It still feels to me like a matter of when, not if, this Orioles team turns things around.

And when, or if, that happens, we can expect them to say they always knew they were a good team and believed they were far better than the version we’ve seen in these first two weeks. It will be strongly implied, if not outright said, that no one else believed in them.

They will be right, and they will also be full of it. Let’s not kid ourselves. They don’t look like they believe they’re very good right now, and they haven’t given anyone watching many reasons to join them in that belief — if it’s one they actually carry.

That’s because the worst of their performances have come far more frequently in this admittedly small two-week sample than a good team should deliver such clunkers. Keep it up and they’ll undermine the potential for a turnaround to be worth anything, to say nothing of the bevvy of injury or trade reinforcements that could come along as the season progresses.

So, if they do believe, they’d better start playing like it. No better time than a nine-game homestand to do so.

It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t just something they’re going to say in retrospect. Many are saying it in the moment, and they’re saying things I agree with: There’s a lot of time left in the season, there are a lot of really good players on the roster, and there’s not really a need to do anything too differently — to an extent.

All are objectively true. They are also beside the point because what makes good teams good isn’t talent alone.

The Orioles’ situational hitting deteriorated in the second half of 2024, and uncertainty at the back end of the bullpen weighed on them at times. Those and other factors created a circumstance that felt defining for that team.

At some point last year, it dawned on me how long it had been since the Orioles had a comeback win. When I dug in on that last Aug. 5, the club had gone 62 games since winning a game when it trailed entering the sixth inning.

The Orioles wouldn’t again until Anthony Santander’s electrifying grand slam against Houston on Aug. 23 — a streak of 81 games — and they ended up with one more the remainder of the season. This team has no such wins through two weeks of the 2025 season, and there doesn’t seem to be a good reason for it on paper.

The Orioles can still utilize a strong bench if the matchups allow. There’s really only one reliever — Cionel Pérez — who is pitching poorly, and the rest are doing their jobs.

What is emerging is a pattern in which the offense has some front-runner traits. The Orioles can win from ahead with the best of them.

Many are capable of keeping the engine going once it’s humming. When it’s not, and they’re trailing, there are far more ominous gurgles when they turn the key to get the engine started. And when the starting rotation, which really has only modest expectations to live up to, creates a situation where this team is down early, it stays down. The engine never seems to turn over.

You’re not going to catch me saying their offensive philosophy needs to change. Anyone who wanted fewer home runs last year probably would love to see a big blast or three from this team this spring. They have the players and the talent to muster more than four hits in a game.

There’s nothing wrong with the steadiness of message and steadfastness of belief the Orioles are planning to take into this homestand. These have been two weeks to forget but only two weeks.

The need to say it at all, though, speaks to a circumstance that could deteriorate quickly. Memorial Day, which comes around two months into the season, is typically when front offices’ views of their teams crystallize. Is this a team worth adding to? Is this a team heading in the right direction? Do we need to do something to salvage the season?

The Orioles’ inconsistencies persisting to that point would make those decisions extremely uncomfortable, and no amount of potential reinforcements returning to health would mitigate it.

What’s required in the interim — before the rotation is healthy again or before the lineup starts to click — is to show that belief consistently on the field. No one is saying players aren’t trying. No one is saying the team is endorsing the view that it will be better in the second half with the implication that this part of the season doesn’t matter.

All I’m saying is that it feels like we’re missing the application of the belief and confidence that this team is falling back on in these trying times. Stop running into outs, and catch the balls hit to you. Scrap out a few wins. Reward this belief by playing with it. It’s one thing to say it and another entirely to show it.

I imagine I’m not alone in hoping I start to see it.