Hello, friends.
There are 180 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2016. We have some baseball left to get through between now and then, namely the entire playoffs. They get underway tonight with the American League Wild Card Game, in which the Yankees will host the Astros. I remember quite well the sheer terror of having everything ride on that one game. That's still better than what happened this year, though.
Not much is going to change with the Orioles officially until after the World Series is all over with. In the meantime, though, there are plenty of words to be written about the season that was and the season that will be. Maybe not quite as many words as today, where an unusually high number of links appeared as I made the usual rounds. I guess when you put a pause on all of the baseball games, all of the people who have to write about the baseball games have other stuff to talk about, too.
Around the blogO'sphere
School of Roch: Angelos on whether Showalter and Duquette will return: "Absolutely yes"
Really, though, was this ever in doubt? Anyone seriously looking to see Buck Showalter depart as Orioles manager is not someone whose baseball opinions I need to take seriously.
Steve Melewski: Manager Buck Showalter on working with Dan Duquette, Chris Davis, pitchers and more
The other half of the MASN duo is here with some quotes from Buck, whose sunny disposition about the state of the Orioles minors has not yet changed. "We are a lot better off there than people may think," he said, among other things.
Baltimore Orioles: GM says re-signing Chris Davis is top priority - MLB - SI.com
In my younger days, I watched a lot of Japanese anime, including a little show named Please Teacher!, in which the eponymous teacher, an alien, frequently says, "This is top priority!" I don't think Dan Duquette has seen this show. But re-signing Chris Davis is definitely top priority.
Orioles Should Extend Jonathan Schoop | Eutaw Street Report
One of our blogging compatriots over at Eutaw Street Report thinks that the Orioles need to get a contract extension done for Jonathan Schoop as well as for Manny Machado. It's hard to argue with the notion.
Plant’s Mychal Givens making most of move to pitcher for Orioles | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune
One type of story that will never be tiresome is the "local boy makes good" story. Mychal Givens was just one good thing going on with the Orioles this year, but to people from back home, his success is the best of things.
Baltimore Orioles' TV ratings on MASN among highest in MLB (Baltimore Business Journal)
Would you guess that the Orioles have the fifth-best TV ratings in MLB? If that is what you guessed, you'd be absolutely right.
Dan Duquette, Buck Showalter vow to work together to make Orioles better (Baltimore Sun)
So maybe this means we won't have another offseason full of the national media basically trying to pressure Peter Angelos into letting Duquette go to Toronto?
Orioles put priority on retaining Davis, improving pitching (Washington Post)
The paper from the other beltway took a little time and space to discuss the Orioles even on the day the Nationals manager was fired - although their misplaced headline apostrophe budget seems to be lacking. I can sympathize being as I also do not have any such budget.
Birthdays and anniversaries
On this day in 1966, Jim Palmer, then age 20, became the youngest pitcher to throw a shutout in a World Series game. The Orioles beat the Dodgers, 6-0, in Game 2 of that series. This game turned out to be the last big league appearance by Sandy Koufax.
More postseason heroics: in 1979, Scott McGregor threw a shutout against the California Angels to complete a four-game sweep in the ALCS. The Orioles won, 8-0. This day has special significance as it is also when my parents got married. People kept going out to their cars during the reception to get updates on the radio about the Orioles. Aren't smartphones so much more civilized?
Still more postseason heroics: in 1983, Mike Boddicker shut out the White Sox while striking out 14 batters, then a playoff record, in Game 2 of the ALCS.
A few former Orioles have birthdays today, including #32 for Radhames Liz, "Sweaty" Freddy Garcia turning 39, the 56th birthday of Greg Walker (14 games in 1990); also, on this day in 1922, the late Joe Frazier (45 games in 1956) was born.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Born on this day in history: Wenceslas III of Bohemia (1289), who is not Good King Wenceslas; that was Wenceslas I (also he was actually just a duke); George Westinghouse, founder of the company of the same name (1846), French fighter pilot Roland Garros (1888), who is said to be the victor of the first air battle in history, former NFL coach Tony Dungy (1955), and the original Pink Power Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson (1970).
On this day in history...
In 1582, this day did not exist in Italy, Poland, Portugal, or Spain due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar.
In 1889, Thomas Edison showed off his first motion picture.
In 1945, Billy Sianis and his goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the World Series.
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on October 6 - at least,