They got to .500 at 24-24. Then, the first west coast trip of the year came with three games each against the A’s and Mariners.

The O’s came home at 1-5, and their best pitcher so far this year, Zach Britton, had his second dreadful start in a row Friday night.

I think it’s safe to say that this is the Orioles’ lowest point this season. Chris Tillman is in the minors. Who knows when Brian Roberts is coming back. Derrek Lee is coming back soon, but I doubt he is terribly excited about getting back to this floundering team.

Vlad Guerrero has become a singles machine. Why wouldn’t that happen to the Orioles? Nick Markakis hasn’t played this bad on a consistent basis since April and May of 2006 when Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette considered sending him down to the minors. Luke Scott is hurt and is falling back into platoon-w0rld.

I thought this was a different team under Buck Showalter. But thus far in 2011, not even Buck can stop the avalanche that has been the Orioles since Davey Johnson was fired after 1997.

These are the same old Orioles folks. It’s June and the O’s are another bad week away from becoming irrelevant for the fourth time in four Junes under Andy MacPhail’s watch.

I’m usually optimistic when it comes to the O’s the past few years, but this last week has been extremely discouraging. I can’t help but feeling like it’s the same story, different day for this once proud franchise.

For Orioles fans, the best news about that is that when you look at the Orioles, who can you look at and say is producing around their career norm?

Vladimir Guerrero is putting up the average but not really the power.

Matt Wieters and Adam Jones have been the only two real bright spots for the Orioles, along with Robert Andino, but for the former two, I don’t see their improvement as anything other than a natural progression. Yes, it’s better than a regression, but when you have young players who played exceptionally well in the minors, eventually they are going to get to a point where they start to improve and ascend to their peak, which is what Jones and Wieters are on their way to doing.

Brian Roberts hasn’t produced, and he has missed time here going on two weeks. Derrek Lee was fairly dreadful for most of the first two months, and now he also finds himself on the DL. Mark Reynolds has gone on a mini power surge of late, but he too has fallen short of expectations. Nick Markakis has gone through tough stretches throughout his career, but the start to 2011 has to be one of his worst.

Brian Matusz has yet to throw a pitch. Kevin Gregg has blown two absolutely heartbreaking games to the Yankees and Red Sox. Mike Gonzalez, the $6 million dollar man who I am still a fan of stuff-wise, has been reduced to mop-up duty, only after blowing several games. Jason Berken, the O’s most dependable reliever for much of 2010, is in Norfolk trying to get back on track.

And yet with the win on Thursday, the Orioles are back at .500.

I think it’s safe to say that the best is yet to come for these 2011 Orioles. There have been some tough times, no doubt, and as recently as last week I felt that the wheels were about to fall off the wagon. Give Buck Showalter credit, because he hasn’t let that happen.

The O’s are three games out of the loss column, they are at .500, getting ready to head out on a road trip that is considerably softer than their last one.

Ladies and gentlemen, these Orioles might just be relevant throughout the summer.

Aside from the fluke of 2005, last time that happened, I was 7 years old. An entire generation that has been put off by Peter Angelos and the Orioles may have a chance to see the Orioles play exciting, meaningful, competitive baseball late into the summer.

It’s possible. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because this team is still an eight game losing streak away from being out of contention and having to sell off many of their short-term parts come July 31st.

But O’s fans should enjoy this streak while they can. They should enjoy their beloved Birds being relevant. Baltimore is a baseball city, even if Jerry would disagree with that at times. They deserve to watch competitive baseball in July, August, and September.

Throughout April and May, Buck and the Orioles have done everything in their power to keep their heads above water to work towards that goal of playing competitive baseball late into the 2011 summer.

Terps nation gets their wish when NC State takes Yow off their hands. Maryland hires Kevin Anderson, a successful AD at Army but an otherwise unknown, unproven hire.

Talk about an AD’s dream! To be able to take over at a major university like Maryland, and hire a new football coach and basketball coach in 5 months.

Clearly, Anderson’s fate at Maryland is directly tied to Randy Edsall and Mark Turgeon. What does that tell us about Kevin Anderson? On the surface, it tells us that while he flirts with risks and greatness, that he perhaps settles for the conservative, safer route. While that may allow him to keep his job and keep Maryland athletics respectable, his words and lectures on going from “good to great” and achieving “transformative excellence” seems fairly shallow by now.

Another difference coming from Army to Maryland is the increased media attention that the athletic programs will receive. There are writers in the area who are most known for the scrutiny that they give the major sports teams at Maryland.

