Sunday Bird Droppings: Heading into the final week of spring training

Hello, friends.

There are now 11 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game, which is Opening Day. We’re almost there! Between now and then are another nine exhibition games that will help get the regulars into form for the season and help settle who on the bubble makes the team. Today’s game is set to start at 1:05. There is no TV broadcast, but there will be an Orioles radio broadcast.

Last night’s game against the Yankees had neither TV nor radio, even though it was a home game played on a weekend evening, so no one outside of the stadium could see or hear anything as the O’s won by a 2-1 score. Though the offense collected just five hits, their pitching staff held the Yankees to three, and that was enough. The Orioles are now 7-11-1 through their spring schedule.

Matt Harvey got the start and made more of a case to make the rotation by allowing a run with a hit and a walk. He was followed by the two Rule 5 picks. Mac Sceroler gave up a hit and struck out one batter in two innings. Tyler Wells struck out three batters in his own two-inning stint. Dillon Tate needed only one inning to get to three strikeouts. They all needed to make a statement to make the team. We’ll see if this one was enough.

Pitchers expected to be in action today are Jorge López, Paul Fry, Eric Hanhold, Tanner Scott, and Cole Sulser. Today’s game is also expected to feature the spring debuts of Richie Martin and Maikel Franco. Martin’s getting his first game action after an injury, while Franco is just behind after signing late.

Around the blogO’sphere

Means: “It feels like such a blessing and just so humbling” (School of Roch)
It’s hard not to root for the John Means underdog story.

Orioles top 30 prospects questions answered (Orioles.com)
Joe Trezza dug into his Twitter replies to answer some questions about the recently-unveiled Orioles top 30 prospects list, which was unveiled when the O’s were named MLB Pipeline’s #5 farm system.

What we know and don’t know about the Orioles roster as spring training winds down (Baltimore Baseball)
There aren’t very many unknowns at this point, but most of the remaining mysteries involve the back of the rotation and the middle of the bullpen.

Sisco continues swing adjustments (Steve Melewski)
Sisco did work between the 2019 and 2020 seasons to get more line drives and fewer ground balls. It’ll be good for him and the Orioles if those efforts bear fruit in 2021.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2018, the Orioles signed Alex Cobb to a four year, $57 million contract. Nothing about this turned out to be a good idea.

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2017-19 pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis, and 1972-75 hitter Tommy Davis. Today is Davis’s 82nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685), composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839), actor Timothy Dalton (1945), TV personality Rosie O’Donnell (1962), and footballer Ronaldinho (1980).

On this day in history...

In 1801, the British defeated the French in the Battle of Alexandria. Napoleon had the goal of obtaining territory in Egypt and Syria, and this defeat contributed to a failure of the campaign within six months.

In 1943, a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler was foiled after Hitler sped through a tour before a ten minute fuse could detonate a suicide vest being worn by the tour guide. The plotter defused the bombs and was not caught.

In 1963, Alcatraz ended its run as a federal penitentiary.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that American athletes would boycott that summer’s Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 21. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!