Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are still looking for win #81

Sep 29, 2022 - 11:00 AM

Hello, friends.

Have you seen the fun Orioles from July and August? They have really vanished here in September. The team guaranteed that they won’t have another consecutive winning month with last night’s loss in Boston, a 3-1 affair that saw the offense disappear after a couple of games where they scored a lot of runs but their pitching was also really bad. No runs scored against Rich Hill? Come on. Not that anyone who saw the starting lineup would be surprised by that outcome. It wasn’t the A-team.

The pitching was better on Wednesday, though Dean Kremer wasn’t great. The Orioles still lost and are still in search of win #81. Check out John Beers’s recap of the game for the not-so-lovely totals. They have seven games left to win two and secure a winning season. The loss takes the O’s into needing even more of a miracle to get a wild card spot, though they aren’t mathematically eliminated yet. At this point, elimination could happen as soon as Friday.

Looking through the rest of the season for the O’s, there’s the one game remaining against the Red Sox today, then three on the road against the Yankees and three at home against the Blue Jays. The Yankees games are going to have Orioles pitchers trying to avoid ending up not being a part of American League history, as Aaron Judge hit the Maris-tying home run #61 last night. They are off today, so their next game is against the Orioles tomorrow. I am not looking forward to being peripherally involved in that discourse.

Other than Judge’s individual record, there’s not much for the Yankees to play for. Perhaps that will be a good sign for the O’s and the quest for 81 and 82. They’ve already clinched the division title. The Orioles just need to play better than they’ve done this month. That’s not so much to ask, is it?

As of last night, the minor league seasons are over for all of the Orioles affiliates. The Norfolk Tides dropped their season finale, 5-3, as Connor Norby’s four hit effort just wasn’t enough. Norby homered four times in nine games for Norfolk down the stretch. There are really a bevy of Orioles infield prospects. What will happen with all of them is going to be one of the things to follow over the offseason.

It’s a day game as the O’s close out the four-gamer against the Sox. Don’t say you weren’t warned! This one is set to start at 1:35. Mike Baumann is pitching for the Orioles, with Nathan Eovaldi taking the mound for Boston. Do better, Orioles batters! And when the batters do better, the pitchers must also do better. I guess we’ll see what happens with that. For those who won’t be blacked out, this is an MLB.tv free game of the day.

Around the blogO’sphere

Oriole players get their visit inside Fenway’s left field scoreboard (Baltimore Baseball)
This is one of baseball’s cool traditions. I wish the team had played better after doing it!

Gunnar Henderson is Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year (Baseball America)
Can there be enough praise for Gunnar Henderson’s 2022 season? Probably not. I can’t wait to see what he does with a full MLB season next year.

Notes on Urias, Nevin, Krehbiel, and more (School of Roch)
The Orioles had to make three roster moves before yesterday’s game, which is really not a great sign when there’s a week to go in the season. The bullpen was desperate for help, though.

Judge sets trial in Angelos family dispute for July and urges mediation given ‘very personal’ claims (The Baltimore Sun)
I’m not looking forward to hearing about this continually over the next ten months, and it seems like neither is the judge in front of whom the assorted Angelos family legal drama is playing out.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1953, the sale of the St. Louis Browns to a Baltimore-based ownership group was announced, along with the approval to move the franchise to Baltimore, where it became the Orioles we know and love.

One current Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 30th to reliever Jake Reed. A few former Orioles were also born today. They are: 2019-20 reliever Branden Kline, 1998-99 reserve first baseman Calvin Pickering, and 1963-64 pitcher Mike McCormick.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: early Roman empire figure Pompey (106 BC), novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547 AD), novelist Elizabeth Gaskell (1810), physicist Enrico Fermi (1901), and basketballer Kevin Durant (1988).

On this day in history...

In 1789, the first standing regular army in the new United States was established under the auspices of the Department of War (today, the Department of Defense). This initial force numbered about several hundred men.

In 1918, during World War I, the Allies launched an attack in the Battle of St. Quentin Canal, aiming to breach Germany’s Hindenburg Line defenses. The success of this offensive eventually convinced the Germans that they could not win the war.

In 1907, the cornerstone was laid for the Washington National Cathedral, which technically bears the full title of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington (Episcopal Church). Construction was not completed until this day in 1990.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 29. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!