Hello, friends.
I suppose it’s fitting for the 2025 season that the Orioles have lost the two games immediately after the otherwise-uplifting news that the team has signed top prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year contract extension. You could really start to feel good about the direction of this team, if only they were actually going in a good direction.
Last night’s was one of those “have more fun in a dentist’s chair” kind of games, with Dean Kremer having a first inning meltdown that put the
Orioles in a 5-0 hole to the Astros before they ever even came up to bat. The team did battle back to tie the game at 5-5, fell behind and tied it up again at 7-7, but once the Astros got up to nine runs, that proved to be too much. They had their chances later on. They just couldn’t do enough to tie or take the lead. Check out Tyler Young’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
One other trend that continued last night was the Orioles recent pattern of not doing great on nights where they are celebrating the team’s history in some way. Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was the honoree last night on his orange jersey replica giveaway night. Palmer threw out the first pitch of the game and was celebrated in a specific way that he isn’t usually. Again, one might have hoped this would carry over some good vibes to the team, and what one actually witnessed was Kremer giving up five runs in the first inning.
It wasn’t always like that. I’ll never forget being in the stadium in 2014 for the night the Orioles celebrated the 60th anniversary of the franchise, with a special ceremony after the team played a great game that honored ex-O’s from all through the team’s history. When it was all over, the 2014 team came out from the clubhouse to mingle with the greats. In the middle of that season, they belonged together. If such a moment could have powered an eventual World Series, it would have. Instead, you know. But on that night, at least, they did it.
No history to honor today. No prospect press conferences, at least not unless there’s a real surprise. All that’s left is for the Orioles to try to avoid getting mopped (a four-game sweep) at the hands of the Astros. They’ve given up 26 runs over the first three games of the series. It’s a tough way to win. Trevor Rogers is on the mound for the O’s. Hopefully, he won’t follow the pattern of the starting pitchers in the previous games of this series. Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti brings his 6.94 ERA to the mound.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Basallo: ‘It means a lot to hear the organization feels that way about me’ (Baltimore Baseball)
All I can say is that I hope this is the first of many of these press conferences, and that after we get some of them, we also get good baseball for a while.
With Basallo extended, could Henderson be next on Orioles list? (Orioles.com)
Beat reporters were working different angles on Gunnar Henderson speaking after yesterday’s conference. Be aware that there’s nothing in the article to support the headline offering Henderson signing a pre-free agency long-term deal as a possible outcome.
Mansolino: ‘I’d imagine there’s guys that wanna stay here long term’ (School of Roch)
Whether the guys who want to stay here long term are the guys Orioles fans would now like to stay here long term is the big hundred-million dollar question.
‘It takes two to do deals’: Rubenstein says Orioles hoping for more contract extensions (The Baltimore Banner)
I give Mike Elias and David Rubenstein credit for getting this first one done. I really never thought they’d do it. But, if they’re going to turn around and talk about more, that talk is cheap until something else happens.
Cade Povich reveals hateful message fan sent to wife on social media (The Baltimore Sun)
Just… don’t be this person. It’s not hard to not be like this.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1983, infielder Lenn Sakata was pressed into service as an emergency catcher in the tenth inning of a game against the Blue Jays. Famously, reliever Tippy Martinez picked off three runners who reached base that inning, and in the bottom half, Sakata hit a three-run home run to send everyone home.
There is one lone former Oriole who was born on this day. He’s a pretty big one: Happy 65th birthday to Maryland native, baseball Hall of Famer, and consecutive games played record holder Cal Ripken Jr.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Jorge Luis Borges (1899), author/historian Howard Zinn (1922), actor Steve Guttenberg (1958), video game designer Hideo Kojima (1963), and comedian Dave Chappelle (1973).
On this day in history…
In 410, the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome, the first time in about eight centuries that a foreign army had captured the city. The sack is recognized today as one of the key signs of the fall of the Roman empire.
In 1814, British soldiers captured Washington, DC, setting fire to what was then known as the presidential mansion (today, the White House), among several other prominent public buildings.
In 1932, Amelia Earhart carried out a non-stop flight from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey, becoming the first woman to make the cross-country flight nonstop.
In 1992, the category 5 Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida. There were 65 direct fatalities from this storm, in addition to about $27 billion (1992 money) in damages. At the time, this was the costliest such storm in history; the current #1 is 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 24. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
