Thursday Bird Droppings: Buck Showalter did not get a new manager’s job

Hello, friends.

There are now 140 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2024. The next interesting date of the offseason is four days away, when teams will have to set their 40-man rosters ahead of next month’s Rule 5 draft.

There could be some movement between now and then, though maybe not for the O’s, who don’t have many decisions to make there this year. It’s next year where this deadline will be critical for the O’s. A week from tomorrow is the tender deadline, which could alter the anticipated composition of the 2024 roster if the Orioles decide not to bring back any of their arbitration-eligible (or even pre-arbitration) players.

You might have a few non-tender candidates that you’re hoping for, and there’s always the possibility that the Orioles trade somebody in a small deal rather than non-tender them. But again, that’s a next Friday thing.

For today, there’s not much going on. The most interesting Orioles-connected news is that former manager Buck Showalter did not get hired by the Angels. And that’s not that interesting! Ron Washington, ever known to me as the real person behind the “It’s incredibly hard” line in the Moneyball movie, has gotten the job instead. Buck may have gotten lucky to be not hired by the Angels, but then again, maybe no one else is going to give him another shot.

This week has been the general manager meetings, which typically don’t produce much news as it’s more people having preliminary conversations for things that happen later. Apparently, there’s a stomach bug going around the meetings and MLB considered ending them early. Good luck to the Orioles executives present in avoiding this illness. Getting sick always sucks.

Around the blogO’sphere

Can the Orioles improve this winter and still honor the beliefs that got them this far? (The Baltimore Banner)
Jon Meoli zeroes in on the key thing about this Orioles offseason, which is that to improve the rotation they’ll probably have to either pay more money than they’ve seemed comfortable paying, or trade a prospect from a tier they have yet to trade from.

Mike Elias and O’s get honored by MLB and now look to take the winning farther (Steve Melewski)
I don’t care about who wins MLB’s Executive of the Year, but it was nice that our guy won anyway, wasn’t it?

Here’s a look at the Orioles offseason wish list (Orioles.com)
When the wish list includes a front half of the rotation starter and a proven back end of the rotation pitcher, again, that’s gonna cost the Orioles if they really want to do it.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1969 reliever Al Severinsen, and 1961-62 outfielder Whitey Herzog. Herzog, who turns 92 today, in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager. An extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: surveyor and great early Marylander Benjamin Banneker (1731), actress Hedy Lamarr (1914), astronomer Carl Sagan (1934), baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (1935), wrestler Chris Jericho (1970), and Baltimore-born singer-songwriter Sisqó (1978).

On this day in history...

In 1620, the Mayflower reached sight of land, with its pilgrims spotting what’s today Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

In 1867, the collapsed Tokugawa shogunate of Japan turned over power to the Emperor, marking the start of a period of Japanese history known as the Meiji Restoration. In this era, the previously isolated Japan industrialized quickly.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt made an official state visit to inspect progress on the Panama Canal, in the process becoming the first sitting president to ever travel outside of the country for official business.

In 1989, citizens crowding on the East Berlin side of the infamous Berlin Wall were allowed through checkpoints into West Berlin. This is recognized as the fall of the Wall, with unofficial demolition beginning almost immediately as people seized on the effective collapse of East Germany.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 9. Have a safe Thursday.