Saturday Bird Droppings: Taking care of business

Good morning, Birdland!

Last night was all about taking care of business. The Orioles are a much better team than the Mets this year, and that was evident in their 10-3 win. Dean Kremer was quite good before he petered out in the sixth. Mike Baumann was terrific in relief. And the entire lineup was firing, particularly James McCann, who made his former employer regret their decision to pay him to go away over the winter. McCann was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, a run scored, and five RBI. That had to feel good!

The win put the O’s back above a 100-win pace, a somewhat arbitrary threshold that the organization has not met since 1980. Obviously, winning in the playoffs is the ultimate goal, but reaching that level of regular season dominance would be pretty neat as well.

Around the league there would be no help for the O’s. The Rays beat the Tigers to keep the AL East gap at two games. And the Rangers and Astros both won as well. If the Rays don’t catch the O’s in the division, those two AL West clubs will stay vying for the top spot in the AL overall.

Kyle Gibson heads to the bump this evening, looking to clinch a series win in what should be a good vibes night at the ballpark. It’s Eddie Murray bobblehead night, and the club will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the club’s 1983 World Series championship. How can you not win under those circumstances?

Links

Back in Baltimore with Mets, Buck Showalter thrilled to see Orioles in first place: ‘Great for the city’ | The Baltimore Sun
Buck has been saying all the right things this weekend. Obviously, his tenure in Baltimore ended on a rather sour note, but that doesn’t erase all of the great things he did for the Orioles organization in the nine years he was here.

If you’re surprised by the first-place O’s, you shouldn’t be | MLB.com
This article is for the public at large, those that may not be as familiar with our Birds. But it’s still nice to read some fluff every now and then, even from Mike Lupica.

Returning players from 1983 championship team reminisce and find comparisons to 2023 club | Roch Kubatko
Just think that in 40 years we will be reading quotes from Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, and Ryan Mountcastle in their mid-60s about that time they wore matching suede tracksuits to a game the same year they won the World Series. Top that, 1983 team!

‘Futuristic Teletubbies’: Young Orioles stars arrive for homestand with matching tracksuits, sunglasses | The Baltimore Sun
Speaking of the tracksuits...here is a whole story on it. These guys are just a bunch of goofballs. It’s pretty cool that this crew will be together for a few years at least.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• John Wasdin turns 51 today. The righty spent part of the 2001 season in the Orioles bullpen, pitching to a 4.17 ERA over 26 appearances.
• The late Nelson Briles (b. 1943, d. 2005) was born on this day. He wrapped up his career by playing 1977 and ‘78 in Baltimore, swinging between the rotation and the bullpen over 18 total games.

This day in O’s history

2019 - Jonathan Villar hits for the cycle, although the Orioles lost 9-6 to the Yankees. The Baltimore pitching staff also sets a bad record by allowing multiple home runs for the 10th straight game.