Thanksgiving Bird Droppings: A feast of Orioles goings-on

Hello, friends.

There are now 130 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2017. I have to say I am not thankful for that. That's too long. But alas, we will have to make it through some cold months.

At least there is a veritable feast of baseball stuff worth sharing today, so if you are waiting around for food to be served or looking to dodge conversation with unpleasant relatives while you're at the dinner table, well, we're here to help you get through it. Don't say anything you'll regret later.

A Happy Thanksgiving to you all, whoever you may be, and if you're reading this from outside of America, happy Thursday. What are you thankful for today?

If you'll indulge a little cheesy sentiment for a moment, I am thankful for a number of things, including you, the people who make Camden Chat a part of your day each day. It really wouldn't be the same just firing out Orioles thoughts into the emptiness. Knowing that there's a community of people who care (even if you're a lurker and I don't know your name) makes all this worth doing. So thanks! Let's hope we've got a fun year of Orioles waiting for us to share together.

Around the blogO'sphere

Like Buck Showalter, new Orioles pitching coach Roger McDowell has 'Seinfeld' cameo on resume - Baltimore Sun
I'm told that Mr. McDowell is known to Seinfeld fans as "the second spitter." I gotta admit to you that I never watched Seinfeld.

Talks progressing between MLB, union with lockout deadline looming (ESPN)
There was some apocalyptic rhetoric from the owners on Monday, but after a couple days more, it seems there's more optimism that a deal will get done for a new CBA before the owners lock out the players and bring the offseason to a grinding halt.

Roundtable -- What a 26th roster spot means for MLB (ESPN)
Several ESPN writers offer their dream scenarios for what teams could do with a 26th roster spot (believed to be a fixture of the ongoing CBA negotiations) before everyone is resigned to the fact that all teams are just going to put another useless reliever in the bullpen.

With MLB revenues and ratings strong, lockout talk is puzzling - Steve Melewski
If Steve Melewski doesn't understand why there might be some kind of labor unrest, then by golly, that settles it.

MLB roundup: Poor pitch-framing skills hurting Matt Wieters on market - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN
Matt Wieters isn't good at pitch framing, or at defense, and it turns out that increasingly savvy teams are onto that fact and less interested in him.

Baseball Prospectus - Top 10 Orioles Prospects for 2017 (subscription required)
The short version is that Baseball Prospectus likes Chance Sisco a good bit, but they've been overly optimistic about a lot of catchers recently. However, Sisco hits better than most all of those catchers, so... maybe it'll be OK.

Donnie Hart and Alan Mills reunited again - School of Roch
Every stop in the O's system, Donnie Hart and Alan Mills have been together. And they'll be united again in the 2017 Orioles bullpen! It's fate, or something.

Given the circumstances, McDowell and Mills are the right hires for O's - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Our man Dan is satisfied with the pitching and bullpen coach hires that the Orioles have made. What kind of hire would have left him not satisfied is, of course, not something I can tell you.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 1982, Cal Ripken Jr. was named the American League Rookie of the Year. At this point, The Streak was at a mere 118 consecutive games.

There are four former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: Sidney Ponson trade haul Damian Moss (2003 O's), former #1 overall pick Ben McDonald (1989-95), 1968-70 fringe bullpen guy Fred Beene, and 1974-75 outfielder, the late Jim Northrup.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: President Zachary Taylor (1784), convicted war criminal Erich von Manstein (1887), mob boss Lucky Luciano (1897), museum enthusiast Paul Tagliabue (1940), serial killer Ted Bundy (1946), and actress Katherine Heigl (1978).

On this day in history...

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.

In 1963, nightclub operator Jack Ruby shot JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters - history's first live, televised murder.

In 1971, a hijacker who called himself D.B. Cooper parachuted out of an airplane in the middle of a severe thunderstorm over Washington state with $200,000 in cash. Cooper was never found.

In 1974, paleoanthropologists Donald Johnson and Tom Gray discovered a 40% complete skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis - one of humanity's forebears from 3.2 million years ago. The skeleton was nicknamed Lucy after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 24 - and let's face it, it's going to stay that way, because it's Thanksgiving! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.