Tuesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are still headed out of the race

Hello, friends.

Another day has dawned with the Orioles in third place in the American League East. After losing five games in a row, they are now 10.5 games back of the division-leading Red Sox. Even if they win every remaining game, it’s essentially impossible for them to win the division.

More importantly for the Orioles, they are now 3.5 games back of the second wild card team, the Twins. The Orioles have four teams to pass in order to get back to that postseason spot and their “tragic number” - the combination of Orioles losses and Twins wins that will eliminate the O’s - is now 16.

If you missed the game, you’re probably lucky that you didn’t see it. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game if you want to see the not-so-lovely totals.

The light is fast going out on the 2017 season for the O’s. You can’t get away with losing five games in a row in September unless you have an absurdly large cushion, like the Dodgers did before they forgot how to win games. They probably need to go 13-5 from here on out, and even that might not end up being good enough.

Around the blogO’sphere

Orioles’ sweep by Cleveland knocks sense of reality into club’s playoff assessment (Baltimore Sun)
And losing again on Monday night surely didn’t help this outlook any.

O's Kevin Gausman on blister issue that pushed start back a day - Steve Melewski
Isn’t this just the thing that you want to read as the Orioles are desperately looking to get back into the win column?

Orioles' Craig Gentry returns to active roster | MLB.com
Gentry will be back today, although he’s only going to be able to be used as a pinch runner.

In theory, would you trade Bundy for another member of the 2011 first-round pitching class? (Baltimore Baseball)
Here’s an interesting hypothetical from Dan Connolly. Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer were drafted before Bundy. Among those who came after are Sonny Gray and the late Jose Fernandez.

Batting Against Josh Hader Seems Terrible | FanGraphs Baseball
All you Dan Duquette haters out there, here’s one that can be ingested in its purest form.

Birthdays and anniversaries

In 2009, Brian Roberts hit a grand slam in a game against the Yankees, and more importantly, hit a double, his 51st of the year, tying his own club record for doubles in a season. Roberts went on to finish the 2009 season with 56 doubles, still the record.

There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 1988 reserve Keith Hughes, 1988-89 swingman Mark Thurmond, and outfielder Albie Pearson of the 1959-60 Orioles. Today is Mr. Pearson’s 83rd birthday. Happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include: Rotary printing press inventor Richard March Hoe (1812), Gatling gun inventor Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), noted Baltimorean H.L. Mencken (1880), gold medal sprinter Jesse Owens (1913), Rush drummer and singer Neil Peart (1952), composer Hans Zimmer (1957), funny man Louis C.K. (1967), and singer Jennifer Hudson (1980).

On this day in history...

In 490 BC, a force of Athenians and allies defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, beating back the first Persian invasion of Greece. A legend associated with this battle led to the modern day, 26.2-mile marathon - approximately the distance between Athens and Marathon.

In 1814 AD, a force of Maryland militiamen halted the British land advance towards Baltimore in the Battle of North Point, eventually leading to the attack on Fort McHenry. Tradition tells that the British commander, Robert Ross, said before the battle that he would dine in Baltimore or in hell. Ross was shot by a sniper and died that day.

In 1910, the premiere performance of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony took place in Munich. This is the so-called Symphony of a Thousand because at its premiere, it featured a chorus of 852 singers and 171 players in the orchestra.

In 1959, the televison program Bonanza premiered. This was the first regularly scheduled TV show to be broadcast in color.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 12 - or at least, until something happens later. Something will surely happen, since the Orioles play the Blue Jays tonight, although nobody says that it will be good. Have a safe Tuesday. Go O’s!