Here's the most depressing thing the Orioles take into the All-Star break: Ravens training camp opens in 14 days.
And you know what that means.
That means in a little more than two weeks, the Orioles become an afterthought to lots of sports fans in this town.
Suddenly talk radio will be filled with riveting discussions about the Ravens' backup tight end and whether the sixth-round draft choice can stick as a special teams guy.
You'll open this sports section every day and find three or four stories on such pressing topics as who did well in the morning passing drills and what's the extent of the injury to Todd Heap's shoulder, elbow, hamstring, etc.
And at that point, there will be people all over town turning to each other and saying: "Hey, are the Orioles still playing? Really? How're they doing?"
This is the sad reality of being a perennial loser in a city with another pro franchise that's hugely successful and knows how to treat its fans.
So here we are at the All-Star break and the Orioles are 40-48 after Sunday's win over the Toronto Blue Jays, still in last place, where they always seem to be.
Sure, they're riding a modest two-game winning streak. Sure, they won a series finale and a game on Sunday, when they tend to play as if sedated.
But it all raises the question: What are we to make of this team right now?
And the honest answer is: Nobody's quite sure.
Is there hope for this team? Sure, there's hope. There was hope on the Titanic, even as they lowered the lifeboats and the band played "Nearer My God to Thee."
There's a solid group of good young position players on this team - we know that.
But except for Brad Bergesen, who pushed his record to 6-3 Sunday with his eighth quality start in his past nine starts - the starting pitching is questionable.
On the other hand, the promising, hard-throwing trinity of Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta awaits a major league call-up, which could help matters immensely, especially if Bergesen keeps pitching masterfully.
So ... is that a clear enough picture for you?
After Sunday's win over the Jays, Dave Trembley was just happy to talk about Bergesen and all he has meant to this team.
"Bergesen sure had a great first half for us," the Orioles' manager said. "He's established himself as a real nice story this year as a starting pitcher in the American League.
