From the very beginning of this disastrous season, the Orioles were a chemistry experiment gone horribly wrong.
The Opening Day roster was a montage of injured veterans, Rule 5 draft picks and controversial spring acquisitions draped with a thick layer of free-agent uncertainty. No wonder the season also would soon turn into a psychological drama.
The losing mentality that infects the clubhouse has recently become obvious by a series of fundamental lapses and defensive breakdowns that almost never showed up during the first five years of the Dan Duquette-Buck Showalter competitive revival.