O's finished with AL East

The O's celebrate their recent series win over the Rays. They should celebrate with some champagne, actually, after having winning records in the months of August and September since 1997.

When looking at the 2010 season as a whole, it's imperative that you label it BB -- Before Buck -- and AB -- After Buck.

And the same goes for the Orioles record against the AL East.

Looking at their season record against the AL East, it's business as usual:

9-9 vs Boston
5-13 vs New York
7-11 vs Tampa Bay
3-15 vs Toronto

24-48 overall

But when you get into the AB version of the schedule, it looks much better:

3-3 vs Boston
3-3 vs New York
5-4 vs Tampa Bay
3-3 vs Toronto

14-13 under Buck

Headed into 2011, it's not out of the realm of possibility to say the Orioles should be close to .500 against the AL East after years of failing miserably against their divisional foes. Here's a look at how the O's have fared against the AL East in the last few years...

2009: 24-48
2008: 22-50
2007: 34-38
2006: 31-44

So while there was no improvement on the surface, they played above .500 for two months of the season, in August and September at that!

And this is yet another example of the difference that Buck Showalter has made as manager of the Orioles. His record as O's skipper keeps improving -- and now it's at 31-22. There was no late-season collapse that Oriole fans could set their clocks by. The team -- gulp -- actually played its best baseball during the last two months of the season -- against the division!

Amazing, isn't it?

The Orioles have fans right where they want them -- anticipating the following season instead of treating it like a trip to the dentist six months down the road. They should be aggressive this winter and upgrade the team.

Maybe the Orioles, under Buck, aren't as far away as we initially thought.