masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles are off today and it has nothing to do with the weather. The schedule dictated it. No one is fighting it.
Not everyone is spending the day away from the ballpark. Yovani Gallardo will play catch from 90 feet and someone needs to be on the other end or he’s going to spend all morning chasing the ball.
Bullpen coach Dom Chiti and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells will watch him. It’s a safe bet that manager Buck Showalter will put off the yard work and join them.
* We’ll find…

The Orioles are off today and it has nothing to do with the weather. The schedule dictated it. No one is fighting it.

Not everyone is spending the day away from the ballpark. Yovani Gallardo will play catch from 90 feet and someone needs to be on the other end or he’s going to spend all morning chasing the ball.

Bullpen coach Dom Chiti and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells will watch him. It’s a safe bet that manager Buck Showalter will put off the yard work and join them.

* We’ll find out today whether Jimmy Paredes cleared waivers. He tends to be in demand despite modest credentials.

The Marlins, Orioles and Royals claimed Paredes between Nov. 4, 2013 and Feb. 17, 2014. The Orioles purchased his contract on July 24, 2014.

Paredes can refuse an outright assignment if he clears. He can continue getting paid if he accepts it.

What would you do?

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* I’ve been asked whether the Orioles should talk contract extension with Mark Trumbo, who currently is tied for the club lead in home runs with 11 and leads in RBIs with 28 to go with a .307/.362/.593 slash line.

My guess is they’d prefer to wait until he gets into the summer months. No need to rush it. We’re seven weeks into the season.

Trumbo is a career .284/.328/.514 hitter in March/April, including 25 doubles, 27 home runs and 86 RBIs. He’s a .282/.344/.568 hitter in May, including 29 doubles, 32 home runs and 75 RBIs.

Here are the rest of his numbers:

June: .216/.255/.411 with 11 doubles, 19 home runs and 53 RBIs.
July: .252/.295/.454 with 18 doubles, 21 home runs and 61 RBIs.
August: .245/.308/.420 with 16 doubles, 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.
Sept./Oct.: .234/.273/.419 with 24 doubles, 21 home runs and 81 RBIs.

I’m not predicting a drop-off in Trumbo’s production. Far from it. Just passing along some stats.

* The Orioles have five stolen bases in 36 games, the last coming yesterday from Nolan Reimold in the second inning. No one has swiped more than one bag, the list also including Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Flaherty and Joey Rickard.

They’re not the Go-Go Orioles. More like the Going-Going-Gone Orioles, which seems to be working just fine.

* Major props to reliever Darren O’Day for using “egregious” and “petulant” in yesterday’s postgame interview. This guy is special.

O’Day may be facing a fine after verbally tearing into umpire Mark Wegner following a 6-5 loss. Or Major League Baseball could agree that Wegner and plate umpire Jeff Kellogg must have been creating their Bitmojis while J.D. Martinez attempted to check his swing.

“A lot of times stuff like that happens,” O’Day said. “Umpiring is a tough job. It’s happened to me before and I’ve gotten out of it before and now I look petulant, whiny because I’m complaining about it, but there’s no accountability and that costs games. If we lose the division by one game, there’s no telling what that costs.

“When you’re out there trying to do your job to the best of your ability, I’m trying to pitch, he’s trying to umpire. Somebody dropped the ball today.”

* Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman used Twitter to express his anger over the punch delivered by Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor that landed flush on the face of Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista during yesterday’s melee.

Stroman wrote: “Zero respect for Odor. Never had respect for him, never will.”

In case Stroman doesn’t sound familiar, he’s the guy who received a six-game suspension for whistling a fastball past Caleb Joseph’s head in 2014.

Anyway, he’s mad at Odor. It’s become quite a rivalry.

* Former reliever Grant Balfour threw out the ceremonial first pitch yesterday before the Rays-Athletics game at Tropicana Field. He closed for both teams in the past, so it seemed like an appropriate gesture.

No word on whether Rays physician Dr. Koco Eaton checked Balfour’s medicals again and ripped other teams for not letting him throw out the first pitch.

* T.J. McFarland followed up his 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start with Norfolk by holding the Buffalo Bisons to one run over 7 2/3 innings yesterday in a 2-1 victory.

McFarland didn’t strike out anyone and the only run off him came on a homer by former Orioles outfielder Junior Lake.

This assignment can only do McFarland good. He’s getting more stretched out and he’s on a regular routine. He’s presented himself as a starter option if needed. The bus rides are a bummer, for sure, but the rest is beneficial.

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* Branden Kline, the Orioles’ second-round pick in 2012 out of the University of Virginia, is making nice progress after undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in October.

Kline will start throwing from 120 feet this week at extended spring training. It sounds like he’s right on schedule.

Kline, 24, was 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA in eight starts at Double-A Bowie before the Orioles had to shut him down. The Frederick, Md. native pitched in one game in the fall instructional league before the surgery.

* Christian Walker seems to be making the transition from first base to left field at Norfolk without raising concerns in the Orioles organization. It’s a good thing, too, because Trey Mancini is doing just fine at first base.

Walker has nine doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 38 games, but his defense is most important at the moment.

“He’s hitting well and he’s playing well in the outfield,” said executive vice president Dan Duquette. “He’s thrown out a couple of baserunners and he’s getting more comfortable. He’s coming along. He’s a work in progress, but the initial reviews are pretty good.

“Mancini hit his 10th home run the other day. He looks pretty good, he’s pretty consistent at the plate. His defense is solid. So those two guys are both getting better every day at Triple-A.”

* Anyone remember Brian Gonzalez? He was the Orioles’ third-round pick in 2014 – they forfeited their first two picks by signing Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz – out of Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.) High School.

The left-hander hadn’t done much to get noticed before this season, but don’t sleep on this kid (which sounds uncomfortable anyway).

Gonzalez, 20, has posted a 1.61 ERA in his last five starts at Single-A Delmarva. He allowed only one run to Greensboro in six innings Saturday night, but the Shorebirds lost 1-0.

Gonzalez has walked two and struck out 12 over his last two starts spanning 12 innings. He’s 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA in three starts this month.

Left-handers are batting .217 against Gonzalez this season.