Hello, friends.
All hail Dylan Bundy, the savior of the season... or at least the savior of the mood of the fanbase for at least one day. The Orioles needed a big start from him and he came up big. Let's hope they don't make a habit of leaving him in that position, but if it does happen again, here's hoping he'll prove to be up to the task as often as necessary.
In case you missed the game, or if you just want to refresh your memory about how awesome it was, check out our recap of the game by Joe Wedra. And if you haven't done so yet, make your vote count in the Most Birdland Player poll!
One game is still only just one game. The Orioles have more work to do to get themselves back into the driver's seat in the AL East. They are now trailing both the Blue Jays and Red Sox by two games, and they still find themselves only a game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for that second wild card spot. There's a lot of time left in the season to make up that ground... but there's also a lot of time for them to fall behind any of the teams chasing them.
The O's are going to have to find a way to win some games they aren't expected to win, perhaps including the next three games against the first place team in the NL East. They are capable of doing it. They are always capable of winning! That's what makes it so frustrating when they don't. Luckily, thanks to Bundy and friends, they did so on Monday - so all is right with Birdland for another day, at least.
Around the blogO'sphere
Orioles hang on for 4-3 win over Nationals (with Showalter quotes) - School of Roch
One of the enjoyable things about Buck Showalter is the way that he responds to bad questions that are begging for cliche answers.
Donnie Hart used preparation and talent to lead to big league success - Steve Melewski
There aren't many 27th round picks who make it to MLB in any capacity. More power to him. And by the way, Hart's preparation helped him out in a big way when he picked up that clutch out on the comebacker in last night's game.
Deep Gausman info: Ditching his mouth guard and showing Bregman around the Bayou - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Did you notice in his last start that Kevin Gausman was chewing gum instead of fiddling with his mouth guard? Baltimore Baseball's Dan Connolly found out why! Gausman did well, so the gum may need to stick around.
Surprises and disappointments started with offseason moves (ESPN)
You'll never believe this, but it turns out that the Orioles are among the teams who are vastly outperforming the win totals predicted for them in the preseason. On ESPN, David Schoenfield looks at what's helping the overachieving teams and what's hurting the underachievers.
MLB Rookie Report: Parker Bridwell, RHP, Baltimore Orioles - Minor League Ball
Our SB Nation compatriots over at Minor League Ball have a little scouting report on the newest Oriole and what should be expected of him.
Orioles notes: Buck Showalter explains decisions to go with long relievers so often early in games - Baltimore Sun
Speaking of Bridwell, Showalter had an explanation for why he goes to the long reliever instead of one of his clutch relievers earlier. His thinking: He's going to have to use the long guy anyway, so might as well get it over with.
Coco Crisp, Eric Hosmer, Yonder Alonso back Danny Valencia after Billy Butler altercation - Athletics Nation
Had you heard about the Danny Valencia/Billy Butler fight? The good folks over at Athletics Nation have got you covered. It seems Oakland teammates are more in the corner of former Oriole Valencia, rather than the Brad Bergesen destroyer, Butler.
Birthdays and anniversaries
On this day in 2002, the Orioles fell behind the Blue Jays 6-0 before coming back to hit four home runs and win the game, 11-7. This improved their record to 63-63. They only won four of the final 36 games.
Also on this day in 1958, the Orioles picked up future Hall of Famer knuckleball master Hoyt Wilhelm on waivers from the Indians. Wilhelm spent the next five seasons with the Orioles.
There are quite a number of former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2005 short-timer Alejandro Freire, 2001 shorter-timer Casey Blake, 2002 even-shorter-timer Raul Casanova, 1995 corner infielder Jeff Manto, Mike Boddicker (1980-88, with a CG in the 1983 ALCS and World Series), 1965-66 fringe bullpen guy Ed Barnowski, 1968 reliever John Morris, and the late George Kell, who spent the final two years of a Hall of Fame career (1956-57) in Baltimore.
That was a lot of birthdays!
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with that host of former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: early American supporter and later guillotine victim Louis XVI of France (1754), War of 1812-era Commander Oliver Perry (1785), musical film legend Gene Kelly (1912), ageless baseball player Julio Franco (1958), funny man Jay Mohr (1970), regrettable DC quarterback "Sexy" Rexy Grossman (1980), and decorated Olympics swimmer Natalie Coughlin (1982).
On this day in history...
In 79, Mount Vesuvius began stirring, on what was then the feast day for Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
In 1305, William Wallace was executed for treason in London - hanged, then drawn and quartered. Bad way to go. You've probably seen Braveheart.
In 1775, King George III of Great Britain delivered the Proclamation of Rebellion, in which he stated that the American colonies were in open rebellion against the crown. Those same colonies sent him an "It's not me, it's you" letter eleven months later.
In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression treaty. You can see what that was worth as three years later, the Battle of Stalingrad, between those same Nazis and Soviets, began.
In 1973, a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, turned into a hostage crisis that lasted five days. The term Stockholm syndrome originates from this bank robbery.
And in 1991, Mr. Tim Berners-Lee opened up the World Wide Web to new users. Thanks, Tim, for bringing us here today.
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on August 23 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday. Go Orioles!