thursday Bird Droppings: There’s a messy GM search in MLB and we’re glad it’s not the Orioles

Hello, friends.

It was a decade ago now where the Orioles were searching for a new general manager and it seemed like every person within the game recognized as a future GM was running away screaming from the job. The team had guys turning down their offers, guys taking their names out before even getting interviewed. The result was Dan Duquette coming in from the baseball wilderness. That worked out, for a little while.

I’m thinking about Duquette and that whole saga because it seems like something similar is playing out with the Mets presently. New owners have not solved their inherent Metsiness, and the result is that even as they search for a president of baseball operations, the existing pool of talented GMs who might want a promotion just... don’t want it.

Yesterday, there was news that the Mets were rejected by the current GMs of both the Brewers and Cardinals. Are the Mets going to end up with Duquette too? He’s only been out of baseball for three years this time! That’s way shorter than before he ended up with the Orioles.

As for the Orioles, I’m glad we didn’t get that drama when it came to the search for Duquette’s replacement that ultimately brought Mike Elias to Baltimore. It sure seems like the oft-mentioned dysfunction from the Duquette/Showalter days went out the door with both of those guys. The team has not been successful lately while the rebuild gains steam in the minors, but it’s not a result of front office acrimony.

In the meantime we can dream about better days to come. Some day maybe the Orioles will play a World Series game in my lifetime. 21 franchises, more than two-thirds of the league, have made the Series since the year 2000, and half the league’s teams have won the title since 2000. It could be more than half if Atlanta wins this year. We all know the O’s aren’t in either group.

While Tuesday’s Game 1 of this year’s Series was taking four hours and six minutes to play out, I remarked to my fiancee that I don’t know if I would even enjoy the Orioles being in the WS with games like that. I would get over it, I’m sure, if the scenario ever presented itself, but gosh, the idea of leaving Camden Yards after midnight, having spent more than $100 apiece just to get in, and the O’s lost the game?

The glow of the fulfillment of a lifelong hope would wear off in a hurry. I figure I’m not in too much danger of having to face this prospect next year either. And at least Wednesday’s game was only three hours and eleven minutes. That sounds much more reasonable.

It’s an off day for the 2021 edition of the championship. Houston pulled back level with Atlanta on Wednesday night, guaranteeing the series will be going at least five games. The next three will be played in Georgia on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

What are your plans for the baseball-less off night? In this household, we’re looking forward to the season finale of What We Do In The Shadows.

Around the blogO’sphere

Who starts at third base while Orioles wait for Mayo? (School of Roch)
In the Olympics, jumping the gun gets you disqualified. In the baseball blogging world in late October, it gets you one post.

Astros World Series roster still features Oriole GM Mike Elias’ fingerprints (The Baltimore Sun)
This headline is the short version of why I hope the Astros win this World Series. If their plan was a good plan, maybe that means good things in Birdland.

Cedric Mullins has set the bar high for 2022 (Baltimore Baseball)
Mullins finished the season with 5.7 bWAR. Pretty good! My question for you is: Will Mullins exceed 3.5 bWAR in 2022?

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are several former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018 infielder/Caleb brother Corban Joseph, 2012-13 outfielder Nate McLouth, 1998-99 rotation member Juan Guzman, 1989-91 catcher Bob Melvin, and 1978-86 pitcher Sammy Stewart.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary soldier John Laurens (1754), author Evelyn Waugh (1903), polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk (1914), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (1955), and actor Matt Smith (1981).

On this day in history...

In 1492, Christopher Columbus’s expedition landed on what is today Cuba. At the time, he believed he had landed on one of the Japanese islands.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated. President Grover Cleveland delivered remarks, proclaiming that its “stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man’s oppression until Liberty enlightens the world.”

In 1919, Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the Volstead act, which led to the era of Prohibition beginning the next January.

In 1962, Nikita Khruschev, the Soviet premier, ordered the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. This effectively ended the tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis, though the missiles weren’t fully removed until November 20.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 28. Have a safe Thursday.