Leading Off



Hi. We hope this episode finds you well – in good health and good spirits.



Spring Training is winding down, and the season is tantalizingly close. So, too, might be “normal” baseball?



Around here, that means sub-.500 baseball, and that is all but assured in 2021.







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



* magn8606* jakee4025







This Week on the Twitters







Here’s what’s going on in the world of Orioles Baseball, in 280 characters, or fewer:




1 – @Jim22Palmer vs 7 – @BirdsEyeViewBal— MASN Oriolez (@MASNOriolez) March 9, 2021





I think 673 ft 🤔🤣 https://t.co/rSS7fg6Wz1— Nelson Cruz (@ncboomstick23) March 12, 2021





Congrats to Nick Markakis on his retirement from baseball after an incredible 15-year career.Thank you for the memories, the hustle, and your countless contributions to this organization. Best of luck in your next chapter, Nick! pic.twitter.com/T9IGMflOSG— Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) March 12, 2021





someone parody ‘we didn’t start the fire’ but the lyrics are all former orioles who went on to be great with new teams pic.twitter.com/Q8mpcbcSis— OLIVIA witherite (@Oliviawitherite) March 16, 2021





Zach Britton: “Will I pitch in this Wild Card game?”Buck: pic.twitter.com/wialwZwSHh— Locked On Orioles (@LockedOnOrioles) March 11, 2021








Around the Bases







First Base: Rosturbation



Spring Training is all about trying to figure out who is going to be on the club. We break down who is a sure thing, and what dark horse candidates are out there.



Second Base: Fans in the Stands



The Orioles (er… the Maryland Stadium Authority?) are going to allow fans i n the stands, up to 25% capacity to start the season. Yes, we all get the jokes about the fact that the Orioles are going to struggle to get 11,000 fans. They’re all very funny. Ha. Ha. Ha.



Sigh.



But, we talk about attendance, ballpark safety, and whether the return to “normalcy” might even be an attendance boon to a club expected to be quite dreadful.



Third Base: Slow Motion Capture



The Orioles photogs broke the internet with their coverage of a knuckleball. This got us to wondering: what else in Birdland should we be capturing with similar effects?