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The greatest fear of the Orioles season-high four-game losing streak is that this is the beginning of the end of their first place run.  Baltimore started the 2012 season hotter than any team in baseball.  They were clicking on offense and getting solid pitching from both their starters and bullpen.

Suddenly, the bats have cooled off and the rotation can’t seem to get through the fifth inning.  Now the Orioles have lost four in a row and six of their last eight.

Ravens broadcaster and local sportscaster Gerry Sandusky tweeted some words of encouragement after Baltimore’s 8-6 loss on Tuesday in Toronto.  “The last time the O’s won a World Series, 1983, they had two 7-game losing streaks,” Sandusky pointed out.  “Avoiding too many is the key.”

He couldn’t be more right.  The fear is that we don’t know what to expect from this squad.  They probably aren’t the 27-14 team we saw the first month and a half of the season, but then again they probably aren’t the 2-7 team we’ve seen here recently.

Expectations are a funny thing, aren’t they?  In March I would’ve told you that I would be popping champagne if the Orioles won 82 games this year, but two weeks ago it was playoffs of bust.

What should be expect from this team now?