"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastBird DroppingsTuesday Bird Droppings: Where Mike Mussina might be headed to the HallNew Bradley Zimmer Jersey ,1033commentsThe former Orioles ace finds out today whether he’s been elected to Cooperstown. ESTShareTweetShareShareTuesday Bird Droppings: Where Mike Mussina might be headed to the HallGood morning, Camden Chatters.Today brings a welcome flurry of activity amidst an otherwise agonizingly boring MLB offseason. The National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its electees to the class of 2019, and former Orioles ace Mike Mussina is among the top candidates.Based on Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame voting tracker, three players appear to be slam dunks for election: Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, and the late Roy Halladay. Rivera has a chance to be the first unanimous selection in Hall of Fame history; he’s been named on all 217 public ballots as of this writing. Halladay has pulled in 92.6% and Martinez 90.8%, well above the 75 percent needed for election.Mussina’s chances are a bit iffier. Currently, on the public ballots, he’s received 81.6% of the vote. Many voters, though, have chosen not to openly reveal their ballots — and those non-public voters tend to be the older, stodgier types who have more antiquated standards for Hall of Fame enshrinement. In other words, the types who will be more hesitant to vote for Mussina. In last year’s ballot, Mussina received 65.7% from public voters, but only 46.7% from private voters. If the disparity is just as massive this year, he might not get his needed 75%.Still, even if he falls just short this year, it certainly appears that Mussina’s time is coming eventually. He has four more years of eligibility on the ballot after this one, and he’s been steadily rising up the charts each time, from 20.4% in his first year to 63.5% in 2018, his fifth year.Mike Mussina will be a Hall of Famer Brandon Guyer Jersey , and deservedly so. It might happen today. Now, will he go in as an Oriole or a Yankee? That, perhaps, is a debate for another day.LinksLosing a father and a hero - School of RochRoch Kubatko shares a beautiful tribute to his late father. This is a must-read, but be sure to bring Kleenex.Mike Mussina is potentially closing in on a call to the Hall - Steve MelewskiSteve Melewski posits that Mussina could be considered nearly Jim Palmer’s equal as the best pitcher in Orioles history. He’s not wrong.Connolly’s Tap Room: If Mussina makes the Hall, should he get a Camden Yards statue? – The AthleticWhat say you? I'm inclined to vote no statue, since Mussina was never part of a championship O's team, unlike the currently bestatued Orioles Legends. Which brings up an additional and somewhat depressing question: who will even be the next Oriole to get a statue?Baltimore Orioles: The best third-basemen in Orioles history - Birds WatcherYou can probably guess who’s No. 1. No, it’s not Craig Worthington.Orioles birthdays and historyIs today your birthday? Happy birthday! The most recent Oriole to share your birthday, unfortunately, is one that you’re probably not super jazzed about: Ubaldo Jimenez, who turns 35. Ubaldo was a complete bust during his four-year O’s career from 2014-17, going 32-42 with a 5.22 ERA while making $50 million. Nobody ended up signing him after his O’s contract expired a winter ago, so it appears his big league career is over.Your other O’s birthday buddies are 2004-05 right-hander Aaron Rakers (42), 1967-72 righty Dave Leonhard (78), and the late Bobby Young, who would have been 94 today. Young, a Maryland native, was the first player ever to step into the batter’s box for the Orioles, batting leadoff in their inaugural game April 13, 1954.On this day in 2006 http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , the Orioles acquired veteran righty Kris Benson from the Mets for John Maine and Jorge Julio. Benson pitched only one year for the Birds and was overshadowed by his wife, Anna, who...uh, well, you can read up on her if you’re not familiar. Be careful with your Googling, though. Meanwhile, Maine went on to have a few successful seasons with the Mets, so the O’s didn’t exactly get the better end of the trade. This off-season has definitely been moving faster than last years’, but next week is the Winter Meetings where all of the GM’s, Owners, Agents, and others involved in baseball gather in Mandalay..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsDiscussing the Upcoming Winter MeetingsNew,46commentsByBrian Cohn (HH)Dec6, 2018,4:30pm CSTShareTweetShareShareDiscussing the Upcoming Winter MeetingsThis off-season has definitely been moving faster than last years’, but next week is the Winter Meetings where all of the GM’s, Owners, Agents, and others involved in baseball gather in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for a Monday – Thursday marathon of baseball deals. This is usually the busiest time of year for Free Agent signings, trades and rumors, etc. What are the Winter Meetings?According to Wikipedia Josh Tomlin Jersey , the first winter meeting was hosted in 1876, but became an annual event since 1901. It obviously has evolved greatly since that time, and with technology being the way it is, there has been somewhat of a shift away from the Meetings as the timeline when every deal gets done. MiLB.com has a schedule of the events - which includes some really interesting ones such as:Appalachian League President Lee Landers accepts the 2017 King of Baseball Award at the 2017 Banquet.MiLB.com“BanquetThis annual event features the presentation of some of baseball’s most prestigious awards, honoring outstanding clubs and individuals from the industry. Awards include the King of Baseball, John H. Johnson President’s Award, Larry MacPhail Award, Warren Giles Award, Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award, Mike Coolbaugh Award, John Henry Moss Community Service Award and Charles K. Murphy Patriot Award.”Did anyone else know that there was a “King of Baseball” award? The item that’s scheduled that is always the most interesting to me is the Rule V draft, which we will continue to cover. Astros Predictions”We’re not going to start mortgaging our future to get incrementally better right now, because we have a pretty good team,” Luhnow said. “That being said, we have some free agents that came off of [our] team, and we have to figure out where those innings and at-bats are going to go. It’s going be some combination of our own guys and guys we have to trade or sign as free agents ourselves.”I started looking online to see what was projected for the Astros, and any interesting discussions about the upcoming meeting, but really wanted to open it up to TheCrawfishBoxes to see what you guys would like to see. Bleacher Report made predictions for all 30 teams– For the Astros, they predicted Charlie Morton for 1-year, $16 Million. This seems like a logical, and somewhat “safe” prediction.Sports Illustrated’s take: ( )“The Astros could potentially be in the conversation for the best starter on the market Carlos Carrasco Jersey , Patrick Corbin. But there’s not a whole lot of depth out there behind him—though there’s certainly some, including names like Nathan Eovaldi and J.A. Happ, which could be on the table—and instead, a trade might be in play. Houston has had to dip into its farm system for deals in recent years, but there’s still enough there to make a splash, if desired. If Cleveland decides to go forward with putting up Corey Kluber or Carlos Carrasco, or if Arizona shows interest in moving Zack Greinke or Robbie Ray? The Astros could be right there. As for the catcher’s spot, they’ve been linked to J.T. Realmuto—which would solve their problems there, considering that he’s the best backstop available.”MLB.com’s prediction: ( )Nathan EovaldiDetroit Free Press:This was less of a prediction, but somewhat them searching for a match for the Tigers continued rebuild and sale. “Castellanos’ market isn’t great, almost entirely because of his defensive ability in right field. Without the designated hitter, a National League team would have to take a leap of faith to acquire him, which almost halves the field. Still, his offensive ability is enough that a team should take a chance.The Astros had interest in Castellanos last summer. They might represent the best fit: Castellanos could play left field in Houston, which counts as the most shallow in baseball.They do also highlight a Matt Boyd trade, but I just don’t see the Astros pursuing that unless there’s something I missed from a precursory glance at his profile. So tell us - what are your predictions? What would you like to see? Any players you’d like us to do an analysis on as we come up to the meetings.Regardless, let’s hope for some early Christmas presents! Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports