Thursday Bird Droppings: An off day for the Orioles to reset after disappointing in SD

Hello, friends.

Last night was another game where it was best if you did not stay up past your bed time to watch the Orioles. The loss to the Padres was hardly the most lopsided defeat that the O’s have suffered this year, but it was up there with frustrating, dumb losses.

Perhaps nothing better represents that game than reliever Cionel Pérez entering with Fernando Tatis Jr. on first, picking off Tatis but making a horrible throw that went to the fence, allowing Tatis to steal second and take third on the error. Then, Pérez didn’t bother paying attention to Tatis on third base, and Tatis stole home plate without even drawing a toss home.

This is not the reason that the Orioles lost the game. Tatis’s steal of home was the fifth Padres run of the game. The Orioles only scored two runs. A series of dumb things occurred that led to the Padres getting four runs, and a different series occurred that limited the O’s to two runs. It was a tough matchup for the O’s to begin with, facing off against one of the better NL pitchers this year, Blake Snell. But the Pérez nonsense with Tatis, that’s the kind of stuff that’s hard to stomach.

Better if the Orioles had won a series against an underachieving Padres team. They didn’t and now they have to go on from here. The Rays won their game against the Giants on Wednesday afternoon, so they’ve pulled back to two games behind the Orioles in the AL East. Next up for the O’s are the woeful Oakland Athletics, in Oakland. The Rays are also staying out west, where they will face the cursed Los Angeles Angels.

Neither of these teams is in action today. It’s an off day on the road. If you’ve been staying up to watch the San Diego games, as I have, you’ll be glad for the day off. The Orioles bullpen is probably glad for it too after having Jack Flaherty make it just three innings on Tuesday night. Maybe so is the offense, because those guys are lucky to be 3-3 through the first six games of the road trip after scoring 17 runs combined across those games.

That’s a sad number. Don’t think about it too much. The Orioles can’t disappoint any of us again until tomorrow. So let’s try our best to enjoy the team being 74-47 through 121 games, with a lead of multiple games in the division. And by the way, the Yankees lost yesterday and are now below .500 for the season. There are worse consolation prizes.

Around the blogO’sphere

Projecting each team’s No. 1 prospect in 2025 (MLB Pipeline)
To the surprise of no one, or at least not me, the Orioles entry in this article is catching prospect Samuel Basallo. He certainly seems to be the safest guess right now.

Highly touted catching prospect Samuel Basallo is learning to handle pressure with the IronBirds (The Baltimore Sun)
Speaking of Basallo, he’s starting to find his footing at the High-A level, although it’s going to take a hot streak to get him back to the level he was with Delmarva.

Orioles notes on rotation, bullpen, Hicks, and more (School of Roch)
Before yesterday’s game, manager Brandon Hyde confirmed that the six-man rotation would stay on turn at least through the Oakland series. He also said that the O’s were spared from making a move for a fresh reliever by virtue of today’s off day.

Brandon Hyde has ‘Gold Glovers all over the place.’ Picking his best defense isn’t easy. (The Baltimore Sun)
It might be a bit hyperbolic to say it’s an embarrassment of riches, but Hyde does have some good options at a number of positions.

A package deal: When Shintaro Fujinami joined the Orioles, so did his interpreter and friend Issei Kamada (The Baltimore Banner)
I love a good interpreter story.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1989, The Streak hit 1,208 consecutive games, a notable number as it meant Cal Ripken Jr. had passed Steve Garvey to move into third place on the list. As we know, The Streak rolled on for another nine years and a month beyond this. The active streak, I believe, belongs to Atlanta’s Matt Olson, at 416 consecutive games.

In 1999, then-Orioles reliever Jesse Orosco appeared in his 1,072nd career game, passing Dennis Eckersley for the all-time lead. Since then, three other relievers have passed Eckersley’s 1,071, but Orosco stands alone at the top with 1,252 appearances. The active leader, Kenley Jansen, has pitched in 810 games in a 14-year career. The Orioles franchise leader is Jim Palmer, with 558 games pitched.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2008-09 pitcher Chris Waters, 1961-74 slugger Boog Powell, 1967 pitcher John Buzhardt, and 1954 one-game pitcher Vern Bickford. Boog is 82 years old today. Happy birthday to him especially.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: frontiersman Davy Crockett (1786), actress Mae West (1893), Watergate’s Deep Throat Mark Felt (1913), novelist V. S. Naipaul (1932), actor Robert De Niro (1943), musician Belinda Carlisle (1958), rapper Lil B (1989), and musician Phoebe Bridgers (1994).

On this day in history...

In 1585, colonists arrived on Roanoke Island with the aim of establishing the Roanoke Colony, located off the coast of modern day North Carolina. The Roanoke colonists had all disappeared when a ship arrived five years later to check on them.

In 1876, the final of Richard Wagner’s four Ring Cycle operas, Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), had its premiere.

In 1945, George Orwell’s Animal Farm was first published.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 17. Have a safe Thursday.