I think it’s safe to say that Kevin Anderson has failed the media test of his job. First off, he said that Ralph Friedgen would come back next season, only to fire him a month later. Now, I agreed with the decision to fire Ralph, but he shouldn’t announce something like that unless it is a 100% certainty, especially when we’re dealing with a well respected alum like Friedgen.

Another sign that Kevin hasn’t exactly hit a home-run in the media is because even though he has hired two respected, above-average, winning coaches, most fans that support the programs were upset when both hires were made? Why? Because in both instances, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Mike Leach would be football coach, and Sean Miller the basketball coach.

Think about the buzz around the program had Mike Leach and Sean Miller been hired. These two men could have been the two new faces of Under Armour. Miller would have recruited the guts out of this area and would have put Maryland on par with the top elite teams in the country. He would have made a top 10-15 team out of a top 10-15 job.

While some risks came with Mike Leach, it can be argued that a risk was needed more-so in football than basketball because of the ticket situation.

Fans moaned and groaned when Randy Edsall was hired. Time will tell how that one plays out.

On Thursday morning, Gary Williams was the coach at Maryland with a highly touted recruiting class. On Friday morning, Gary was retired. Friday evening, the brigade was set to fly to Arizona to make the basketball search more successful than the football one.

On Sunday, Maryland hired Mark Turgeon. OK. On Thursday and Friday, there are still questions about his staff, and that highly touted recruiting class are all wanting out of their commitments.

Could the university have done worse than Randy Edsall and Mark Turgeon? I think so, but then again, what had Gary Williams or Jamie Dixon or Jay Wright accomplished before they got to their respected schools? Their resumes looked a lot like Mark Turgeon’s does right now.

Having said that, in both searches, Anderson failed to get his first choice. He failed to knock the hire out of the park. He failed to instantly take Maryland from good to great.

Maybe he’s better than Debbie Yow, but for Mr. Xerox, as some bitter Terps fans like to call him, that ain’t sayin much.

My thought is that it was worth the risk. Here’s why. The Ravens had the 26th pick, and ended up drafting 27th. That isn’t a slot where you have to strike gold. If the Ravens had the #5 pick, for example, I’d be less inclined to take a gamble on a player. But at the bottom of the first round, getting a guy who could potentially step in right away and be a shut down corner next season is worth the gamble in my eyes.

And yes, the Ravens do need someone with the ability to step in right away, not only because they have a Super Bowl ready team, but because of the lockout. The rookies aren’t going to have much time to get up to speed, and getting a guy with the talent and ability of Jimmy Smith is only a positive with the shortened preparation time.

Finally, we’ve all heard it here in Baltimore, but the importance of the leadership in this locker room cannot be understated. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have both had their dramatic moments in Baltimore, but if those two players cannot keep a guy in line, then said guy has some problems.

Of course, Jimmy Smith could have those problems, and while the blame would fall totally on Smith, it would be the Ravens organization bearing the consequences. But when looking at the big picture, I think the drafting of Jimmy Smith was a risk worth taking.

Besides, who am I to question the Wizard of Oz?

After two very different but tough losses, the O’s could have folded with the Red Sox coming to town. However, they have responded with two very well played games against one of the premier teams in the league. The Red Sox have owned the Orioles over the past several seasons, and not seeing the O’s go into the tank after a tough stretch has to be a welcome sight for O’s fans across the area.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It is so important for the Orioles to maintain fan interest as we head into the summer months. School will be getting out and the weather will be heating up. Those facts naturally would bring upon an increase in attendance, but not if the season is over before it started as it was last year under Dave Trembley.

This Orioles team is going out there every night and fighting to the best of their ability. It is still very early, but I don’t think this team is going to go into a free-fall under Buck Showalter. Let’s go get the sweep tomorrow and head to Chicago with a chance to have a winning month of April.

Andy MacPhail spoke of that same priority throughout the offseason when he talked about why he went after players like Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee.

Sure, the season isn’t going to end if the Orioles sweep the Yankees this weekend, nor will playoff tickets be printed if the O’s somehow whip out the brooms on Sunday afternoon.

However, it’s important that the Orioles keep the fans interested as we come into the summer months. It is important that the Orioles are playing exciting, meaningful baseball this summer. Taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees this season, while a minor one, would be a sign that the Orioles aren’t going to put their tails between their legs and hide this April as they did last April.

The O’s went through a top 8 game losing streak. Now it’s time for them to continue the momentum they have spent so long creating under Buck Showalter. Time for them to win this series vs the Yanks!

Also, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and in the 9th inning, Buck chose not to walk Robinson Cano, which ultimately paid off, and then chose not to walk Nick Swisher to set up the double play. Swisher eventually flied out to right to end the game.

