Hello, friends.
There are now 32 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. They’ll be playing near-daily exhibitions from now until March 23. Yesterday’s game was an 8-2 loss to the Pirates, helped along by Dietrich Enns managing to give up six runs in one-third of an inning. The O’s hit the road for the first time today, with a 1:05 game coming against the Tigers. This will be broadcast on 98 Rock (97.9 FM) in the Baltimore area, with no local TV broadcast. The Tigers network is not doing a broadcast either.
Tough luck if you want to see anyone who is playing today. Or tomorrow or Tuesday. Although MASN is airing a lot more games this spring, there are gaps and those gaps are largely concentrated in the early games of the schedule. If you were watching yesterday, you got to see quite a few prospects get a little game action. Hope you enjoyed it while you could. There will be no live feed of Orioles baseball to help you feel warmer as it snows back in the home territory of Birdland today.
Not much to say about the exhibition games yet. The Orioles have played two fake games and they have one win and one loss. Probably not a ton to draw about today’s game either, since as a road game early in spring it’ll probably feature the bare minimum number of major league regulars required. There is an actual rule about this, which I believe was prompted because a number of years ago the Red Sox sent too many jabronis out on their early spring games and it was enough to make the commissioner’s office unhappy.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Mayo prepared to seize Orioles 3B job with Westburg out indefinitely (Orioles.com)
It does seem like he is going to seize the job. How happy people are about this is a question to be answered.
Figuring out who fills in for Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg (The Baltimore Sun)
It’s one of the big stories of camp and it’s understandable that there’s a lot of interest until we get the answers.
Notes on Eflin and Baz live BP, the plan for Kremer, and more (School of Roch)
Zach Eflin and Shane Baz did live batting practice sessions before yesterday’s game. Roch notes that questions remain about whether Eflin will make the Opening Day roster.
With a ‘death ball’, Orioles pitching prospect Trey Gibson making his mark (The Baltimore Banner)
That’s a heck of a metal pitch name for the prospect Gibson. It brought him some success in his first spring outing. Perhaps soon to come to the MLB level.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Nothing of particular note is recorded on this day in Orioles history. Unless there’s bad news, that probably won’t change today.
One current member of Orioles camp has a birthday today. Happy 29th to pitcher José Espada, who pitched three scoreless innings in one game with the team last year. Former Orioles who were born today: 2016 reliever Brian Duensing, 2014 infielder Kelly Johnson, 2005 outfielder Ramón Nivar, 2006 pitcher John Halama, Maryland-born 1960-67 pitcher Steve Barber, and 1954 one-game pitcher Ryne Duren. Though he allowed two earned runs in two innings of his MLB debut with the Orioles, Duren made it back to MLB several years later and carved out a ten-year career.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: general and 1st president George Washington (1732), baseball Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson (1934), basketball Hall of famer Julius Erving (1950), actor Kyle MacLachlan (1959), actress Rachel Dratch (1966), and actress Drew Barrymore (1975).
On this day in history…
In 1076, pope Gregory VII, not the pope Gregory the calendar is named after, excommunicated the reigning Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, in response to Henry sending Gregory a letter demanding that Gregory abdicate the papacy.
In 1819, Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, which provided that in two years time, Spain would sell Florida to the US for $5 million. The sale occurred two years later as indicated by the treaty.
In 1848, people in Paris sparked a revolution that, within three days, led to the abdication of the king, abolition of the revived monarchy, and the formation of the Second French Republic. This was the first of a wave of revolutions across Europe in 1848, though ultimately none were as successful in their goals as the French one.
In 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed the bill permitting the admittance of North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington into the United States.
In 1980, the US men’s hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in Olympic competition by a 4-3 score, a game known in sporting lore simply as the “Miracle on Ice.” The American team went on to defeat Finland in the gold medal game. The 2026 men’s hockey team will play for a gold medal against the Canadian team today.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll ask a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I run out of questions or forget. The book gives multiple choice answers, which I typically think would be too easy for us but I’ll give you a chance at today’s question:
In what year was the B&O Warehouse built?
- A. 1904
- B. 1896
- C. 1900
- D. 1913
If you’re answering early in the day, please be considerate and use spoiler text in your comment so that others arriving later can still feel they get a fresh crack at the question. Thanks!
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 22. Have a safe Sunday.
