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Hello, friends.
Another day dawns with the Orioles in second place in the American League East, just a half-game behind the division-leading Yankees. As bad as the last four games have been, all it takes is one win and a Yankees loss and the O’s will be back in first. That’s the good news.
Will the day off be enough to rest up the short-handed Orioles bullpen a bit? Did it give the team enough time to figure out what to do about that situation? I’m not expecting any resolution there today. One thing I am expecting is for Welington Castillo to make a return from the disabled list. Thanks for those homers, Francisco Pena - too bad the O’s couldn’t win that game.
Nothing they can do about that now. They can only win tonight’s game. I sure hope they do. I’m tired of losing.
Around the blogO’sphere
Kim is taking lack of playing time in stride - Baltimore Sun
Safe to say that Hyun Soo Kim is taking his playing time better than a large percentage of the sphere of Orioles fans on Twitter and in blog comment sections.
Castillo ready to return to active roster - School of Roch
Beef will be back today! I missed him while he was gone, although it’s hard to explain why. He’s just cool.
Will Orioles trade for new starting pitcher? | MLB.com
MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli takes some questions from fans. Because that’s how it goes, I’m expecting the Orioles to trade a prospect I like for someone who isn’t good.
Chris Davis on Kevin Gausman and his offense, plus other notes - Steve Melewski
“He’s trying to find the rhythm from last year,” is one take on Gausman. Please hurry up and find it, in that case, Kevin.
Stats All, Folks: What in the world is wOBA? - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Friend of the blog Paul Folkemer writes for Baltimore Baseball with an explainer on one of the newer-age baseball stats, wOBA. You have to decide for yourself whether to read it as w-o-b-a or woe-buh.
Olney: Is WBC to blame for early slumps? - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN
On ESPN, Buster Olney wonders if some early season slumps are the result of the WBC - including Manny Machado.
Jake Arrieta Has Not Been Good | FanGraphs Baseball
The word “schadenfreude” doesn’t quite describe what I feel when I read this headline, but it doesn’t displease me.
Birthdays and anniversaries
On this day in 1984, the Orioles released future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, who was unsuccessful in catching on with another team. The good news for him is that he had no chances to give up a grand slam.
Two former Orioles have a birthday today: 2000 reserve infielder Ivanon Coffie, who, if you remember, give yourself a cookie. There’s also the late Dave Philley of the 1955-56 Orioles.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Alaska purchaser William Seward (1801), actor Henry Fonda (1905), historian Studs Terkel (1912), pianist Liberace (1919), singer Janet Jackson (1966), actress Tori Spelling (1973), and actress Megan Fox (1986).
On this day in history...
In 1770, 15-year-old Louis Auguste, later King Louis XVI of France, married 14-year-old Marie Antoinette, a union that would go well for France, as history well shows.
In 1843, the first wagon train headed along what later became known as the Oregon Trail - if you’re around my age, you surely played the game - set out with a thousand pioneers from Missouri.
In 1868, President Andrew Johnson was acquitted in an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate by exactly one vote.
In 1918, Congress passed the Sedition Act, which made it a crime to criticize the government during wartime. The act would be repealed two years later.
In 1988, the Surgeon General of the United States, then C. Everett Koop, issued a report stating that the addictive effects of nicotine are similar to that of heroin and cocaine.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 16 - or at least, until something happens later, which it might even be good. Probably not, though. Have a safe Tuesday. Go Orioles!