Hello, friends.
There are now just 31 Orioles games remaining this season, unless they make it into the postseason, which if you've been watching them lately are probably feeling is not too likely. What do you think it will take to win the AL East? Will they need 96 wins to win the AL East? They'd have to go 25-6 to pull that off. Could it take 92 wins to secure even the second wild card spot? They must go 21-10.
What it adds up to is that, as likely as not, the Orioles cannot lose more games from here on out than what can be counted on both hands. They must do this against a slate of games facing tough, playoff-bound competition, and many of these games will be on the road. And they must do this while, for the moment, three-fifths of their starting rotation consists of Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Yovani Gallardo. My goodness. The postseason isn't happening this year.
The rotation anxiety isn't even getting into the problems, such as there occasionally are, with the offense. These were on display in last night's 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays, where Miley actually pitched well. The O's only got four hits, and scored two or fewer runs for the 35th time this season. Yikes. You can read my recap of the not-so-lovely totals here.
So the Orioles are four games out of the AL East. They're now just one game up on the Tigers for the second wild card, and two up on the Royals and Astros. They defend that slim wild card lead tonight with Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound, facing off against Jays lefty J.A. Happ. If they can only lose ten games, this is probably going to be one of the ten.
Around the blogO'sphere
Baltimore Orioles get what they need from Wade Miley, not from bats - Baltimore Orioles- ESPN
When I found this article on Google, it displayed with the headline, "Wade Miley surprisingly not to blame as Orioles fall behind in AL East." Man, and I thought I could be harsh on this team sometimes.
Showalter speaks after 5-1 loss - School of Roch
Buck did not have very much to say after this loss, which is not usual for him. You can see for yourself here, including his attempt to dance around being critical of last night's strike zone.
Orioles notes: Chris Tillman's comeback from shoulder injury underway - Baltimore Sun
The early signs are encouraging for Tillman working his way back... but as we well know with this stuff, it only takes one setback and suddenly you're talking about a whole different timeline.
Yankees "Aggressive" On Waiver Wire - MLB Trade Rumors
Turns out that the Orioles are trying to make some improvements on the waiver wire, but the Yankees are quite possibly standing in the way by making claims of players who could help the Orioles. That's the way the game goes.
For what it's worth, O's will have a rep at Tebow's workout - BaltimoreBaseball.com
It doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot that the Orioles will have someone watching Tebow, but even if there's like a 0.5% chance the Orioles sign him, I still find myself dreading that circus involving the Orioles in any way.
For Tommy Hunter, another day and interview, plus more one liners - Steve Melewski
I wouldn't definitely say that the Orioles brought Tommy Hunter back because he's hilarious, but even if it turned out that's why they did it, I couldn't blame them for doing so.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Of all of the players to ever play for the Orioles, there is only one with a birthday today: 2001 short-timer Kris Foster. Also perpetual wished-for Oriole Cliff Lee and perpetual pursued-by-the-Orioles Marlon Byrd.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Frankenstein author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797), The Kingfish, Huey Long (1893), baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams (1918), very rich man Warren Buffett (1930), Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert (1931), funny man Lewis Black (1948), and actress Cameron Diaz (1972).
On this day in history...
In 1363, two Chinese forces in the late Yuan Dynasty began the Battle of Lake Poyang. With a reported 850,000 sailors and soldiers involved in the battle, this is regarded as potentially the largest naval battle in history.
In 1835, the city of Melbourne was founded in Australia. A year later, on the other side of the world, the city of Houston, Texas was founded.
In 1963, Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in the history of the United States.
**
And that's the way it is in Birdland on August 30 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday. Go Orioles!