If you've watched this Orioles offense in 2015, one of the most obvious observations is that it gets runners in scoring position, but can't get them home.
It seems like there are often runners on base, and then they are stranded by bad at-bats from hitters that are trying to do too much or are too impatient.
The reality is a little different from the numbers. Heading into Friday night's loss in Detroit, the Orioles were actually fourth in the majors and second in the American League in average with runners in scoring position (.290) this year.
And they were second-last in the majors in at-bats with runners in scoring position. So, for the season, they were doing fine with runners on, but they weren't on enough.
What?
Yep. And Orioles manager Buck Showalter and his staff made a point Friday of telling the players those stats in a pregame advanced meeting before playing the Tigers.
What happened, of course, is exactly what the perception has been. The Orioles had 14 chances with runners in scoring position and had just one hit, an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop. As a team, the Orioles left 11 runners on.
So what gives?
Well, those numbers tell the season's story, but not this recent mess.
The Orioles now have two hits in their past 55 at-bats (.036) with runners in scoring position and have eight hits in their past 95 at-bats (.084) in those situations. Before those streaks occurred, the Orioles had been first in the majors in those situations.
So the Orioles are dropping in the rankings, and the players know it. But they also think a big hit or two will change everything.
"The answer of turning it around is getting a couple knocks in that situation," shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "And then maybe we'll stop thinking about it and it'll just kind of come natural. But as long as we are thinking about it, it's just adding more pressure to us."
Hardy makes the point that this kind of stretch is not unique to the 2015 Orioles. It happens every year – even to playoff teams.
"Every team I've been on, this is a topic at some point during the year every year," he said. "I don't think there's ever been a year when it's not a topic. I think everybody goes through it."
The problem is if they don't start taking advantage of their scoring opportunities soon, they are going to begin to really fall out of the American League East race.
Ultimately, where you rank in runners in scoring position doesn't matter. Wins do. And the Orioles have won just three times in their past 14 games.