Tuesday Bird Droppings: Orioles spring training creeps closer

Hello, friends.

There are now 62 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. We have at last reached the point where there is some Oriole who has worn this uniform number for each remaining day at the countdown. As for 62, well, it was most recently worn by Radhames Liz, so not much to get excited about there.

So that's just a bit more than two months to go until Opening Day. Hey, that's pretty close, isn't it? That's probably quite exciting if you're currently thinking a lot about how many home runs the Orioles are going to hit and not thinking so much about who is going to be in their starting rotation or running down fly balls and line drives in the outfield. Oh, and for people who enjoy the boring necessity that is spring training, we're less than two weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.

Will there be much to talk about between now and the start of spring training? I don't expect there to be much. That's bad for people in the blog business, but probably good for fans. At this point, if there's news with the Orioles, unless it's a contract extension for a key player, it's likely to be bad injury-related news. It's OK to root for no news! After all, it's not like there are any big free agents left to sign who might represent a big improvement for the team.

Let's hit the links, shall we?

Around the blogO'sphere

Orioles rookie Trey Mancini optimistic through familiar offseason turmoil - Baltimore Sun
Last year, the Orioles acted like Trey Mancini could replace Chris Davis, then they re-signed Davis. This year, they acted like he could replace Mark Trumbo, then they re-signed Trumbo. It's not personal, Trey.

Orioles Will Feature A Familiar Cast Of Characters In 2017 " CBS Baltimore
Dang near everybody except for Matt Wieters and Yovani Gallardo will be back. OK, and Pedro Alvarez, and Vance Worley, and Tommy Hunter, and Steve Pearce...

MLB Roundup: Adam Jones knows what's wrong with the Orioles - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN
Adam Jones thinks the Orioles need to get some more athleticism in their outfield so they can catch more balls. He's absolutely right! If he wants to help with that, he could move to a corner outfield spot - though it's not like they have a center fielder to replace him.

Expectations running high for Gausman and Bundy - School of Roch
Buck Showalter insists that there's going to be no innings limit for Dylan Bundy, which leaves me feeling nothing short of flabbergasted.

Checking in with the pitching coaches and Rule 5 picks at FanFest - Steve Melewski
What do the pitching coaches and Rule 5 picks have to do with one another, you might wonder, based on this headline? Absolutely nothing at all.

Baltimore Orioles: Top prospects report - Keith Law Blog- ESPN
Recently, Keith Law ranked the Orioles farm system 25th in MLB. Here's who he sees as their top prospects. Insider required. Sorry!

Is Baseball the Least Random Sport? | FanGraphs Baseball
You can read this article and find out that the answer is actually no. But it is an interesting article.

Birthdays and anniversaries

One lone former Oriole has a birthday today: 1998 two-gamer Joel Bennett.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Tokugawa shogunate founder Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543), preamble to the U.S. Constitution writer Gouverneur Morris (1752), baseball Hall of Famer and color barrier shatterer Jackie Robinson (1919), journalist/author Norman Mailer (1923), baseball Hall of Famer and Mr. Cub Ernie Banks (1931), baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan (1947), actress Kerry Washington (1977), and singer/actor Justin Timberlake (1981).

On this day in history...

In 1606, Guy Fawkes, the perpetrator of the Gunpowder Plot, was executed for his plot against the British Parliament and King James I.

In 1801, John Marshall, who later authored Marbury v. Madison, which established the precedent of judicial review, was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, passed the Congress and was submitted to the states.

In 1915, during World War I, Germany became the first nation to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare, deploying it against Russian forces in the Battle of Bolimow.

In 1968, Viet Cong guerrillas began attacking targets all across Vietnam, including the US embassy in Saigon, kicking off what is now known as the Tet Offensive.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on January 31 - at least, unless something happens later, which, you never know, it might! Have a safe Tuesday.