Saturday Bird Droppings: Chaos Comin’

Good morning, Birdland!

The Orioles are fulling embracing the playoff push, and it is glorious. With rosters now expanded to 28 their dugout is brimming with more talent than its had in years. And the team seems to have a new slogan: Chaos Comin’

Those two words are emblazoned over the entryway to the home clubhouse at Camden Yards as well as the team website. It is accompanied by an angry Oriole bird with a home run chain around its neck.

It’s a neat brand choice that bridges the gap from the rebuild to the rebirth of this franchise. Prior to 2022, the “chaos” that the Orioles provided was a meme applied to every single positive thing the team did on the field. Sweeping both the Astros and Red Sox on the road last season was pretty wild, and so was beating Shohei Ohtani to snap a 19-game losing streak. Bad teams don’t usually do things like that. Chaos!

This season, it has taken on a new meaning. Instead of just ruining one weekend for the opposition, it has been a chaotic season in total. Wins over the Orioles are no longer guaranteed. No, the Orioles aren’t just going to fade away from the playoff discussion. The Rays, Blue Jays, and Mariners will have to earn their way into the postseason if they get one at all. You can be sure that the Blue Jays are not excited to face the Orioles 10 more times before the end of the year. Chaos!

Your scoreboard watching today begins at 6:10, when the Yankees and Rays get things going. The continued spiraling of the Bronx Bombers is hilarious, but it would be nice to see it stop for the next two days. The Blue Jays take on the Pirates at 6:35, and then at 7:15 we have both the Mariners/Guardians and Twins/White Sox games getting started.

Let’s go O’s! But also go Yankees, Pirates, Guardians and White Sox...for today.

Links

To Orioles’ Tyler Wells, a love for baseball and coffee go hand in hand: ‘It’s so fun’ | The Baltimore Sun
I would love to see Wells review some chain coffee spots. He’s an enthusiast and clearly takes his coffee quite seriously. Let’s see how the public reacts to his takedown of Royal Farms java.

Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez: Moving rehab to Double-A | CBS Sports
Good news! Sounds like the first rehab stint went off without a hitch. He will see his pitch count jump up a bit further, and hopefully make a spot start or two in Baltimore by season’s end.

Standing O! Gunnar doubles twice in stellar home debut | MLB.com
Struggles may still be coming for GUNNAR, but they haven’t happened just yet. What a player!

DL Hall finally makes it to home clubhouse | Roch Kubatko
It’s almost surreal that the Orioles have so many of their top prospects on the big league roster right now. It’s finally happening! And it is entirely possible that within the next 12 months we could also see the likes of Rodriguez and Colton Cowser also seeing significant time on the big league field as well.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Troy Patton turns 37. The lefty was part of the return in a trade that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston, and he was later dealt to the Padres in exchange for Nick Hundley. In between he spent parts of five mostly-solid seasons with the Orioles, compiling a 3.26 ERA over 140 appearances out of their bullpen.
• Rene Gonzales celebrates his 62nd. He was a utility infielder for the Orioles from 1987 through 1990. Defense was his calling card as Gonzales had just a .555 OPS across four seasons with the Birds.
• The late Morrie Martin (d. 2010) was born on this day in 1922. The southpaw appeared in nine games for the 1956 Orioles.
• Another posthumous birthday for Sandy Consuegra (b. 1920, d. 2005). His Orioles career spanned all of nine games between the 1956 and ‘57 seasons.

This day in O’s history

1960 - The Orioles beat the Yankees 2-0 to take back first place in the AL. It was a tough night for the home plate umpire Larry Napp, who was hit by three foul balls and had to be replaced by Chuck Berry (not that one!) midway through the game.

1979 - Mike Flanagan becomes MLB’s first 20-game winner of the year as he finishes off a double-header sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.

2012 - The Orioles draw within one game of the AL East-leading Yankees. Joe Saunders cruises to a 4-0 win over Toronto while the Rays top the Yanks 4-3.