Hello, friends.
Once again, the Orioles find themselves in a funk. I’m not talking about the fun kind of funk. This isn’t Parliament-Funkadelic up in here. Tower of Power isn’t showing up to ask, What is hip? This is the stinky shoes kind of funk. The limburger. The durian fruit.
Yeah, after losing yesterday, the Orioles are only 3-5. It’s early and they can turn it around. The only problem with believing this is that’s what many of us told ourselves last year too and look where that got us? Meanwhile,
as in yesterday’s 3-2 walkoff loss, familiar problems were on display. The offensive ineptitude, we’ve seen that before. The defensive challenges honestly might even be new compared to last year.
I feel like Lando Calrissian as he tries to fly the Millenium Falcon away from Cloud City towards the end of The Empire Strikes Back. They told me they fixed it! The Orioles have not given a whole lot of evidence that they have fixed anything. Veteran leaders where there were none before, new manager, new hitting coaches, so far it’s not much different.
I’m reasonably sure not all of these struggles will endure – Pete Alonso is gonna hit his dingers, I still believe. Whether things will turn for the better for younger guys like Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo, or disappointing veterans like Tyler O’Neill, I’m less certain. And I really don’t know what they’re supposed to do about the number of guys on the roster who should probably just be designated hitters. I don’t think we’ve even seen the worst of the bullpen yet.
One lesson from last year is that you can’t let things slip away early on. If the Orioles can’t manage to avoid a sweep by the Pirates here today, they’ll be 3-6 and it’ll already feel like they’re at the point where they’ve got to go on a hot streak to reverse their fortunes or else they’ll just keep sinking. Good thing they’ll be turning to Chris Bassitt, who was no good in his first start. That was sarcasm just there. The “good thing” part, I was being serious when I said he wasn’t good in his first start. The nightmare continues at 1:35 Eastern today.
If your religious tradition attaches any significance to today’s date and you will be celebrating that, I hope you enjoy it.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Here’s what Orioles must correct to turn around tough start to ‘26 (Orioles.com)
You know it’s already bad when even the official team website has to publish articles like this. “More offense” is the first thing listed and “cleaner defense” is the second, which, yeah.
The Orioles 3-5 record has been well-earned with mediocre baseball to this point (Steve on Baseball)
I think it’s also a bad sign when a longtime scribe like Steve Melewski is compelled to put together such a headline already this season. Sheesh.
Three takeaways from Orioles loss to Pirates: ABS usage proves costly (The Baltimore Sun)
“Didn’t have challenges to overturn a call and then a walkoff hit happened” is a kind of pain no MLB fan knew before this year. Orioles fans have now been introduced to it. It sucks.
Povich joins Orioles on medical taxi squad (School of Roch)
Two weeks ago, I thought, at least the Orioles have assembled sufficient depth to have Cade Povich-proofed the roster. Friends, it seems I was mistaken.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1966, the Orioles released pitcher Don Larsen, who had played for the 1954 Orioles before going elsewhere for a while. Larsen held the distinction of being the last St. Louis Browns player to remain active in MLB. He pitched three games in 1967 as well.
In 1979, Earl Weaver recorded his 1,000th win as Orioles manager.
In 2013, Chris Davis homered for the fourth straight game to start the season, tying a record, and drove in five runs to set a new record with 16 RBI through four games.
It’s really a shame that the rest of the 2013 Orioles weren’t good enough to capitalize on what Davis did that year.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: Baltimore native and 2013-15 catcher Steve Clevenger, 2006 pitcher Winston Abreu, 1958-62 infielder Ron Hansen, 1955 one-game outfielder Roger Marquis, and 1956 pitcher Fred Besana.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588), surgeon Joseph Lister (1827), educator Booker T. Washington (1856), actor Gregory Peck (1916), Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama (1955), musician Pharrell Williams (1973), and actress Lily James (1989).
On this day in history…
In 1792, George Washington exercised a president’s constitutional authority to veto a bill for the first time. He believed the Apportionment Act of 1792 did not fulfill constitutional commands regarding the number of representatives per state. Congress revised the bill and passed it again within a week, which Washington then signed.
In 1879, the nation of Bolivia declared war on Chile, sparking a nearly five-year conflict called the War of the Pacific. When all was said and done, one result of the Chilean victory in the war is that Bolivia became a landlocked country.
In 1951, Ethel and Julian Rosenberg were sentenced to death for their role in espionage that aided the Soviet Union.
In 1974, Stephen King’s first novel Carrie debuted with a first print run of 30,000 copies. In an estimate from over a decade ago, the novel had over 4 million in lifetime sales.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 5. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
