So if it seems that the Orioles have taken one step forward and one step backward all season, well, give yourself a gold star.
It's gotten kind of ridiculous, really.
With the Orioles' split of the one-gate doubleheader Thursday against the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles are 22-24 overall and 10-9 in their last 19 games. That dates back to May 9 at Yankee Stadium, when they ended a four-game losing streak.
Since then, the Orioles have won two games in a row just once. They have lost two consecutive games twice. Otherwise, they've been trading wins for losses.
Consider this: In those 19 games, the Orioles are 8-2 following a loss. And 2-7 following a win.
So much for putting together a run. They've been no better than two games over .500 this year (7-5 on April 19) and no worse than four games under (15-19 on May 16).
The Orioles' consistent inconsistency is keeping them afloat in third place in a division that isn't being seized by any club.
One good winning streak and they could quickly be leading the division. After all, last year they were 24-22 at this point and ended up with 96 victories. This version has not played crisply enough, though, to make you think they are a few wins away from taking control of the American League East.
But the players and manager Buck Showalter believe that is possible. First baseman Chris Davis, who is starting to heat up, said he thinks back to the last time the Orioles played the White Sox -- the April 29 game that occurred without fans because of the unrest in downtown Baltimore.
The Orioles won their season-best third straight that day (the previous two were wins against Boston at Camden Yards) and then two of three "home" games at Tropicana Field before losing those four in New York.
There's no reason, Davis said, they can't use another win against the White Sox as a jump-start from this just-under-.500 malaise.
"The last time we played these guys we were starting to get hot, we had Boston here and obviously these guys, and we were starting to put some things together and win some games," Davis said. "Hopefully we can kind of build off what we have done the last couple of days and keep it going."