And what happened to Buck valuing the win rule over the save rule? Is there any doubt that Koji Uehara is a better pitcher than Kevin Gregg? I understand if Buck wants to give Gregg some save chances, but a 1 run game on the road against the Yankees while the O’s are attempting to snap a modest 3 game losing streak?

It just doesn’t make sense. Koji hasn’t pitched that much this season. To have him warming up, and to not bring him in, in the closest game the O’s have played this season, didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

I’m still a big Buck fan, and he’s clearly a better manager than the Orioles have had since Davey Johnson. But he’s not the do-no-wrong genius that some overzealous Orioles fans have labeled him as.

Last season, the season was over pretty much before Mike Gonzalez blew his first save in Tampa Bay.

Then came Buck Showalter. Then came the young pitchers stepping up and showing some progression. The Orioles finished last season at 34-23. Fans were excited.

Andy MacPhail went out and brought guys like Mark Reynolds, J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Vladimir Guerrero. The excitement continued through the offseason.

However, MacPhail and Buck both kept repeating the importance of sustaining the momentum created under Buck in August and September into the 2011 season. That was the key. If the Orioles got out to another rough start, the excitement was going to disappear in a hurry. Is that fair after a few games or weeks? No, it’s not. But fans have a right not to be fair after 13 straight losing seasons.

Luckily for the Orioles, they have continued that momentum. They are sitting at 5-1, and yes, it’s only 6 games, but the short sample size works on the flip side as well. While 6 games doesn’t guarantee the Orioles are going to contend all season, it sure does bring excitement; excitement that has been lacking, to say the least, over the past years.

The result? Meaningful baseball in Baltimore. Finally! A fun, competitive matchup to look forward to.

Baltimore fans have been waiting for this for so long. Well, even if it’s only April 8th, they have their wish.

The Yard will be rocking, at least for this weekend. For fans that have been waiting for what seems like eternity, this weekend will do…for now.

Managers and GM’s have come and gone. Peter Angelos has made declaration after proclamation of winning seasons to come. Prospects have come with much hype and turned into busts. Aging veterans have signed with fanfare only to fall into the abyss with the Orioles.

Throughout all of these bad times, O’s fans have stuck with their team. They have wavered a bit, certainly, but this is still a baseball town, hidden beneath the rubble of the past 13 years.

Every Opening Day, there is a different type of feel around the city. That will start tonight when the O’s play their first game at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, and that feeling will reach its peak when Earl Weaver throws out the first pitch on Monday afternoon.

After all this organization has been through, Opening Day is like a holiday around Baltimore. The weather usually isn’t ideal, and the team on the field is more often than not one that most rational fans acknowledge will not sniff the playoffs.

Still, the fans are still here. They have stuck it out. As a Baltimore sports fan, this is why I hope the excitement surrounding this current group of players will prove to be warranted.

These fans terribly deserve a winner. They deserve a team to be proud of. One that won’t forget how many outs there are in the inning. A team without aging veterans who will be sent home come mid-August. One without steroid controversies or trade requests.

Baltimore fans aren’t asking for much, but they deserve it all. These diehard fans that have followed in the footsteps of Wild Bill Hagy and the like deserve a pennant race. It’s their turn…it’s our turn, to be given orange towels for a mid-October night game.

Will that be the case this year? That remains to be seen. But that won’t stop people around this tremendous sports town from dreaming big.

That’s the beauty of Opening Day.

What if the Orioles, under the leadership of Buck Showalter, make a surprise playoff run in 2011? How would they feel if they came up a few games short knowing that they could have had Britton in the rotation but chose to forge ahead with the dreaded “fifth starter by committee?” For the past 13 seasons, the Orioles have been a losing organization and they have put off chances to win in order to develop young players that have been coming through the system. By signing the likes of Guerrero and Lee and trading for the likes of Reynolds and Hardy, Andy MacPhail has signaled to Orioles fans that this season will be about wins and losses.

How then, could they justify sending down perhaps the 3rd or 4th best major league pitcher right now, replacing him with below average production during this very important month of April. Remember, Andy and Buck have constantly stressed that one of their top goals is to sustain the momentum that they established in August and September. Wouldn’t they be better served doing that with Zach Britton rather than whoever they are going to throw in there on April 10th?

I totally understand the business decision of sending Zach Britton down. In 2009, I was totally on board with doing that with Matt Wieters. However, wins matter this year. That much is obvious.

Shouldn’t Buck get to go to battle with his top 25 players? In this insanely tough division, he needs all the wins he can get, and Zach Britton clearly gives him the best chance to win on April 10th.