O, Boy

The Baltimore Orioles' 14-game, early-season-litmus-test is officially in the books. And the test results aren't looking good, folks.

They dropped both games at home against the A's and Red Sox, got swept by the Tigers, and went 3-4 in a home-and-home against the Indians for an overall record of 3-11. To make matters worse, they'll likely be without promising lefty Adam Loewen for the rest of the season. He has a stress fracture in his left elbow. And shocker, Jaret Wright is also hurt. His perpetually sore right shoulder has him back on the DL. His season is also in jeopardy.

So where does that leave the O's? Well, to avoid a 10th straight losing season, Baltimore needs to go 68-62 the rest of the way with a rotation of: Bedard, Cabrera, Trachsel, Phil In The Blank, and Phil In The Blank, Jr. The Yankees are starting to win, the Sox are starting to hit, and the D-Rays have a few decent starters and (gasp!) a closer. It's not even mid-May, and the wheels are falling off the proverbial cart in Charm City, already.