Andrew Stetka: Despite ups and downs, O's have playoffs in their sights

Fourth place. That's where I had the Orioles finishing this season. I wasn't alone. Many so-called experts pegged the O's for a fourth- or even fifth-place finish in the American League East. All five experts from CBS Sports had the O's in fifth. Five of six pundits from Yahoo! Sports slotted the O's in last as well, with the other picking them fourth. Bleacher Report had the Birds last, too. In a panel of 31 experts from ESPN, just two gave the O's a playoff spot, both slotting them as the second wild card team.

Everyone knew the odds that the Orioles faced this season. They were long, and some expected a big step backward after slipping to a .500 record last season. Despite spending big in the offseason, there wasn't a whole lot of optimism in Birdland that this was a team capable of winning the division or competing for a World Series. There was hope for a new season, and the thought that anything could happen, sure. But realists would tell you back in March that the 2016 version of the Orioles would be hard pressed to hover around that 81-win mark once again.

Then the Orioles started actually playing the games that mattered. They started with seven straight wins. Then there was another seven-game winning streak in May. And another streak of seven wins in June, a month that also included a stretch where they won eight of nine. It seemed like all expectation went out the window, at least for Orioles fans. There was a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL East in late June. There were great feelings and all of a sudden the sky was the limit. These Birds would fly as high as the offense and bullpen was going to take them.

And now we are here: One week left, six games to be exact. That's all that is left in a season that has brought low expectations, raised hopes, and now a "holding on for dear life" mentality. Perhaps it's that middle part, the raised hopes, that has made the last few weeks watching Orioles baseball so agonizing. If you really think back to March and were told that the O's would have a 1 1/2-game lead on a playoff spot with six games left, you'd take that. You'd be more than happy with that. But when you're told they had that 5 1/2-game division lead and have gone just 34-35 since the All-Star break, that's when disappointment sets in. That's when you realize that watching them get swept at home in four games last week by the Red Sox looks like a massive missed opportunity. That's when you feel like this season could've been so much more.

This marathon of a season has now turned into a sprint. It's six games for the season. Despite all the ups and downs, the expectations and the disappointments, the Orioles have a chance at the postseason. They even have a shot to get another home game. There's no question many will be upset that the O's aren't winning another AL East crown this season. I'm elated to know they have six games with the table set in front of them. Over the last few seasons, we've seen more than ever that the major league baseball postseason is a complete crapshoot. No one knows what will happen in the playoffs. That's why simply getting in is the most important focus for any team. The Orioles have that chance. They can seize it over the next week. Personally, after 156 games, I can't be unhappy with the fact that they've made it to this point.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. 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.