The Orioles have chosen an absolutely terrible time to go into an offensive cocoon, leading to a season-high six-game losing streak.
Hoping against hope, we all were waiting for the hot streak that was always just around the corner. That corner ended up being illusory.
With 18 games left to play, it would seem that sweeps of the Guardians and Blue Jays are almost mandatory for the last two weeks of this disappointing season to hold any meaning for Birdland.
Here are the holiday power rankings. After a 1-6 week, the Orioles drop from No. 14 to No. 22. The Orioles trail the Guardians by four games for the final wild-card spot in the American League.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (88-56, No. 1 last week)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (86-57, No. 3)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (85-58, No. 2)
4. Atlanta Braves (85-58, No. 4)
5. Chicago Cubs (81-63, No. 6)
6. Boston Red Sox (79-65, No. 8)
7. New York Yankees (81-62, No. 5)
8. Philadelphia Phillies (80-63, No. 7)
9. Chicago White Sox (75-68, No. 9)
10. Houston Astros (73-71, No. 10)
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (76-68, No. 11)
12. San Diego Padres (75-68, No. 13)
13. Cleveland Guardians (73-71, No. 12)
14. Toronto Blue Jays (72-72, No. 15)
15. Texas Rangers (71-73, No. 16)
16. Miami Marlins (72-72, No. 17)
17. St. Louis Cardinals (72-72, No. 19)
18. Minnesota Twins (68-75, No. 18)
19. Pittsburgh Pirates (71-73, No. 20)
20. Cincinnati Reds (69-74, No. 24)
21. Seattle Mariners (67-77, No. 23)
22. Baltimore Orioles (69-75, No. 14)
23. Detroit Tigers (65-78, No. 21)
24. Washington Nationals (67-78, No. 22)
25. New York Mets (65-78, No. 26)
26. Kansas City Royals (64-80, No. 25)
27. San Francisco Giants (59-85, No. 27)
28. Colorado Rockies (55-88, No. 28)
29. Athletics (57-87, No. 30)
30. Los Angeles Angels (54-89, No. 29)