Not putting the fun in fundamentals

I just read The Sun headline on its Web site and did a spit-take before realizing my mistake. Funk continues as O's lose 4-2 to A's Maybe it's because I'm still half-asleep. In my haste to approve comments this morning, I accidentally deleted the three most recent that were filed (including one from JPA.) I can't retrieve them, so re-submit and I'll post them. And please accept my apologies. Another reminder that I've seen the FoxSports.com story from Ken Rosenthal and I'll try to follow up on it later. I was exchanging text messages with a few people late last night and expect to hear back from them today. If any good came out of it, you almost forgot that the Orioles are 1-10. An eighth consecutive loss seemed like the least of your concerns. Yes, it's that bad. One of the biggest mysteries for me about the first 11 games is the continued lapses in fundamentals. I swear, it's not like the Orioles ignore them in spring training. I stood around watching pop up drills until my legs ached. I remember spending about 30 minutes behind the fence on one of the back fields while the Orioles worked on cutoffs. I wrote about Luke Scott looking lost at first base initially before growing more comfortable and then moving to left field. I saw it. And I scribbled notes about the baserunning drills until my fingers felt like my legs. The Orioles even set up an outdoor cage so players could work on their bunting. I walked past it going to and from the back fields every day. I'd take a quick peek to see who was squaring up, and I'd listen to T-Bone Shelby's instructions. All the bases were covered, so to speak. So what happens once the season starts? It's a mystery. And it keeps playing over and over.