Tuesday Bird Droppings: The losses start coming and they don’t stop coming

Good morning Birdland,

Somebody once told me the AL East is gonna roll me, and that is exactly what has happened to the Orioles this year. They have lost nine games in-a-row against their own division with the last win coming on August 2 against the Yankees, when they took “The Cat Game” to open the series in the Bronx. It has all been downhill from there.

It’s just been one of those runs where nothing is really working. The offense is often only scoring a couple of runs per game, and even when they do breakout the pitching staff is serving up lopsided numbers left and right. It was Matt Harvey that fell apart towards the end of his outing, and then Paul Fry exacerbated the problem on Monday. For more info there, Harrison put together a recap of last night’s action.

This losing streak has definitely reached the point that every matchup feels like a loss before the game even starts. To be honest, we probably reached that point quite a while ago. But if ever there was a day to feel positive, it is when John Means is on the mound. The lefty definitely does not have the sort of juice we saw back in April and May, but he still has the best chance of anyone in this rotation to put together a noteworthy performance.

Links & Notes

Low payroll for ‘22 presents O’s with avenues for improvement | The Baltimore Sun
Yes! The Orioles should be spenders this offseason. It’s not that ridiculous to think that Cedric Mullins, John Means, Ryan Mountcastle, Grayson Rodriguez, and Adley Rutschman could form the core of the next good Orioles team. Don’t waste some of their best years; build around them. It doesn’t need to be stupid money, but the Orioles should be placing a much more competitive team on the field next summer.

Another promising start for Orioles leads to loss | School of Roch
It’s wild to see just how bad Paul Fry has been since the trade deadline. A couple of weeks ago he seemed like a no-brainer to be offered arbitration, and maybe that still happens, but it’s not nearly as obvious as it was prior to this sudden collapse.

O’s MiLB moves: No. 6 prospect to Double-A | MLB.com
The O’s promoted a whole bunch of minor leaguers this week. I’m personally keeping an eye on Jordan Westburg. He’s 22 years old and now playing at his third level this season. If he can master Double-A, it is entirely possible that he makes his MLB debut in 2022.

Chris Davis retires, National writers rip Orioles (Ep. 78) | The Warehouse Podcast
My two pals and I take one last look at the career of Chris Davis, and then join the chorus of Oriole fans groaning about the takes of national baseball writers.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Chris Waters turns 41. The left-handed pitcher appeared in 16 games for the Orioles between 2008 and ‘09, his only big league experience.
• It is the 80th birthday of the 1970 AL MVP, Boog Powell. He spent 14 of his 17 big league seasons in Baltimore, winning two World Series titles and earning four All-Star Game appearances in addition to that MVP. His barbecue is a fixture on Eutaw Street, and his place in history as a Charm City legend is assured.
• John Buzhardt was born on this day in 1936 (d. 2008). They righty had a long career, but only seven games of it came with the 1967 O’s.
• The late Vern Bickford (d. 1960) was born on this day in 1920. He played in just one game for the Orioles, and it came in their inaugural 1954 campaign.

Orioles history

1963 - Orioles’ reliever Dick Hall tosses another perfect inning, marking 28 straight hitters he has retired since July 24th. That encompasses five separate appearances.

1989 - Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,208th consecutive game for the Orioles, moving past Steve Garvey for third on the all-time list.

2000 - The O’s beat the White Sox 5-3. Oriole hitters are hit by four pitches from James Baldwin, an American League record.

2009 - The Orioles trade Aubrey Huff to the Tigers for minor league pitchr Brett Jacobson.