Matthew Taylor: Seeking the silver linings in a difficult stretch

Things have been pretty bleak of late for the Orioles and their fans, but it can't possibly be all bad news for the Birds, can it? Let's look at some of the facts and locate the elusive silver lining for the orange and black. The Orioles allowed six home runs in a 10-3 loss in Boston on Thursday. The good news is they didn't give up six runs in the ninth inning at Fenway. The Texas Rangers scored a combined 30 runs in a three-game set with the Orioles earlier this week. The good news is they didn't score them all in one game. The Orioles' 4.66 team ERA is the worst in the majors. The good news is no one on the pitching staff has punched a judge. If the Pittsburgh Pirates continue playing winning baseball - they're currently three games over .500 - it will leave the Orioles with the current longest streak of losing seasons in baseball. The good news is we can't blame this one on Ben Roethlisberger or the Ravens' line. The Orioles are 14-27 on the road. The good news is the Baltimore script on their uniforms still looks nice. Buck Showalter reportedly let loose with an angry closed-door speech after the Orioles were swept by the Rangers in Texas. The good news is he won't need to purchase extra copies of the inspirational movie he showed prior to the season. The Orioles have had one All-Star Game representative for 10 of the last 11 seasons. The good news is that the rest of the players are well rested. The Orioles are 6-17 since June 11, when they had a 30-31 record. The O's have a 5.91 ERA, a .184 (35-for-190) average with runners in scoring position and have committed 18 errors in 23 games during that period. The good news is it's a total team effort. The city of Baltimore has endured some tough news headlines since the Fourth of July. The good news is none of the Orioles have chimed in and called it a, ahem, "crappy" town. Matthew Taylor blogs about the Orioles at Roar from 34. His ruminations about the Birds will appear this week as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our site. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.