Thanksgiving Day Bird Droppings: Thankful for the Orioles, most of the time

Hello, friends, and a Happy Thanksgiving to you.

There are now 129 days until Orioles Opening Day 2016.

Today I am thankful for a lot of things, and if you'll indulge my cheesy sentiment for a moment, one of those things happens to be you, the people who visit this site and make it a part of your day. It wouldn't be the same just sending out things into the emptiness - knowing that there are O's fans who also care who want to be a part of this community (even if you're just a lurker) makes it worth doing all the more.

I was talking recently with another blog manager who told me that they had not commented on their own site in over a month. I can't imagine ever being like that on Camden Chat. I like this place and the people who are here too much. So thanks for making it fun to be a voice in Birdland.

Now let's get on with the links, because even on this holiday there are links for you.

Around the blogO'sphere

Orioles Interested In Yovani Gallardo - MLB Trade Rumors
I'll have some more thoughts on this on Friday, because I didn't feel like writing an article for today. Gallardo wouldn't be the most exciting possible signing, but he looks a lot more consistent than Ubaldo Jimenez, and that's worth something.

Orioles minor league signings are meaningful, if boring - Baltimore Sun
Whether or not you agree with the meaningful part of the headline, I think we can all agree on the boring part.

School of Roch: Gausman excited for chance to stay in rotation in 2016
And we are all excited for Kevin Gausman staying in the rotation in 2016. Well, I hope it ends up being something that leaves us feeling excited.

Steve Melewski: Pondering Zach Britton's future as Orioles' closer
After a couple of Orioles blogs, including this one, have weighed in on this topic over the last couple of weeks, half of MASN's dynamic duo deemed it time to bring the standard Melewskian illumination to the discussion.

Spend Hal's Money: Could Yankees take Wei-Yin Chen from Orioles? - Yankees Blog- ESPN
You can't take Wei-Yin Chen, Yankees. He's a free man. You might purchase his services, but you'll never have him.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 1962, the Orioles drafted Paul Blair from the Mets. I'm not really sure how that happened, actually. But it was a good decision.

Of all of the players who have ever played for the Orioles, only two have birthdays today. One of them is John Parrish, who floated through a total of 153 games from 2000 to 2007. The other is current baseball talker and Camden Chat non-favorite Harold Reynolds.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies include: A less-famous Bach composer, Johannes Bach (1604), Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor (1832), Willis Carrier, inventor of air conditioning (1876), Peanuts creator Charles Schultz (1922), singer Tina Turner (1939), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson (1943), and basketballer Shawn Kemp (1969). That's a couple of quality birthday buddies, though quantity is lacking.

On this day in history...

In 1476, Vlad the Impaler - Dracula - defeated Basarab Laiota to become the ruler of Wallachia, which in modern times is part of the country of Romania.

In 1789, President Washington proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day for the first time in the history of the United States. The day was not a regular holiday until this day on 1863, when President Lincoln established the annual celebration.

In 1917, the National Hockey League was formed. Its first six teams were all Canadian.

In 1922, two Englishmen, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, became the first people to enter the tomb of King Tut in modern times. The Lord Carnarvon of the present day still owns the family's ancestral estate, Highclere Castle, which you may have seen serving as the location of the show Downton Abbey.

In 1942, Casablanca premiered on the silver screen in New York City. It was the start of a beautiful friendship between the film and movie-goers.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 26 - at least, unless something happens later. Which it probably won't, because honestly, why would anything ever happen on Thanksgiving? If anything DOES happen today, I won't be here to tell you about it. You're on your own. Sorry!