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Nothing says, "Let's break a five game losing streak" like Joey Rickard and his .283 on-base percentage as the leadoff batter in a game against a recent AL Cy Young-winning pitcher. That was sarcasm just there. Adam Jones is out of the lineup for reasons that are not known as of this writing. Maybe it's just a routine day off. Jones is batting just .200 over the last week and has only a .576 OPS in May.
If things feel grim about the Orioles right now, that's chiefly because they are. They've fallen into third place in the division, having been passed by the Red Sox. They've blown two of their last four games against crummy pitchers, one thanks to the pitching staff completely melting down and one thanks to the offense being unable to score, at all, against a guy who entered a game with a 5+ ERA.
I don't know what their problem is. I don't think they know what their problem is. If they did, they might be able to solve it. They are collectively playing like they couldn't find their butts with both hands. It hasn't been much fun to watch. You're probably better off if you haven't been watching. But for us die hards, well, there's no choice, is there? Drop down in the comments and say hello if you're tuning in tonight. Maybe we can all bring the O's some good luck.