Sunday Bird Droppings: The 17 straight Orioles losses edition

Hello, friends.

Seventeen straight losses! Even in my bleakest dreams about the 2021 Orioles season, I could not have imagined this, and yet, here we are. Though I know the O’s really suck, there’s still something stunning about this much consecutive suck.

I think I understand the poor Baltimore radio personality who responded to the 1988 O’s losing streak by saying he’d sleep in the studio until the team won a game. It just feels like they would have to luck into one eventually, right? Except even the 1988 Orioles had two future Hall of Famers in Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray, plus a couple of other interesting hitters in Joe Orsulak and Mickey Tettleton. The 2021 O’s maybe have a couple of other interesting hitters but they sure don’t have the future HOF guys.

I will not make any daring wagers. I will just endure the losing from my couch, paying half attention when things suck and trying to note who is doing well in the rare times where that occurs.

This is the worst losing streak in the American League for a decade, as the 2011 Mariners also dropped 17 straight. It’s tied for the worst losing streak in MLB in 2021 - the Arizona Diamondbacks had a 17 loss streak earlier in the year.

Next up is the 19-game losing streak of the 2005 Tigers. Until last night, the Orioles had lost every one of the games by two or more runs, which put their “last since” all the way back to the 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings. That Cincinnati squad, at least, will not see its record equaled. The Orioles only lost by one last night.

The 2021 O’s are now on pace to finish the season with a 50-112 record. It’s a disaster. It will only take one win to end it, but how are they going to get the one win? The pitching has collapsed, and on the rare games where that’s not completely awful, they can’t hit enough. They close out the series against Atlanta at 1:05 today, so tune in to find out how they blow this one. John Means and Touki Toussaint are the scheduled starting pitchers.

Around the blogO’sphere

Elias on Rutschman, Diaz, September expansion, and more (School of Roch)
With the Orioles mired in this awful losing streak, Mike Elias had a 20-minute session with Orioles reporters yesterday. One exciting little development is that Grayson Rodriguez could end up getting a few Triple-A starts before season’s end.

Orioles move Lopez to bullpen; Hunter Harvey update (Baltimore Baseball)
As of last night, Jorge López is in the O’s bullpen and out of the rotation. Who’s taking his next turn? That’s a mystery for now.

COVID, low attendance have cut Orioles record payments to stadium authority, records show (The Baltimore Sun)
When the Orioles aren’t drawing fans, the Maryland Stadium Authority gets less rent.

This O’s draft pick patterns his game after Cedric Mullins (Steve Melewski)
You might be surprised, as I was, to learn that a 2021 draft pick cites Mullins as an example to emulate. I love what Mullins has done this year, it just seems pretty fresh to already inspire a college player! Fourth rounder Donta’ Williams is Mullins’s new fan in the organization.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1966, Andy Etchebarren dove into a pool into which Frank Robinson had fallen and was drowning, saving the slugger.

In 2007, the Orioles and Rangers played the infamous 30-3 game. I remain amazed that any number of bad Orioles teams since - including this one - have not managed to do as bad or worse than 30-3.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2012 five-game pitcher Randy Wolf, 2005 reliever Steve Kline, and 1955 eight-game outfielder Angelo Dagres.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: pressure cooking inventor Denis Papin (1647), composer Claude Debussy (1862), author Ray Bradbury (1920), go-go musician Chuck Brown (1936), baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (1939), TV man David Chase (1945), musician Tori Amos (1963), and TV chef Giada de Laurentiis (1970).

On this day in history...

In 1485, Richard III and his York army were defeated in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard was killed in the battle, ending the Plantagenet dynasty, which was replaced by the Tudor dynasty founded by Henry Tudor, then Duke of Richmond.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt appeared in public in an automobile, becoming the first president to ever do so.

In 1941, Nazi Germany laid siege to the Soviet city of Leningrad. The siege was not broken for over two years, and with high estimates of 5.5 million casualties, it’s the deadliest siege in world history.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 22. Have a safe Saturday. Go O’s!