Hello, friends.
There are now 102 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2016. Does the number 102 have any meaning for you? I can't say that it does for me either. If it was 101, I could tell you an uninteresting story, but it's not. That might be for the better.
If there was any news whatsoever to report to you, I would be happy to share it. There is not. That doesn't stop our linkmasters from talking a bit about the Orioles today - so at least I can give you things to read!
The baseball world may be more or less shut down until after Christmas has come and gone, although there is still the pending Hyun-soo Kim business. Somebody is going to get sent to the great DFA in the sky. Unless there were problems with the physical or something. Will they have another press conference for him? I guess we will find out. Maybe something will even happen today... but probably not.
Around the blogO'sphere
Why Chris Davis sneezed at Baltimore Orioles record $154M offer - Baltimore Orioles- ESPN
This article boils down to saying that Chris Davis hasn't accepted the Orioles contract offer yet because one time last year he refused to come out of an 11-0 blowout loss and hit a ninth inning home run. What the hell?
Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman says 2016 is 'huge' for him - Baltimore Sun
No pressure or anything, Kevin. Jake Arrieta never seemed to handle the pressure very well here. I sometimes wonder if Gausman or any of these other guys wish they could get traded to the Cubs.
2016 ZiPS Projections – Baltimore Orioles | FanGraphs Baseball
The notorious Dan Szymborski's projection system lays out the grim numbers for the Orioles next season. There will probably be some more thoughts about this subject another time on CC - but not today. In short, the rotation is underwhelming, first base is kind of a mess, DH sucks, and right field sucks.
Let’s Find a Home: Chris Davis Edition | FanGraphs Baseball
Monday was apparently talk about the Orioles day on Fangraphs, which means Tuesday is read about Fangraphs talking about the Orioles in the Bird Droppings. In this article, trying to find a home for Davis. Hint: Baltimore still makes the most sense.
Zach Britton’s Chapman Changeup | FanGraphs Baseball
It's Jeff Sullivan writing about the Orioles. Get on it! Bonus: GIFs within where Britton makes a Red Sox player and a Yankees player look stupid.
And to wrap up today, continuing an ongoing offseason series I like to call, "Peter Angelos really isn't so bad" ...
The New York Mets Operate Like A Ponzi Scheme - Vocativ
Unless I'm misunderstanding some math, the Mets took out some loans totaling principal of something like $880 million, which sounds, uh... well, here's the thing. The Mets owner got sued over the Bernie Madoff scandal and the trustee took a settlement because he decided the Wilpons were going to be too broke to go for full damages.
Birthdays and anniversaries
A few fateful transactions on this day in Orioles history. In 2009, the O's signed Garrett Atkins, one of Andy MacPhail's worse ideas. In 2000, they traded one-time Cal Ripken heir Ryan Minor to the Expos for Jorge Julio. And in 1999, they signed Buddy Groom. Maybe we don't want any Orioles transactions today. December 22 moves are bad luck moves.
One more on this day. In 1953, the owner of the International League Baltimore Orioles franchise turned over the name "Orioles" to Major League Baseball so the franchise moving from St. Louis to Baltimore could be called the Orioles.
We're also loaded up on Orioles birthdays today. Happy birthday to current Oriole Zach Britton, who turns 28 today. It's also the birthday of Rey Navarro, Blake Davis, Chris Jakubauskas (or as we called him, Jack O'Boskie), Lonnie Smith (44 games from 1993-94), Tom Underwood (1984), and the late longtime Oriole and Orioles coach Elrod Hendricks.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with that bevy of Orioles, you share this birthday with the following: Baseball Hall of Famers Connie Mack (1862) and Steve Carlton (1944), Lord Voldemort portrayer Ralph Fiennes (1962), and a divergent pair of singer-songwriters: Jordin Sparks (1989) and Meghan Trainor (1993).
On this day in history...
In 856, the Damghan earthquake in what was then known as Persia killed an estimated 200,000 people. This is the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history. It's believed to have hit 7.9 on the Richter scale.
In 1807, the US Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forbade all trade with foreign countries. As Prop Joe would say, they were thinking short when they should have been thinking long.
In 1944, the Battle of the Bulge in World War II was underway. German forces surrounding a group of American paratroopers in Bastogne, Belgium demanded the surrender of the encircled Americans. They received this reply: "Nuts!" One dramatized version of this battle can be found in HBO's Band of Brothers, which is a must-watch for all people.
In 1989, the Brandenburg gate re-opened in Berlin, Germany as West German chancellor Helmut Kohl crossed through to meet East German prime minister Hans Modrow.
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on December 22 - at least, unless something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday.