Orioles improved, but not quite ready yet

Not to diminish an 11-9 start for a franchise that has endured 9 consecutive losing seasons, but if you watched the Orioles brief two-game set against perennial playoff contender Oakland, you probably were able to pick up a few things, things that lead you to believe that while the Orioles are much improved from a 70-92 2006 campaign, they are not quite at a playoff level just yet.
Start with Monday night's 6-5 loss. After falling behind 5-0 against A's ace Dan Haren, the O's battled back to within 5-4 after 8 innings, getting a huge lift from Aubrey Huff's 3-run homer. But the ninth inning was an indicator that they are not there yet. Nick Swisher hit a crucial homerun to give the A's a 2-run cushion in the top of the 9th before young closer Huston Street came on in the bottom half to close it out. Jay Payton's walk was followed by a Corey Patterson double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. With a golden opportunity presenting itself, the Orioles crumbled when it mattered most. Chris Gomez took a called third strike for the first out. Then, Brian Roberts lined a single into center field that should've tied the game. Instead, Corey Patterson inexplicably broke back towards second base and failed to score the tying run. Still, the O's had runners at the corners with just one out trailing by just a run. Then, in an even more befuddling turn of events, Melvin Mora dropped a bunt down that failed to score Patterson, as Mora was retired and Roberts advanced to second. After an intentional walk to Nick Markakis, Miguel Tejada swung at the first pitch and hit a harmless grounder to second to end the game and thwart what was an almost improbable comeback against one of the league's best teams.
Sadly, more proof would follow in the following afternoon's game that the Orioles are still a cut below the top-tier teams in baseball.
The Orioles got a strong outing in the first career start for Jeremy Guthrie, yet trailed 2-1 after 5 innings against Dallas Braden, the A's starter also making his first start. In the top half of the 6th, John Parrish came on to relieve Guthrie, and promptly retired Eric Chavez to start the inning. But a hit and two walks later, the A's had loaded the bases with 2 outs for the pesky Jason Kendall. After getting ahead 0-2 on Kendall, Parrish induced what looked to be a harmless ground ball to second baseman Brian Roberts. But Roberts went for the force at second, only to have Miguel Tejada fail to cover the bag, allowing Mark Ellis to reach safely at second. Kendall reached on the fielder's choice, and a run scored to make it 3-1. Parrish then compounded matters by walking No. 9 hitter Danny Putnam, and when the inning finally ended it was a 4-1 game. The hole was too deep for the Orioles against a strong Athletics bullpen, and they suffered a 4-2 loss and a 2-game sweep to Oakland.
After winning 8 of 9, the Orioles have been brought back to reality somewhat, and now host the first-place Boston Red Sox for two games before heading to Cleveland. These two games will be yet another daunting task, as the Orioles get to face Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. The A's series taught us something, and now it's up to the O's to dispel these notions against the Red Sox. We'll see.