Baseball’s hot stove has six more days to keep churning before the impending lockout freezes the sport. Here we go.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
I hope everyone had a festive and delicious Thanksgiving, and that those who were able to safely see family or friends for the occasion enjoyed doing so, while gorging yourself to your heart’s content on turkey or sweet potatoes or whatever your meal of choice.
Not surprisingly, there was no real baseball news during the holiday, but the action could pick up considerably for the next six days. As everyone’s aware by now, the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union expires on Dec. 1, one minute before midnight. If the two parties don’t reach an agreement by then — and it’s widely expected that they won’t — it’s considered nearly inevitable that the owners will lock out the players, halting all MLB activity for what could be an extended period of time.
So this next week could bring a rush of activity, especially on the free agent market. Teams that are hoping to fill some holes with veteran talent might want to secure those contracts quickly before the lockout leaves them in limbo for potentially weeks or months. Players, too, might want to lock in guaranteed deals before the work stoppage hits so they’re not left waiting until nearly spring training to find a home.
Consider these next six days to be the last gasp of (non labor-related) baseball news for a while. Let’s hope it’s interesting, because this time next week we could be just beginning a long, cold winter for Major League Baseball.
Links
A day for giving thanks – School of Roch
Oriole fans still have much to be thankful for – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Roch Kubatko and Rich Dubroff had similar ideas for their Thanksgiving Day posts. The top O’s item on both their lists, of course, was Trey Mancini’s inspiring comeback. I think we can all raise a glass to that.
Orioles ‘DFAll-Star’ hitters: A full team of waiver claims and trades from the first 3 years of the rebuild – Baltimore Sun
I’ll be thankful when the Orioles don’t have to keep relying on waiver claims to serve as warm bodies for their roster.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two O’s birthday buddies: early- to mid-2000s left-hander John Parrish (44) and 1993 second baseman turned TV personality Harold Reynolds (61).
On this day in 1962, the O’s traded away catcher Gus Triandos, an Orioles Hall of Famer and three-time All-Star (and favorite of The Wire’s Herc), to the Tigers for fellow backstop Dick Brown. Both players’ careers were finished within three years, so it wasn’t a particularly significant deal, but Nov. 26 is slim pickings for noteworthy Orioles events.