Thursday Bird Droppings: Orioles in the World Baseball Classic

Hello, friends.

There are now 144 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2017. This is, of course, one gross of days, and it's fitting because 144 days is a gross number of days remaining. It's barely been more than a week and I miss baseball already. I don't think I handle absence very well.

At least there's the minor diversion of the early days of the hot stove season, although don't expect much to happen this early on. It's not impossible, but no one is going to sign before they have a read on the market, and with it only having been a few days since things got started, no one has that read yet. So there's lots of talking and thumb-twiddling in the meantime. You know the Orioles aren't going to rush anything here.

Basically every single beat writer is signaling to the fanbase that the Orioles aren't going to do much this offseason. It's all over every article. You could have reached this conclusion yourself before they even told it to you, just knowing how Dan Duquette has operated in his tenure as the Orioles GM. But when the word goes out to the media, then you really know, because they're trying to make you feel better about the inevitable.

There's another one of those articles in our links today, along with an update on the Orioles participating in the World Baseball Classic, if that's something you care about. I'll be honest, it's not something I care about.

Around the blogO'sphere

3 Orioles To Play In World Baseball Classic | WBAL Radio 1090 AM
The three Orioles (never put the numeral when it's less than ten, kids) are Adam Jones, Jonathan Schoop, and Manny Machado. Jones will represent the US, while Schoop will be on the Netherlands team and Machado will represent the Dominican Republic, where his parents and grandparents were born.

This, that and the other - School of Roch
Roch is excited about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and awards shows. He's also here to tell you there's no news about the pitching coach, bullpen coach, or assistant hitting coach positions. But maybe later in the week? It's already Thursday! Though he wrote those words yesterday morning.

A look at the qualifying offer system - Steve Melewski
A lot of players got a lot of years for a lot of dollars last offseason, but if it wasn't for qualifying offers, they all would have gotten more years and dollars, and some would have gotten drastically more.

How much are the top free agents truly worth? (ESPN)
Orioles fan and sporadic CC visitor Dan Szymborski is the Keeper of the ZiPS (projection system) and he has run down the system's valuations for all of the big-name free agents, including the O's guys. Spoiler: ZiPS doesn't think Trumbo should get four years and $60 million.

However tempting, the Orioles shouldn't forfeit draft picks for free agents - Baltimore Sun
The thesis of this article couldn't be more wrong, a point on which I'll probably expand some time over the next week. But I present it nonetheless for your consideration.

A realistic - maybe pessimistic - look at Orioles' free-agency plans - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Remember how I said they're not going to do anything? Yeah. They're not going to do anything.

Orioles pleased with progress at GM Meetings | orioles.com
MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli appears to be the only O's beat writer who actually went to the GM meetings in Arizona. Duquette is, for some unknown reason, pursuing a left-handed hitting outfielder as a "top priority." There's some other stuff in here.

Birthdays and anniversaries

Out of all of the players to ever play for the Orioles, not a single one was born on this day.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You don't have an Orioles birthday buddies, but you do have these folks: Reformation leader Martin Luther (1483), aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev (1888), AK-47 designer Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919), film composer Ennio Morricone (1928), English musician/politician Screaming Lord Sutch (1940), American Gods author Neil Gaiman (1960), noteworthy regulator Warren G (1970), Clueless actress Brittany Murphy (1977), country artist Miranda Lambert (1983), and Mad Men actress Kiernan Shipka (1999).

On this day in history...

In 1775, the United States Marine Corps was founded at a tavern in Philadelphia, though of course there was no United States yet. If you know a marine, tell them happy birthday today. If you are a marine, happy birthday!

In 1871, Henry Morton Stanley located missing missionary/explorer Dr. David Livingstone, producing the famous quote, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" It was funny because Livingstone was the only other white person within 700 miles. Stanley may not have actually spoken the words.

In 1969, National Educational Television - these days, the Public Broadcasting System, or PBS - debuted Sesame Street for the first time.

In 1989, one day after East Germany ceased using lethal force to defend the border crossing, the people of Germany began to tear down the Berlin Wall on their own - though the wall was not completely demolished until two years later.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 10 - at least, unless something happens later. Which, you never know, it might! Have a safe Thursday. Go Orioles!