Leading Off

Not a lot of Joy in Mudville, unless you count the Sunday Funday the Orioles put together in which they came storming back after getting curb-stomped in the first inning.

Actually, you know what? We’re just going to focus on that, and pretend the rest of it never happened.

Drink of the Week

Join us for the Drink of the Week, and let us know how you’re consoling yourself as you watch the O’s. Find us on Untappd

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This Week on the Twitters

I really hope Elias is around long enough to see the Orioles succeed

God help us if we have another Andy-MacPhail-to-Dan-Duquette situation https://t.co/zaGPRpTH2a

— Orioles red (@OriolesMood) May 17, 2021

25 years ago today:

The grandest of slams. pic.twitter.com/VVeeaAcb9T

— Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) May 17, 2021

⚾️On May 15, 1991, Queen Elizabeth II accompanied President George H. W. Bush to an Oakland A's/Baltimore Orioles baseball game pic.twitter.com/sys9eONOh9

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) May 15, 2021

Baseball is breathing poetry.
Matt Harvey collected his 800th career strikeout at Citi Field today infront of fans who gave him three standing ovations.
The man who has had a professional poker face since his collegiate days, was brought to tears.

— Melanie Newman (@MelanieLynneN) May 12, 2021

Following CDC guidance and in consultation with our health department and medical experts, tomorrow Maryland will be lifting the statewide mask mandate in addition to all other capacity and distancing restrictions.

Details: https://t.co/YvCS7jq2Er

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) May 14, 2021

Around the Bases

FIRST BASE: As the Rotation Turns

John Means was pushed back for his next start, and Birdland was… concerned. No, he’s not hurt, sick, or traded. The Orioles are just being a prudent organization.

Wow. That feels weird to say.

Also, there are four other spots in the rotation, apparently.

SECOND BASE: The Minors are enfuego

The Orioles’ minor league affiliates are stocked with talent, and they are fun. Also, both traditional and social media are doing a better job of making this fun, talented crop hope available to us.

No one is using the world “cavalry,” but it’s clear that there’s hope on the horizon, and AA is closer than you expect…

THIRD BASE: Sunday Funday

If you made it past the first inning of Sunday’s win against the Yankees, you were treated to Fun Baseball. This game it all (bonus points if you read this in your Stefon voice): lockdown (relief) pitching and a much-overdue offensive explosion.

HOME PLATE: The Quarter Pole

With about a quarter of the season under our belt, the Orioles continue to outperform our expectations. This is not a weapons-grade terrible team, and despite the fact that this past week was rough, the team is never as good as we feel when things are going well, and are not as bad as things feel right now.

Don’t get us wrong, this team will not be playing Mean(s)ingful Games in September, but there are a lot of reasons to watch this club.

Fantasy Boss

Scott takes this week’s Fantasy Boss competition. The category was the position player with the lower K%, and Scott’s pick, Trey Mancini (20.8) just nudged Jake’s pick, Ryan Mountcastle (22.7). The funny thing was that they had the same number of strikeouts, but Mountcastle had two fewer plate appearances. (The not so funny difference between the two was about 140 wRC+)

So the contest has tightened up at 3-2 in Jake’s favor, but Scott is on the move, and he picks this week’s category.

This week, the category is over/under 2.5 steals for the Orioles.

Jake picks the under.

Scott is left with the over.

Who will own it?

Who had a great week? Who had a tough week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly for the week.

Tweet us your selections @birdseyeviewbal with #OsGood, #OsBad, and #OsUgly.

Blowing the Save

Most podcasts try to end on a high note – the perfect coda to a quality program. That’s just not our style. Each week, we’ll end on a weak note, blowing the save with an item that didn’t quite fit into the episode, or something they simply need to get off their chests. It’s our version of taking the ball and pulling a Kevin Gregg.

Your Turn

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