Hello, friends.
There are now four months and three days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game, which is Opening Day 2022. If pitchers and catchers reporting to Sarasota interests you, that’s more like two and a half months away.
For today, hopefully you won’t spend much time fretting about the coming Orioles season, or whether it ends up being delayed in some way by the expected lockout around this time next week. It’s Thanksgiving! Time to tally up the things we’re thankful for with our favorite baseball team, as few as they may be.
The Orioles going 52-110 this season is not something that fuels a lot of good things to be happy about with the team. Still, even within another lost season there were delights, and I’m quite glad I got to experience those things being part of my lifetime of Orioles fan experience.
John Means throwing the franchise’s first solo no-hitter since 1969 was something beyond even my wildest dreams. Cedric Mullins coming almost out of nowhere to post the first 30 home run/30 stolen base season in Orioles history was amazing. Trey Mancini’s successful return from missing all of last season due to his cancer treatments was fantastic. I’m thankful for all of that. Is there anything else you’re thankful for from the 2021 Orioles or their farm system?
As for the rest of the team, well, I guess I’m thankful for another #1 overall pick being added to the system in the 2022 draft. If the Orioles are going to get good and then stay good, they’re going to need to have another wave of prospects ready behind the first successful group. That was the part that Dan Duquette couldn’t quite manage.
However you’re spending today, I hope that you have a nice, safe time.
Around the blogO’sphere
Hays details core injury suffered in May (School of Roch)
“This guy was secretly injured, played through it for months, and we’re just finding out about it now,” is my favorite genre of offseason story. Perhaps a healthy Austin Hays can have a more consistent 2022. I feel like I’ve said this about previous years before now.
Orioles claim left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez on waivers (Baltimore Baseball)
Mike Elias and company snuck in one last 40-man roster move before Thanksgiving, claiming a former Astros prospect who’s got a 6.04 career ERA across parts of four MLB seasons. So... he’ll fit right in.
Orioles should be talking with teams about John Means, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be dealt (The Athletic)
On Tuesday, there was a rumor that the Orioles are “dangling” John Means. I told people not to freak out. Dan Connolly also doesn’t think you should freak out.
Chris Holt with insights on two new 40-man pitchers (Steve Melewski)
Pitching coach Holt weighs in on Felix Bautista and Logan Gillaspie, two relievers who were surprisingly (to me) included among the pre-Rule 5 draft 40-man roster additions last week.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a couple of recent former Orioles who have birthdays today. They are: 2014-15 hitter Jimmy Paredes, and 2019 four-game pitcher Nate Karns.
Is today your birthday? In addition to a happy Thanksgiving, happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Maryland namesake Henrietta Maria of France (1609), steel magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835), baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio (1914), author/illustrator Marc Brown, no known relation (1946), and football Hall of Famer Cris Carter (1965).
On this day in history...
In 1491, the siege of Granada came to an end with the signing of a treaty that called for a peaceful surrender of the territory by the Moorish rulers. This was the last major territory controlled by the Moors in modern day Spain, effectively ending the centuries-long Reconquista.
In 1758, during the French and Indian War, a 6,000 strong British force, including future American general and president George Washington, captured the French Fort Duquesne near what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 1863, during the Civil War, future American president Ulysses S. Grant won a victory over the traitors in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, allowing the Union army to break the siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In 1952, the Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap held its first performance at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The show was still running until 2020, when interrupted by the pandemic. The play reopened on May 17 of this year after a 14 month hiatus.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 25. Have a safe Thanksgiving.