Saturday Bird Droppings: Orioles announce spring training radio schedule

Good morning, Birdland!

This is the final Saturday (barring rain delays) without Orioles baseball until October. Get excited!

While we have known the O’s spring training schedule for a while now, the Orioles finally announced their radio schedule for the pre-season on Friday. It includes a total of 12 games with the first being this Tuesday at 1:05 p.m.

Fans are allowed to attend games at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, but only up to 25% capacity and while adhering to social distancing, mask-wearing, and other COVID protocols.

There remains no word on whether any spring games will be shown on MASN this year. As has been widely discussed throughout the offseason, MASN is undergoing a restructuring of sorts, so this is not too surprising.

However, this has become an annual practice for the Orioles. They are always late to make decisions on whether or not they put games on TV. But it is safe to assume that even if the team does end up broadcasting games on MASN it will be just a handful and maybe fewer.

But let’s stay positive! There is Orioles baseball this weekend. That means following along on MLB Gameday and overreacting to things like Paul Fry’s velocity and a Yolmer Sanchez home run.

Baseball is back! Kind of.

Links

Taking a look at one lineup possibility, plus more notes - Steve Melewski
The Orioles don’t really have a lead-off hitter...again. On a day-to-day basis, Cedric Mullins or Austin Hays probably makes the most sense. But I will reiterate my feeling that Chance Sisco deserves a spot at the top of the order when he is in the midst of one of his hotter streaks. The guy walked 14% of the time last year and posted a .364 on-base percentage despite only a .214 batting average.

This, that and the other | School of Roch
Spring training is still in its early days and there remains a lot to sort out at Orioles camp. Fortunately we get an auditory glimpse at what’s happening this week.

New Orioles Freddy Galvis and Yolmer Sánchez share a common infield idol — and potential for growth at plate | The Baltimore Sun
There is a lot to like about the Orioles current double play combination. At the very least they seem poised to provide a stabilizing element up the middle that will make the routine plays and occasionally a few web gems.

Davis focused, ready to fight for at-bats | Orioles.com
There is every indication that Chris Davis will be on this Orioles team for the entire summer unless, by some miracle, they are competitive deep into the year. The thing is, in order for them to be competitive, they probably need something (anything!) from Davis on the offensive side of things. That doesn’t mean he rediscovers his MVP-candidate form, but rather simply is not one of the worst players in the entire league.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Yovani Gallardo turns 35 today. The right-handed pitcher started 23 games for the 2016 Orioles, accumulating a 5.42 ERA in the process. He was dealt to the Mariners in exchange for outfielder Seth Smith following the season.

Pete Smith celebrates his 55th birthday. He appeared in 27 games for the 1998 Birds, mostly out of the bullpen. Over 45 innings he had a 6.20 ERA.

It is the 84th birthday of Carl Warwick, an outfielder that played in nine games for the 1965 Orioles.

This day in history

1988 - Third baseman Ray Knight is traded from the O’s to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitcher Mark Thurmond.