The last time an Orioles win streak lasted longer than its worst losing streak was 1999.
Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write this season: The Orioles enter Tuesday night's game riding the longest win streak in baseball.
A four-game change of tide won't right the ship in Baltimore the way extended win streaks have helped correct course in 2010 for the Chicago White Sox (11 games), Atlanta Braves (nine games), and New York Mets (eight games). Real Fake Sports suggests a 54-game win streak may be necessary to do that.
All teams experience highs and lows in a given season. Remember just a short time ago when many thought the Rays would run away with the East leaving the Red Sox on the outside looking in come playoff time? Tampa Bay now trails Boston by a game.
The problem for the O's for more than a decade now is that the team's win streaks don't offset its losing streaks. This could ended up being the fourth season since 2000 where the Birds' longest losing streak is at least twice as long as its longest win streak.
The last time an Orioles win streak lasted longer than its worst losing streak was 1999. Back then, the Birds won 13 straight games between Sept. 7 and Sept. 22 to top the 10-game losing streak they experienced between June 23 and July 3.
One of the worst runs, given the circumstances, came in 2004 when the O's followed up an eight-game win streak in early August with a 12-game losing streak later that month. The eight-game effort had pulled the team to within three games of .500; they finished the season 78-84. The team's run of consecutive losing seasons could have ended before it reached double digits.
Here's a look at the Birds' longest winning and losing streaks since 2000:
2010
Win Streak (4 - current)
Losing streak (10 -May 26 to June 5)
2009
Win streak (5, twice - May 25 to May 29 and June 17 to June 21)
Losing streak (13 - Sept. 17 to Sept. 30)
2008
Win streak (6 - April 2 to April 8)
Losing Streak (10 - Sept. 17 to Sept. 26)
2007
Win streak (6, twice - May 26 to May 31 and July 22 to July 28)
Losing Streak (9, twice - June 9 to June 19 and Aug. 22 to Aug. 30)
2006
Win streak (4 - Aug. 16 to Aug. 19)
Losing streak (5, twice - May 3 to May 7 and Aug. 9 to Aug. 15)
2005
Win streak (8 - April 22 to May 1)
Losing streak (9 - Sept. 18 to Sept. 26)
2004
Win streak (8 - Aug. 3 to Aug. 10)
Losing streak (12 - Aug. 16 to Aug. 28)
2003
Win streak (6 - July 17 to July 22)
Losing streak (9 - Aug. 24 to Sept. 2)
2002
Win streak (4 - Five times)
Losing streak (12 - Sept. 18 to Sept. 29)
2001
Win streak (5 - May 20 to May 27)
Losing streak (10 - Sept. 1 to Sept. 19)
2000
Win streak (6, twice - April 15 to April 22 and June 10 to June 16)
Losing streak (9 - June 17 to June 25)
Missy Elliott - "Get Your Freak On"
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2 comments:
That '04 streak killed my interest in the team for a few years. That was the point where I realized that the O's were in really bad shape and it would be a long time before they returned to respectability.
2005 killed me. I had a feeling the quick start wouldn't last, but I certainly didn't expect them to implode the way they did. And the Palmeiro situation topped it all off.
I was at the ballpark when the news of Palmeiro's suspension came out. Talk about ruining an afternoon at the ballpark. At this point in 2005 the Birds were 2.5 games out of first place.
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