The Orioles have been outscored 17-5 in two games by the light-hitting Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays held 6-0 leads in consecutive games for the first time since 2013. J.P. Arencibia, who was with the O’s in Spring Training, knocked in six runs last night. The Birds, of course, jettisoned Arencibia in favor of Ryan Lavarnway, who has six RBI all season (and, all with Atlanta after the O’s got rid of him as well).
That’s how things are going in Birdland right now.
It’s always darkest before the dawn? I dunno. I got nothing. Let’s hit some links.
I Was the Orioles’ PR Director When Cal Broke The Streak. Here’s What It Was Like
Since it hurts too much to talk about what the current team is doing on the field, let’s start with a discussion of something that happened 20 years ago. John Maroon, the O’s PR Director in 1995, gives his first-hand account of what it was like to manage all the events and big names that surrounded Cal Ripken’s breaking of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak. It’s a fascinating read for any O’s fan, and a great success case study for anybody in PR.
Despite O’s Crumbling Season, Adam Jones is Still Raking
In his weekly guest column at MASN, Camden Depot’s Matt Kremnitzer tries to find a ray of sunshine in this ever-darkening season, and comes up with Adam Jones. Which, hey, I can get behind that. I’m glad Adam is an Oriole. Anything else I say will just come off as unnecessarily whiny, so I’ll leave it at that.
Should the O’s Extend a Qualifying Offer to Matt Wieters?
Camden Chat’s Steve Damerell says that Matt Wieters has gone from a certainty to receive a QO to extremely doubtful to receive one. I’m not sure I agree with that, but everything else Damerell says rings true to my ears, especially his closing line.
Have We Seen the Last of Miguel Gonzalez?
Jon Shephard of Camden Depot wrote this piece before the good news that Gonzalez’s MRI came back showing no structural damage, but it’s still a good read regarding MiGo’s chances of continuing to contribute to the Birds in the near and semi-distant future, especially if he ends up needing to undergo Tommy John Surgery for a second time.
