You thought that whole business of the Orioles hacking it up on Sundays was over, didn't you?
They had won their previous two Sunday games and you thought, "OK, the dark cloud has passed," or maybe you used a metaphor even more tortured than that one.
But then you watched them kick the ball around and make a couple of key base-running errors in a 5-3 loss to the lowly Washington Nationals on Sunday at Camden Yards, in their final inter-league game of the season.
And now the question weighs heavily on your mind again: What is the deal with these guys and Sunday games?
"It's one of those weird things in baseball you can't explain," Aubrey Huff said in a quiet post-game clubhouse. "We get tired of answering the same question every Sunday. It seems like it always happens, especially when you win the first two in a series and it always comes down to that Sunday game and we can't get it done.
"It's one of those weird coincidences."
Let's face it: The Orioles' hot-hitting first baseman didn't help matters in the series finale against the Nats, getting thrown out at second trying to stretch an RBI single that pulled the Orioles to within two in the eighth inning.
But give the guy credit: He didn't try to hide in the nether regions of the clubhouse when the game was over and the media jackals were allowed in.
Instead he sat quietly by his locker and didn't try to alibi anyone.
Basically, he said he was thinking double all the way and by the time he realized he was in trouble, he couldn't turn back, because he's a big guy with the turning radius of the Queen Mary.
And anyway, Huff wasn't the only Oriole who messed up against the Nats, a team they had owned in the first two games of the series and owned all season long.
You probably saw the lowlights: designated hitter Luke Scott got caught napping down the third base line and tagged out in a rundown in the second inning.
And rookie catcher Matt Wieters had a tough day behind the plate, dropping Adam Jones' one-hop throw in the sixth that would have cut down Josh Willingham, then throwing the ball into left field in the eighth when Willingham stole third.
All of it was enough to leave manager Dave Trembley squinting in disbelief in the dugout, which the TV cameras captured in all their high-def glory.
And when Huff was thrown out in the eighth, I was actually afraid Trembley's head would explode.
