Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are flying high, for now

Hello, friends.

People are getting all over the place. It's bonkers. Although it's pretty easy for us as Orioles fans because the default Duquettian strategy of not making any splashes means when the likes of Cole Hamels and Carlos Gomez are getting traded (or almost traded), the O's won't be doing a dang thing. Maybe that's because teams are all just asking for Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, and Kevin Gausman. Maybe some trade will be made between now and 4pm Friday.

For now, hey, the Orioles swept the Braves! That was fun. It's too bad we can't play the NL East all the time. Actually, given that the Orioles haven't done so well against the rest of that division this year, mostly due to crappy offensive performances, maybe it's alright they don't play them more. What a joke of a division, though. The Mets owners are what everybody thinks Peter Angelos is.

Around the blogO'sphere

O's notebook: Buck Showalter marks five-year anniversary with Orioles, Steve Pearce update - Baltimore Sun
It's a bit misleading of this headline to say that Showalter marks his five-year anniversary because, according to Showalter himself, he didn't realize it was the anniversary until a reporter asked him. Plus, he didn't have his first game until in August of 2010.

Orioles still talking trades, bats in demand | Comcast SportsNet Baltimore
Yeah, the Orioles are talking trades, but as we saw yesterday, even Mychal freaking Givens is turning out to be untouchable... so how seriously can they be talking trades?

Roch Kobatko Addresses The Orioles Need For A Corner Outfielder " CBS Baltimore
Here's the short version: The Orioles really need a better corner outfielder, like one who can play every day and is actually a corner outfielder by trade and also capable of having an OPS above like... .750.

School of Roch: Buck Showalter on Chris Tillman and a 2-0 win
Back on his home turf, Roch runs down last night's win for you. It was a good one - and very, very nearly a Maddux for Tillman.

Chris Tillman shuts out Braves on four hits | orioles.com
Brittany Ghiroli and her summer minion tackled the specific topic of how awesome Tillman has been since the All-Star Break. We'll forgive them for the misleading headline because they probably didn't write the headline.

Braves sending Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Jim Johnson to Dodgers, per report - Talking Chop
Old friend alert! (tm True Blue LA) In the Marlins-Dodgers trade that evolved to also include the Braves, former O's closer Jim Johnson will be headed back into postseason contention with the Doyers.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 2011, the Orioles traded Koji Uehara to the Rangers and got back Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter. That one worked out. They also traded Derrek Lee to the Pirates for Aaron Baker. Meh. And back in 2009, the O's spun George Sherrill to the Dodgers and got back Josh Bell and Steve Johnson. Man, that Andy MacPhail could make a trade.

Two of the 999 Orioles in history had their birthdays today - the late Joe Coleman (1922), who started 32 games for the inaugural Orioles team, and none other than Thomas "Herc" Hauk's favorite Oriole of all time, Gus Triandos (1930).

If today is your birthday, happy birthday! You share this day with an assortment of people who have since passed on from their mortal lives, including Emily Bronte (1818), Henry Ford (1863), Hall of Fame baseball manager Casey Stengel (1890), and a personal favorite of mine, Medal of Honor recipient Marine Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler (1881), a very smart man who gave a speech titled simply, "War Is A Racket." 80 years later, he's still right.

Among those still kicking around the mortal coil, your birthday buddies include former baseball commissioner Bud Selig (1933), Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947), food personality Alton Brown (1962 - no relation), current USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann (1964), Hey Dude (and other things) actress Christine Taylor (1971), and three-time gold medal beach volleyballer Misty May-Treanor (1977).

On this day in history...

In 762, the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad. Dang it, now I want to go play Civilization.

In 1656, King Charles X Gustav led Swedish forces in a defeat of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Warsaw.

In 1729, the city of Baltimore, Maryland, was founded. Hey, I know that place!

In 1966, England defeated West Germany to win the World Cup at Wembley Stadium. Lane Pryce was very excited about it.

In 1990, George Steinbrenner was forced by then-commissioner Fay Vincent to step down as principal partner of the New York Yankees. He hired somebody to "get dirt" on Dave Winfield. Too bad it didn't stick.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on July 30 - at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Thursday. Go Orioles!