Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are never the mystery team

Hello, friends.

The Orioles sit once again at .500 after Matt Wieters' walkoff win from Monday night. If you missed it or just want to re-live it, make sure to check out my recap. What good is it to be .500? Well, probably not much. The Orioles are no closer in the division after yesterday and if they lose later tonight they'll be back below .500 again just three days shy of the trade deadline. Maybe they need an outfielder. Maybe they need to trade everybody. I don't know.

It's Ubaldo Jimenez headed our way tonight. Does that make you feel good? Or the Orioles offense against Julio Teheran? Tonight's Braves starter is sporting a 4.49 ERA, which would probably make you feel good if this wasn't the Orioles we were talking about.

Around the blogO'sphere

Adapt or Die – Matt Taylor [Guest Post]
Orioles minor league pitcher Matt Taylor has a lengthy and interesting guest post about his need to adapt his arsenal to the modern game in order to keep his career going. Taylor's really had some bad injury luck the last couple of years. Best of luck to him in continuing his journey up through the O's minors.

Nick Markakis cheered by Orioles fans who were 'sad to see him go' - Baltimore Sun
If you've read Camden Chat's Facebook page, you know there are no shortage of Nick Markakis fans out there in Birdland. I was also sad to see him go, although I don't miss him, either.

Orioles farm team loses in brutal fashion after miscue | Comcast SportsNet Baltimore
This one happened on Sunday, so you might have already heard about what happened to the poor Delmarva Shorebirds before now. If not, well... ouch.

Undersized Baltimore Orioles prospect Zach Davies out to prove he's got big league stuff | International League News
My fellow Camden Chat writer Matt Shaffner is probably the biggest Davies fan who is not a part of the Davies family. His performance got him a little attention on milb.com.

Has Momentum Shifted For Orioles? (Press Box)
Over at Press Box, pondering whether the Orioles will be able to keep some positive momentum going during this seven-game homestand with the Braves and Tigers. Well, they're off to a good start.

Former Baltimore Orioles infielder Ryan Adams among those sought in north shore heroin investigaiton | NOLA.com
Watching Ryan Adams on the 2011 Orioles, you might have thought that could be the worst thing that would ever happen to him. Since those days, times have gotten hard, and it seems now he's running with a heroin operation. Sad to see it.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 2000, the Orioles traded Mike Bordick to the Mets for Pat Gorman, Leslie Brea, Mike Kinkade, and Melvin Mora. I guess that trade worked out. Bordick came back the next offseason, and Mora was a fine Oriole for most of the next decade.

Another trade took place on this day in 1995, also involving the Orioles and Mets. The Orioles traded Damon Buford, Alex Ochoa, and Jimmy Williams (a PTBNL) for Bobby Bonilla.

Two former Orioles have birthdays today: Chad Paronto (24 games in 2001) and Bob Milacki, the starting pitcher the last time the Orioles recorded a no-hitter.

If today is your birthday, happy birthday! Some departed birthday buddies of yours include children's book author Beatrix Potter (1866), founder of Tupperware Brands, Earl Tupper (1907), and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929). Among those still living, basketball player/senator Bill Bradley (1943), Garfield creator Jim Davis (1945), Saved by the Bell actress Elizabeth Berkley (1972), and rapper Soulja Boy (1990).

On this day in history...

In 1540, the execution of Thomas Cromwell was carried out at the order of Henry VIII, who promptly married fifth wife Catherine Howard.

In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre and "The Angel of Death" Louis Antoine de Saint-Just were executed by guillotine in France. A theme emerges.

In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. The text is so plain and yet still we fight over it today.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning the chain of events that led to what we now know as World War I.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on July 28 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday. Go O's!