Tuesday Bird Droppings: Kicking off August with the first-place Baltimore Orioles
Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! July is over and the Orioles are still flying high. It was an incredible month for the Orioles, who went 17-9 without playing a single below .500 team.
They started the month 6.5 games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays and finished 1.5 games ahead. That required the Rays to play poorly, of course, but the Orioles still had to do their part to take advantage. They certainly did that.
In last night’s final game of the month, the Orioles defeated the Blue Jays by a score of 4-2. Kyle Gibson pitched six innings with just one run allowed, Gunnar Henderson homered and made several killer plays at third base, and Ryan Mountcastle continued his dominance of the Blue Jays. But the back of the bullpen struggled and again highlighted the need for Mike Elias to do something about the pitching before the trade deadline.
That’s right, the trade deadline is today at 6 pm! The deals have been flying across MLB but so far the Orioles haven’t joined the fun. By shortly after 6 we’ll know what, if anything, the team will do to improve the team down the stretch. Will it be a starting pitcher? Or a relief pitcher? Or maybe a batter? Or...nothing?? It’s really hard to know what will happen.
I like our guys as much as possible but the fact that they need help is obvious. They continue to hold the best record in the American League but every night with the bullpen is an adventure, and not the good kind.
And so we’ll all wait anxiously until 6 pm to see if the beleaguered bullpen will get a boost or if the Tyler Wells-less rotation will find a replacement. Stay tuned!
Links
Could the Orioles have matched rivals’ pitching trades so far - The Baltimore Banner
Jon Meoli's breakdown of if the Orioles could have, or more importantly should have, matched any of the deals already made.
5 trades Detroit Tigers could make in next day involving Eduardo Rodriguez, Michael Lorenzen - Click on Detroit
This site proposes two possible trades, both of which involve Coby Mayo. I know prospects will get traded, but it would hurt to see him go.
Baltimore Orioles become 'team to watch' in Justin Verlander trade - Sportsnaut
This idea will never not be hilarious to me.
The three types of players the Orioles could target at the trade deadline - Baltimore Sun
Starting pitchers, relief pitchers, outfielders. Outfielders is iffy to me. I know Cedric Mullins and Aaron Hicks are injured, but even still.
Orioles promoting catcher Samuel Basallo, club’s No. 5 prospect, to High-A Aberdeen - Baltimore Sun
He's only 18 years old!
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have a very special Orioles birthday buddy: Adam Jones. Jones, who played for the Orioles from 2008-2018 and ushered in a winning era of Orioles baseball, celebrates his 38th birthday today. He just appeared at Camden Yards last weekend for Mo Gaba Day, catching the first pitch from Mo’s mother, Sonsy. He also spent a few innings as the guest splasher in the Bird Bath. I hope we see him again at the park soon, it was too long away.
Also born on this day in history is George Bamberger (b. 1923, d. 2004). Bamberger pitched for the Orioles in 1959, appearing in five games. But he’s better known for his time as pitching coach for the team, a position he held from 1968-1977. He was widely praised for his work in the position including his conditioning program for pitchers. You can read all about Bamberger’s life in his SABR.org bio. I recommend it.
Two other former Orioles were born on this day: 2002-03 pitcher Travis Driskill (52) and 1975-77 outfielder/first baseman Tony Muser (76).
On this day in 1993, Glenn Davis was struck by a foul ball in the dugout and knocked unconscious. This is while he was recovering from a broken jaw he got in a bar fight. That guy was a hot mess.
In 1994, Cal Ripken became the second major leaguer player to play in 2,000 consecutive games. The Orioles won but Ripken did not have any hits.
In 2000, Mike Mussina pitched the third one-hitter of his career, allowing just a seventh-inning single. He struck out 15.
In 2003, the Orioles traded Sidney Ponson to the Giants for Kurt Ainsworth, Damian Moss, and Ryan Hannaman. No, there is no reason to remember those names. The Orioles re-signed Ponson the following offseason. It was a mistake.
In 2005, Rafael Palmeiro was suspended for testing positive for steroids. Palmeiro never admitted fault and filed a grievance against the league to have it overturned. It was in that hearing that he tried to blame Miguel Tejada for giving him a tainted vitamin shot that could have caused the positive. Nobody bought that.
In 2022, the Orioles traded fan favorite Trey Mancini to the Astros for Chayce McDermott and Seth Johnson, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. McDermott was just named the International League’s pitcher of the week.
Source: Camden Chat
