We have way more candidates here than we had for the first list, and as a result, it is a far more difficult proposition. Where the first list had maybe eight or nine guys who might make the cut, this list has probably 20 or 30.

One quick note before we go any further: I don’t mean to denigrate any of these players. Making the big leagues is a huge accomplishment. This list isn’t about the individuals as much as it’s about the bad luck, bad timing, and bad fortune that have seemed to follow this team for so long.

That said, here we go in no particular order.

Click through to read the whole thing and, as always, lemme know who I missed, who you’d add or subtract, etc.

Meanwhile, as I write, the O’s are looking like they might drop game one out in Kansas City. Bummer.

Folks, this is quite an accomplishment.

This, by no means, indicates that the O’s are 100% for real and poised to take on the world, but it has to say something about the quality of the team and its depth. Doubters will point to the Indians and Pirates of last season and claim that the swoon is coming. And while that’s definitely never out of the question, the fact that the O’s are doing what they’re doing in – and against - the AL East has to count for at least something. And it’s not like the O’s aren’t without their own injuries.

This isn’t the last test the O’s will face, but it’s getting harder and harder to dismiss what we’re witnessing. And if you’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop, as I suspect many of us are (including myself, admittedly), I sure as hell hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am.

With that, I’ll leave you with this stoic quote from Tilt Breezy: “A lot of people are surprised, but we’re not. We are going to keep winning games.”

I got to thinking, after the recent unveiling of the Frank Robinson statue at Camden Yards, about great Orioles of the past and how cool it is to be able to look back on their legacies and claim them for our city. That, naturally enough, led to thinking about the modern Orioles.

History looks more kindly on success than on failure, which tends to obscure the achievements of players who toil on losing teams. The Orioles haven’t had a player on the level of Frank Robinson in a while but they’ve still had some quality guys who deserve their due. Since every era should at least partially be evaluated on its own terms, I figure it’s worthwhile to spend some time thinking about the best Orioles of the past 14 (losing) years.

Click on through to see who I picked and fire away with your disagreements and alternates. Hard-hitting this is not (nor intended to be) but I’m genuinely curious who you’ve got. There’s not a lot to choose from but it was fun to think about it.

Of course, if you were firmly entrenched in No Expectations, Just Baseball, you would likely be accepting these past two losses easily enough. After all, the pitchers couldn’t possibly sustain the level to which they were playing. The Rangers weren’t going to let two straight series losses effect them too much. And well, neither should the Orioles, if that should happen on this homestand.

On the other hand, the Orioles aren’t like other teams. When they hit the brick wall, it’s usually an indication not of a bump in the road for a good team, but of the beginning of the end for a fraudulent one. Factor in that the losses came at the expense of poor pitching from arguably the two most important Oriole pitchers, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrietta, and you start to understand how thin that line really is. It’s interesting that the more the Orioles win, the more tense it becomes watching them try to keep it going, and the more difficult it is to maintain zero expectations. Will it be another 2005? Will they even keep it up as long as they managed to in 2005? Is there any shot in hell they could be this?

I still agree that it’s the right mindset: enjoy the highs, try not to sweat the lows. There certainly seems to be enough talent on this squad to keep from epically swooning, but we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, the O’s have another shot at Texas, in which Wei-Yin Chen attempts what two others have failed to do: keep it close. Good luck, kid.

Some notes for noshing:

• Dontrelle Willis dropped his grievance with the O’s in what has become another bizarre chapter in the Dan Duquette era. Weird guy.
• Speaking of weird, Miguel Tejada has officially signed a minor league deal with the O’s. I’d put his odds at reaching the 25-man at extremely low, unless there’s an injury or two.
• The 17-inning game continues to take its toll as the O’s play some roster shuffling – Taylor Teagarden to the 60-day, Zach Phillips back to AAA, Steve Tolleson is promoted to the bigs. In addition, Jason Hammel will miss his start on Thursday with knee soreness. Whew. (All of this courtesy of Dan Connolly’s Twitter page).

17 innings. Over 500 total pitches thrown. Six-plus hours of baseball. A big lead, a blown lead, a heap of home runs (including a grand slam). Position players in to pitch for both teams. And when it was all said and done, 1B/DH Chris Davis earned a win on the mound by throwing two scoreless innings while going 0-8 at the plate. In doing so he secured a rare sweep for the Orioles over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The O’s are now 19-9 (10 games over .500 for the first time since ’05) and sitting atop the AL East, if only barely.

I’m not going back on my No Expectations, Just Baseball mantra just yet. I’m taking things as they come and just enjoying all of it. I will allow, however, for this: anybody who wants to get excited could hardly be criticized for doing so.

This team is playing great ball. They’re delivering strong pitching and hitting when it counts. As importantly, they’re consistent. They don’t get too high or too low. Not yet, anyway. They’re doing exactly what they need to do to put together a long run of decent success. So far, this isn’t just luck.

Which has me thinking about something that might provide a glimpse into their long-term prospects.

As talk of the economy continues to dominate the news you might have come across the term “virtuous cycle.” In a nutshell that’s a way to describe how bad streaks are often broken by the process of good results giving rise to more good results. The mechanics are of course more concrete in economic theory but the idea has application to a lot of things, sports included. I’m starting to wonder if the O’s might be in a virtuous cycle of their own.

It’s not hard to imagine how this might work. The line between a bad team and a good team is far thinner than it seems. Even last year’s Orioles, bad as they were, would have been a .500 squad had just 12 games gone the other way. If you accept that working to improve is an ongoing process then it stands to reason that at some point they might crack the code. Wins beget confidence and confidence is a solid foundation for more wins. Doing well, in other words, is the first step to doing even better.

Lots of baseball left to be played but there’s some interesting stuff going on with this team. Some very interesting stuff, indeed.

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Programming Note: I’m stoked to welcome longtime stalwart commenter Dan the Man to the front page as a regular contributor. I’ve been needing someone to help share the labor around here for awhile and Dan’s about as good a choice as there is. He’ll be on board all season (and hopefully beyond) to help me tend the garden and keep this place going as one of the best spots anywhere to talk Orioles. Welcome him, won’t you?