Tuesday Bird Droppings: The calm before the winter meetings

Hello, friends.

There are now 125 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2017. Just a bit before Christmas, we'll be able to start counting down double digit numbers of days. Until then, there's not much to do except talk about the upcoming winter meetings.

Even those winter meetings are a week away. They start next Monday. This year's edition of the meetings will be held in Maryland, in fact, at National Harbor. That's assuming that there are any winter meetings at all, because it turns out that if the negotiations between MLB and the players union over the new Collective Bargaining Agreement break down, the owners will lock out the players on December 1.

If you think the offseason is dead NOW, just wait until there is literally no possibility for any Orioles news because there is no free agent market at all! No, hopefully there won't be any issues like that. There's still some apocalyptic rhetoric floating around, but there's also apparent optimism for getting a deal done, so baseball can continue to enjoy the labor peace it has had for the past two decades.

Not much is happening in advance of that CBA deadline, either. It's not like either GMs or agents are involved in the negotiations, so they could be working out signings if they wanted. But everyone involved seems to just be waiting to see what's going to happen. So, that'll make next week's winter meetings even more interesting, assuming they happen. Well, except for the Orioles - it's not like they'll do anything before Christmas other than make a Rule 5 pick.

Around the blogO'sphere

Orioles face difficult decisions with looming non-tender deadline - Baltimore Sun
If I was in the Warehouse, I'd have a harder time deciding what to have for dinner tonight than deciding who of the arbitration-eligible Orioles should be tendered a 2017 contract. The only tough one is Vance Worley, and even that's not too tough.

Teams May Skip Winter Meetings If CBA Talks Don't Progress - MLB Trade Rumors
That's a concerning headline for both labor peace and for a baseball blogger who would like to see some Orioles-related news or rumors in order to generate traffic for his blog. Updates are more encouraging than the headline sounds.

They didn't make top 10 prospects list, but could be in second 10 - Steve Melewski
MASN's Steve Melewski talks about some of the Orioles prospects who were left off of the Top 10 Orioles prospects list written by Baseball America's Steve Melewski.

Sale, McCutchen, Archer? Trades I'd like to see before the winter meetings - The GM's Office- ESPN
I've got to be honest with you, I don't know how Jim Bowden gets paid by ESPN to come up with bad trade scenarios. Give me a piece of that pie. Sheesh. I'm linking this not because I believe any of it would or should happen but because I like imagining a universe where the Rays trade Kevin Kiermaier.

Orioles 2016 Winter Meetings preview | MLB.com
You know, assuming there are any winter meetings at all.

Tap-In Question: Which roster hole must O's fill through free agency? - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Dan Connolly wants to know which spot the Orioles absolutely need to find a free agent to fill. It basically comes down to, if they could only sign an outfielder or a catcher, which would you want them to sign?

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 1975, two Orioles received Gold Glove awards: Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair, the last of each player's career. Robinson won a Gold Glove every year from 1960-75. Blair won eight, including seven in a row from 1969-75.

There are three former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2008 catcher Guillermo Quiroz, 1989-90 pitcher Brian Holton, and 1990 reliever Joe Price. Mr. Price turns 60 years old today.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: author Louisa May Alcott (1832), author C.S. Lewis (1898), author Madeleine L'Engle (1918), Spandex creator Joseph Shivers (1920), recently-retired baseball talker Vin Scully (1927), wrestling's Jerry "The King" Lawler (1949), actor Don Cheadle (1964), future baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera (1969), and rapper The Game (1979).

On this day in history...

In 1877, Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph for the first time.

In 1929, American Admiral Richard E. Byrd led the first expedition to fly over the South Pole.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the Warren commission, which was tasked with investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy one week prior.

In 1972, Atari released Pong, which holds the distinction as being the first commercially successful video game.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 29 - or at least, unless something happens later. Which, you never know, it might? The Orioles probably won't do anything, but maybe there will be labor news or something... anyway, have a safe Tuesday.