Andrew Stetka: O's window doesn't have to close

There's been much made of a so-called window the Orioles are playing with over the next two seasons. Many believe the club's best chance to compete is when Chris Davis and Matt Wieters are under contract. Additions like Nelson Cruz for this season enhance that thought, and having a lack of superior competition in the American League East makes eyes widen even larger. The problem I have with this mindset of a window is that it was built by those running the ballclub.

For years, Orioles fans were left in the dark. It was 14 years to be exact. Those black clouds were lifted by the magical 2012 season that sent the O's to the playoffs. What many don't realize about last season's club is that though they won eight less games than the 2012 playoff team, they were likely a better overall group. But so far, just about two months into this season, I haven't seen that same progression.

Perhaps it's just that the current Orioles are underachieving or maybe they just aren't as talented from top to bottom. Injuries can certainly take part of the blame, as the expected full 25-man roster hasn't been intact at any one point during the season. But when looking at the future of this team and whether or not it can re-sign players like Davis and Wieters in the long term, it's also important to realize that a few other key areas of the roster still have not been addressed.

There is still no true left fielder on the club, and though Jonathan Schoop has been given the reins at second base, there's still a mystery as to whether or not he's the future there. A big question mark in right field will need to be answered this offseason as well with Nick Markakis' impending contract status. The biggest question of all remains the rotation, and even after giving Ubaldo Jimenez a large contract this past winter, it remains to be seen whether he can break a track record of being a mediocre pitcher that's forced into an ace role.

Progression from season to season is one thing, but being able to maintain your window of opportunity is quite another. These windows, as I mentioned, are built by the club trying to climb through them. So far, the Orioles haven't built one large enough to get through. There are many questions with this team that haven't been addressed over the last few offseasons in order to keep a maintained high level of play over the course of multiple seasons. The resurrection of the franchise under Buck Showalter and crew has been nice to watch, but without the chance to win a World Series, it will be all for nothing.

Most Orioles fans would rather see a long sustained run of competitiveness, but going all-in for a run can be costly. Take a look at the O's success in 1996 and 1997, which was followed by those dark years. An all-in push can work out at times though. See what happened to the then Florida Marlins in 1997 and again in 2003. The years that followed those two World Series campaigns were abysmal for fans in Miami, but they got their championships.

A lot of this window and all-in talk has been going on for a while, but it really got fired up last week when rumors of a trade for Jeff Samardzija came about. There's a healthy argument to be made on both sides of whether or not to pull the trigger on such a deal. Giving up two or three of your top prospects could land you a proven veteran starter, whose game may or may not translate to the American League. Then again, holding on to said prospects may not turn out to be the best gamble as the chances of all of them being great is never a high percentage.

No matter the decision made, the consequences will be great. A move made, or not made, in two months at the non-waiver trade deadline could end up determining the fate of that window for the Orioles even beyond next season. It's now up to Dan Duquette to decide the path the franchise will take. The fate of the club rests in his hands. We have to wait and see if these last few seasons are just like 1996 and 1997 with more dark clouds ahead, or if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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.