BALTIMORE — The backslapping of goodbyes in the Baltimore Orioles clubhouse was deafening, the official obituary for a team that has been playing dead for months.
This much is clear: The honeymoon is over.
Last year, when this group was swept out of the American League Division Series by the eventual champion Texas Rangers, the reasons seemed valid. They were young, inexperienced. They had simply run out of gas in October. There was dejection, but it was hard to be too upset at a team that had stunned the sport by winning 101 games and the AL East. Over and over, those around the team offered variations of the same phrase:
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