Wednesday Bird Droppings: Hopefully not the beginning of another Orioles slump

Hello, friends.

Well, so much for hopes of that seven game winning streak in July. The Orioles decided to stink against Chad Bettis - he of a 5+ ERA - instead. No, I don't know why. It happens sometimes in baseball. Good offenses can still lose against bad pitchers some nights. Hitting a baseball is really hard and it's just not possible to win every game.

Not that it makes the losses any more fun to watch. Check out Ryan's recap of the game if you were doing something else with your time. There are many ways we all might have better spent our nights. The good news is that the Red Sox lost, so they're still 2.5 games back. The bad news is that the Blue Jays won, despite falling behind 6-4 in the 12th inning, so the O's now have a two game division lead over their Canadian foes.

Here's hoping that things go better today. It'll be the latest start in the Dylan Bundy experiment. Somehow every Bundy start seems like a referendum on the whole concept, which of course is not the best way to look at it. Bundy will be facing off against another top 5 draft pick from Oklahoma, Colorado's Jon Gray. The Orioles are probably going to strike out a lot.

Around the blogO'sphere

Chris Tillman and Adam Jones comments after O's loss to Colorado - Steve Melewski
Running through the post-game player quotes after last night's loss. Guys, you just have to keep grinding. That's basically what the Orioles always say. It's a grind and you have to keep grinding.

More on Jimenez-Upton talks, Harvey surgery, Kim (O's lose 6-3) - School of Roch
If you've ever wanted to hear Buck Showalter go into detail about what happened in a Tommy John procedure, this article is exactly what you are looking for.

Chris Davis Talks Orioles Success, Casey Cares & The Flu " CBS Baltimore
Davis joined the fellows of 105.7 The Fan to talk about various topics. You can either read the summary or listen to the interview itself.

Orioles notes: Ubaldo Jimenez returns, Hunter Harvey's surgery goes well - Baltimore Sun
Yes, this looks a lot like the one above, and it probably is, but I liked how they wrote about Ubaldo Jimenez in this one better. He's starting in the make-up game in Minnesota on Thursday, did you hear that?

Why losing out on Melvin Upton Jr. is no big loss - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Dan Connolly doesn't want you to even sweat a little bit that the Orioles failed to complete that trade for Melvin Upton. I'm kinda with him on this one.

Jonathan Schoop providing sweet middle infield power for Orioles home run chase - Beyond the Box Score
Our fellow SBNers have some nice things to say about Jonathan Schoop. Yeah, he's good. It's always nice when people outside of Birdland notice that.

Birthdays and anniversaries

There is one current Oriole with a birthday today: Maine's favorite son and the Camden Chat community's imaginary love interest for actress Anna Kendrick, Ryan Flaherty. Former Orioles with birthdays today are: Floyd Rayford (1980, 82, 84-87) and Rich Dauer (1976-85). So they made Rayford miss out on the World Series? Tough.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with those current and former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: Maryland militia general and Battle of Baltimore commander Samuel Smith (1752), Hall of Fame baseball manager Leo Durocher (1905), Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax (1938), wrestler/executive Triple H (1969), Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (1970), SNL's Maya Rudolph (1972), Orange is the New Black actress Taylor Schilling (1984), and golfer Jordan Spieth (1993).

On this day in history...

In 1299, at least according to historian Edward Gibbon, the future first Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Osman I, first invaded the territory of Nicomedia - henceforth this date was considered the founding of the Ottoman state.

In 1663, the Parliament of England passed the second Navigation Act, which required that all goods being sent to the American colonies be sent on English ships from English ports. Who would ever think this was a good idea?

In 1921, a team of University of Toronto researchers led by the biochemist Frederick Banting proved that the hormone insulin is what regulates blood sugar.

In 1949, the world's first jet-powered airliner, the de Havilland Comet, took its first flight. Perhaps not coincidentally, this took place on the birthday of de Havilland Aircraft Company founder Geoffrey de Havilland (born 1885).

In 1953, the fighting of the Korean War came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the United States, China, and North Korea. No peace treaty was ever signed so the war, technically, is still on between North and South Korea.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on July 27 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Wednesday. Go Orioles!