Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles ALCS record still stands

Hello, friends.

There are 166 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2016.

The record from the great Orioles era of 1969-1973 still stands. Those Orioles won the most consecutive ALCS games - 10 - that have ever been recorded. It was just a best of five back then, so that was three series wins, two of which were sweeps, followed by one win in the 1973 ALCS before they ended up losing. The Royals were a win away from tying that record, but the Blue Jays took that away from them. Our favorite franchise keeps the glory.

Is that worth much? Well, no, not really. But it's better than nothing. More baseball awaits starting this afternoon - the Cubs try to begin their own turnaround in the NLCS, while the Jays look to see if they can even up the ALCS. It's a different team when they're at home. If only they'd tried to win those last couple of games against the Orioles, when they'd clinched the division but not yet home field advantage in the ALCS, huh?

For now, let's run down what's out there for the O's.

Around the blogO'sphere

Orioles should have the money to compete in free agency, but would they overpay? - Baltimore Sun
There is a theme early in today's links of Orioles beat writers trying to pre-emptively excuse non-signings on the free agent market. Framing it as "Would they overpay?" the natural answer is of course they shouldn't overpay. But if you don't overpay, you know what you get? Travis Snider. Except for when you get Nelson Cruz instead.

Steve Melewski: Are the Orioles between a rock and a hard place with Chris Davis?
In this particular article, Melewski raises the false choice that the Orioles may have to choose between re-signing Davis and extending Manny Machado. I'll have some more thoughts on this topic in an article that goes up at 10am.

School of Roch: Getting an early start on Orioles rumors
Things are hard enough out there for Roch that he's resorted to blog posts that are peddling nonsense Nick Cafardo rumors. It's too bad he doesn't know anybody whose job it is to get in touch with Orioles sources and find out what's going on, huh?

Camden Depot: The 2015 Orioles Offense Wasn't Good. It Wasn't Bad, But It Wasn't Good
Over on Camden Depot, the rundown of just what made the O's offense neither good nor bad this season.

Let's imagine Bartolo Colon with the Orioles in 2016 | CSN Mid-Atlantic
The response that comes to mind is, "Let's not and say we did." Actually, the last time Colon was a free agent, I was horrified at the Orioles signing him. Well, he hasn't been very good for the last two years, but he might have been better than Ubaldo Jimenez for less money.

Birthdays and anniversaries

One lone former Oriole has a birthday today. I'm going to guess that you probably don't have any memory of Bobby Floyd, who played 47 games here from 1968-70. Branching out from Orioles, it is also the birthday of a couple of baseball Hall of Famers: Juan Marichal and the late Mickey Mantle.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those baseball people, you have some interesting birthday buddies including: Bela Lugosi (1882), best known for his portrayal of Count Dracula; jazz man Jelly Roll Morton (1885); the greatest Law and Order detective, Jerry Orbach (1935); Karate Kid actor William Zabka (1965); and rapper Snoop Dogg (1971). Check out the full list for yourself if you're curious.

On this day in history...

In 1740, the War of the Austrian Succession kicks off when assorted European powers seize the ascension of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria as a pretext to launch wars that just so happen to coincide with their strategic goals.

In 1803, the United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase. Do you think we can sell back Iowa? Actually, you can have that one for free.

In 1818, a treaty formally known as the Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves was signed between the United States and the United Kingdom, setting the US-Canadian border at the 49th parallel, at least for a few decades until "54-40 or fight!" came along (and they still ended up settling on the 49th parallel).

In 1944, General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines about three years after he left it.

In 1977, three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed when the band's plane crashed. I do not know if anyone requested Free Bird at the funerals.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on October 20 - at least, unless something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday.