Hello, friends.
There are now 88 days remaining until Opening Day. This number was last worn on the O's by Albert Belle in 1999 and 2000, although I remember it from my youth for Rene Gonzales. This is, according to Baseball Reference, the highest number an Oriole has ever worn in an MLB game.
Continuing on the same pattern since the calendar has turned to 2017, there hasn't been much Orioles news to talk about other than rumors or news about what players have signed elsewhere. Rajai Davis signed with Oakland, and it turns out that the Athletics also have at least a little interest in... Mark Trumbo? Well, OK.
It's reached the point where I've come around on the O's re-signing Trumbo. It's not that I wanted them to all along, but now that it's gotten down to this point, I feel like I might rather then sign Trumbo again than sign nobody. That's probably not a good idea. It might be better if I could avoid paying attention to Orioles news from November to March and just see who is on the team in April. Better for my sanity, anyway - not for my tenure as an Orioles blogger.
Let's hit the links and see what we've got for today.
Around the blogO'sphere
MLB Roundup: Big-name free agents struggle to find job - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN
Buster Olney reports that some agents are sounding the panic button about their clients, because teams are just picking minor league minimum salary talent over MLBers with track records, and some careers may end. Presumably, this fate will not happen to Trumbo or Matt Wieters.
Matt Wieters and the Curse of the Tall Catcher | FanGraphs Baseball
But speaking of Wieters, Fangraphs advances the theory that his problem is that he's tall, which means he's not good at framing low pitches, which means that teams don't want him.
Myriad O's Thoughts: Mark Trumbo's market and Jesus Montero's upside - BaltimoreBaseball.com
As a general rule, I don't write about minor league signings like Jesus Montero because who the hell cares. I am not above linking in the Bird Droppings to others posts about them, though.
Prospect profile: Brian Gonzalez made solid improvements in 2016 - Steve Melewski
If you've never heard of Brian Gonzalez, that's OK.
And this last one has nothing to do with the Orioles...
Police seek indictment of Jung Ho Kang, who is also cut from WBC team - Bucs Dugout
I hope no one on the Orioles ever gives me reason to write a story like this.
Birthdays and anniversaries
There are two former Orioles with birthdays today. They are Ryan Minor, who replaced Cal Ripken at third base when The Streak finally ended at 2,632 games, and 1990 short-timer Ron Kittle. I do not wish a happy birthday for Kittle.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Eastern Shore-born Navy hero Stephen Decatur (1779), explorer/general/Pikes Peake namesake Zebulon Pike (1779), animator Hayao Miyazaki (1941), actress Diane Keaton (1946), music's Marilyn Manson (1969), and actor Bradley Cooper (1975).
On this day in history...
In 1066, England's Edward the Confessor died without children, kicking off a succession crisis that would, months later, lead to the Norman invasion of England.
In 1846, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom. What one state would you be willing to generously share with them nowadays? I'm thinking Texas.
In 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross became governor of Wyoming, making her the first ever female governor in the United States.
In 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge took four years to build. You can find your way if you just get on US-50, go west, keep going all the way to Sacramento, where it turns into I-80, then ride I-80 South to US 101 North.
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on January 5 - or at least, unless something happens later, which, you never know, it might! Have a safe Thursday.