Hello, friends.
After drubbing the Phillies a bit, the Orioles now find themselves at three games over .500 for the first time all season. One more game remains against that NL East bottom feeder, this afternoon starting at 1:05. Given the state of the Phillies offense, this will be at least a baseline test to see how well Bud Norris is or isn't doing. If he succeeds, that may not necessarily be indicative of anything. If he does not, that will probably tell us a lot.
They are a mere two games back from the lead in the East, but they're also tied for third place, and a possibly brutal weekend against the Blue Jays awaits. So grab that last win in Philadelphia and move on, fellas.
Let's move our way across Birdland through some random links to get you through your Thursday...
School of Roch: Wrapping up a 6-4 win
The official Roch Kubatko rundown of Wednesday's win over the Phillies, including a whole bunch of quotes from Ubaldo Jimenez, Travis Snider, and others that would probably get snipped out of a newspaper.
Scott Boras isn’t happy with the Orioles - The Washington Post
The Orioles may not be happy with Scott Boras, whose presence means some of their good players are surely headed elsewhere, so I guess they are even in that regard.
Orioles notebook: Adam Jones out of lineup for second straight game - Baltimore Sun
This article is actually about how Kevin Gausman is going to make the start on Saturday that would have been on Wei-Yin Chen's normal turn.
Man who forged prescriptions from Orioles doc, others gets 15 years - WTOP
These are the things that come up sometimes when you do a Google News search for Orioles. Some advice to you out there, young and old alike: Don't forge prescriptions.
Steve Melewski: A look at Aberdeen's break-camp roster
The Aberdeen Ironbirds season gets underway on Friday. That's short-season A-ball. Melewski has a look at their initial roster, which may be supplemented soon as more draft picks get officially signed.
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On this day in 2004, the Orioles signed David Newhan as a free agent. He hit a pinch hit home run in the O's game that night. The Orioles still lost the game.
Today is the 29th birthday of Caleb Joseph. May both he and his kid eat well today. Being as it is a day game after a night game, Caleb will probably be catching today. It's also the birthday of former Oriole Carlos Mendez, who was here for 26 games in 2003, and if you remember him, give yourself a cookie that is appropriate to your current dietary habits.
If today is your birthday, happy birthday! You share this birthday with a couple of people who have long since left this mortal coil, including Edouard Daladier (1884), who was the French Prime Minister at the time World War II broke out, and also the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (1901). Less reminiscent of major 20th century conflagrations, this was also the birthday of film critic Roger Ebert (1942).
Among those still living, you share the day with Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia (1937), country singer Blake Shelton (1976), and actress Willa Holland (1991), who you would currently recognize as Thea Queen on Arrow.
On this day in history, the Tang Dynasty of China was formed (618), the French victory by Joan of Arc-led forces at the Battle of Patay changed the course of the Hundred Years War (1429), Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo (1815), Winston Churchill gave the "Finest Hour" speech to the House of Commons (1940), and Sally Ride became the first woman in space (1983).
And that's the way it is in Birdland on June 18 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Thursday.