The Orioles are driving us crazy, but don’t panic, and controversial Hall of Fame eligibility changes.
Good morning Birdland,
How would two baseball games today sound? The Orioles and Twins have an old-fashioned, single-admission double-header scheduled for this afternoon at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer will be throwing the first pitch of Game 1 at 12:05, kicking off what will likely be six straight hours of baseball-ing goodness.
The O’s have now had two days off following the series win in Anaheim over the weekend. Hopefully their west-to-east jet lag is now firmly in the rear view.
Today marks the first of 15 straight days without a scheduled off day for the Birds. They have these three with the Twins, then three against the Nationals, followed by a six-game road trip to Milwaukee and Boston, before getting back home for three with the Cardinals.
It has the chance to be a season-defining stretch where the Orioles can either claw back some of their 7.5-game deficit in the AL East (5.5 games in the Wild Card) or truly sink themselves before May is even over.
Much of that will depend on if the offense is coming to play. They showed some signs of life on Sunday, scoring seven times in a game started by a left-handed pitcher. Gunnar Henderson is doing a lot of the heavy lifting lately, which is fine, but broader contributions would be appreciated.
Links
Inside the Dugout: The Orioles are driving me crazy | The Baltimore Banner
As he often does, Jon Meoli provides a precise read of what has happened to the Orioles this year and how it has messed with our collective heads. He gives the journalistic perspective rather than that of a fan, but those POVs aren’t all that different this year. The majority of people expected the Orioles to be good, if diminished. This level of struggle was not on the radar.
More on today’s doubleheader and some Orioles notes | Roch Kubatko
All sorts of little factoids in this one. The starter for game two today is up in the air. It sounds like it will either be Cade Povich or Tomoyuki Sugano. A roster shuffle is coming. Ramón Urías appears ready to come off the IL. The team can add one player for today’s doubleheader, but will then need to make a move for Thursday.
5 reasons not to give up on the struggling Orioles | MLB.com
The Orioles do still have a chance to turn things around. They don’t even have to be THAT good right away. If they can simply play a few games above .500 and stay within striking distance of a playoff spot, it could happen. Given the mediocrity of the AL at large, it is possible.
MLB reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, making them Hall of Fame eligible | AP News
If you are constructing a place meant to honor the game of baseball, you probably shouldn’t deify two guys that did significant damage to the public persona of the game. Rose and Jackson were clearly talented baseball players, and they will always have a place when talking about the history of the game. That doesn’t mean you have to give them a gold plaque in Cooperstown.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Dennis Martinez turns 71 today. A 2002 inductee to the Orioles’ team Hall of Fame, Martinez spent 11 seasons in Baltimore from 1976-86. His best performance was 1981, when he led the league with 14 wins and compiled a 3.32 ERA to finish fifth in Cy Young voting. Another career high was ‘79, when he led the league in games started (39), complete games (18) and innings pitched (292.1).
- The late Les Moss (b. 1925, d. 2012) was born on this day. He came to Baltimore with the St. Louis Browns franchise, where had already played eight seasons. The catcher stuck with the Orioles for two more seasons from 1954-55 as a backup.
- Mark Smith is 55 years old. From 1994-96, he was a reserve corner outfielder for the Orioles.
This day in O’s history
1967 – Orioles pitcher Stu Miller serves up a home run to Mickey Mantle, the 500th of his illustrious career. Mantle is the sixth MLB player to reach the mark, which lifts the Yankees to a 6-5 win.