Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles definitely won’t lose today

Hello, friends.

Today I can offer you this one promise: The Orioles will not lose a game today. That’s chiefly because they aren’t going to play a game today. The way things are going right now, it feels like if they could find a way to lose on an off day, they would.

If you didn’t get to watch yesterday’s loss to the Twins, the Orioles’ seventh straight one-run loss, you might be better off not having done so, but if you still need to catch up on the not-so-lovely totals, here’s my recap of the game.

How are you going to spend your day off from the Orioles? I think we could all use one right now. I hope you’ve got something fun lined up. As for me, I’m probably overdue to finally finish watching Marvel’s Iron Fist on Netflix, and I have a book to read, too.

Knowing Dan Duquette, he’ll probably find something for me to write about, like a waiver claim or some minor trade or something like that, even on an off day, so I probably won’t be very successful in avoiding the Orioles. Whatever you do, don’t let them bring you down today!

Around the blogO’sphere

Orioles come close again and come up empty (with quotes) - School of Roch
Buck Showalter always keeps things on an even keel even when there are Orioles struggles going on.

Orioles claim infielder Luis Sardinas off waivers from Padres (Baltimore Sun)
Sardinas is out of options, which seems to indicate that the Orioles are going to choose to roll with Sardinas rather than Paul Janish for the duration of Ryan Flaherty’s absence - and that’s how Duquette will get me today.

Baltimore Orioles release OF Michael Bourn (ESPN)
This was the May 2017 edition of the thing that Orioles beat writers wrote the most words about as if it mattered and then it ended up not mattering at all.

Lefty Chris Lee among only a few Orioles’ top prospects thriving this week in minors (Baltimore Baseball)
For at least the past week, it’s been pretty brutal down there on the farm. Hopefully this doesn’t continue for long.

Orioles Counting On Castillo At Catcher For Now (FanRag Sports)
Angry Bird Twitter avatar Jonathan Bernhardt has some thoughts on the Orioles catching situation and concludes that they need the Beef.

Baseball’s Toughest (and Easiest) Schedules So Far | FanGraphs Baseball
Here’s Fangraphs with a series of numbers that posit that the Orioles have faced more quality hitters overall than any other team in MLB. Is that connected to the pitching staff’s struggles?

Yankees fans need to end the war on fun when it comes to the Judge’s Chambers - Pinstripe Alley
The Yankees are actually trying to do something fun and have a personality and some Yankees fans are whining about it, in case you forgot why they’re the worst.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There are several former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2000-02 catcher Fernando Lunar, two-time Oriole Miguel Tejada, 1997 four-gamer Melvin Rosario, 1976-78 outfielder Andres Mora, 1967 swingman Bill Dillman, and 1958 outfielder Jim Marshall. Mr. Marshall turns 86 years old today.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: infamous opening line writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803), transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), Random House co-founder Bennett Cerf (1898), actor Ian McKellen (1939), puppeteer Frank Oz (1944), actress Octavia Spencer (1972), and wrestler Roman Reigns (1985).

On this day in history...

In 240 BC, the earliest Halley’s Comet perihelion to be recorded in the history books took place.

In 1521 AD, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ended the Diet of Worms by issuing the Edict of Worms, which proclaimed Martin Luther an outlaw.

In 1738, a treaty ended a war between Pennsylvania and Maryland, in part settling the boundary dispute by laying down the Mason-Dixon Line.

In 1878, the Gilbert and Sullivan opera HMS Pinafore opened in London.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech to a special joint session of Congress in which he laid forth the goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of a decade.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 25 - or at least, unless something happens later, which, you never really know where Duquette is involved. Have a safe Thursday. Go Orioles!