The Orioles currently occupy the second wild-card spot in the American League, but are one game behind second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and five below the division-leading New York Yankees.

It's a distance that has been pretty established during the last few weeks. The Orioles are 6-4 during their last 10 games, while the Yankees are 5-5.

Manager Buck Showalter said yesterday that his club was aiming for a world championship. Getting a wild-card spot is not a guarantee, but it's seeming more and more likely that the AL East will be competitive during the last month of the season. The division currently occupies three postseason spots, a somewhat ridiculous number when you think about it.

After a seven-game homestand with the Blue Jays and White Sox, the Orioles will head to the Bronx to play the Yankees and play them again in Baltimore during the next week. If the Orioles hope to gain ground on the Yankees, they'll have their chance. They must take care of business with other teams first.

Still, the Orioles can soon begin to talk, not just about the wild card, but about something greater.

Posted Aug. 22, 2012