Monday Bird Droppings: It’s Michael Bourn’s birthday, and nothing is happening

Good morning, Birdland!

I hope you had a relaxing holiday weekend, and that those of you fortunate enough to get this entire week off from work or school enjoy every moment of it. There won’t be any baseball news, but perhaps that’s a good thing. You can’t get mad at the Orioles if they literally aren’t allowed to make moves, and it’s not like the holidays need any additional stressors as it is. So have some leftover ham, put on those new slippers you got, and watch some random college football.

Things had been quiet in baseball for a while leading up to this point, but they are completely silent right now. The two sides having seemingly agreed to stay away for this week and re-engage in January. That’s not entirely acceptable to me.

People’s livelihoods hang in the balance. Not just the players, but team employees, stadium employees, and others that rely on the sport for their jobs to function. Of course this comes from a biased perspective! I write for a blog about the Orioles. There has been nothing to blog about for a month. Let’s get a move on!

I assume that my desire for “content” won’t sway many decision makers. But whining has worked for me in the past, so I intend to continue for the foreseeable future.

Links

Taking a quizzical look at the Orioles | School of Roch
Many of these questions are legitimately tough to answer. Some of that is the oddity that is baseball, but much more of it is that the Orioles roster is in constant flux and close to no one currently on the team is guaranteed to be on it tomorrow.

1 fun highlight for each new HOF candidate | MLB.com
There are no former Orioles that are newly up for induction. But old highlights are all we have!

Top item of every MLB team’s holiday wish list | CBS Sports
This is a tad dated, but it’s interesting to see someone say something other than “everything” for the Orioles. Ryan Mountcastle’s progress gets mentioned here.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Michael Bourn turns 39. The Orioles added him at the tail end of the 2016 campaign. He had an effective 24-game cameo, posting a 112 OPS+
• The late Connie Johnson (d. 2004) was born in this day in 1922. The 6-foot-4 righty was an important part of the Orioles rotation from 1956 through ‘58.

This weekend in O’s history

This date hasn’t been too busy in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So here are events from elsewhere in the world.

1703 - England and Portugal sign the Methuen Treaty, giving preference on Portuguese wins entering England.

1831 - Charles Darwin begins his voyage on the HMS Beagle, upon which he would develop his theory of evolution.

1845 - Ether is used as an anesthetic during childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia.

1932 – Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City.