The place to start is the standings. The Orioles are still atop the AL East and still have one of the best records in baseball.

Look at those standings. Take a deep breath. Not all is lost, even though the Orioles themselves have felt adrift at sea for the last month or so. They’re still on the right course, but the wind just doesn’t seem to be in their sails.

Outside of the record that still has them leading the division, you could be forgiven for believing the O’s — who won a 7-6 extra innings game against Miami on Thursday in excruciating fashion — aren’t punching at their weight. Since June 21, they’re 12-16. In July, their bats have cooled off (.707 OPS, No. 20 in that span) and their pitching has been shaky (5.13 ERA, No. 25).

After going an incredible 106 series without being swept, the third-longest streak in MLB history, Baltimore has been swept four times in the last two months.

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But it’s not just the numbers. It’s how the Orioles look. Thursday was a great example, even though the game went their way. MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson bobbled a seemingly routine grounder. Craig Kimbrel, who has been one of the AL’s best closers, loaded the bases in the ninth and let a three-run lead go up in smoke. Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle were thrown out on questionable baserunning decisions, even as Baltimore scored the go-ahead run (though third base coach Tony Mansolino waved Mullins home).

Why are Baltimore’s veterans making mistakes like this against one of the worst teams in baseball?

Again, let’s think about those standings. The sky is not falling. But it only takes a pair of eyes to see the Orioles aren’t themselves lately, which is why manager Brandon Hyde admitted the victory made him “pretty frustrated, honestly.”

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“I think our guys are very, very aware that we should’ve won that game handily,” Hyde said. “And I think some guys are individually frustrated with their performances right now, and we just have to get back to a team concept, honestly, and they know that.”

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Although Hyde said the players are working hard on turning around their slide, it’s impossible to view the Orioles’ struggles outside the looming shadow of the trade deadline. The consensus seems to be the front office, fastidious managers of a talent pool that has flourished in the last five years, is looking to add pitching but within reason — moves closer in nature to last season’s trades for Jack Flaherty and Shintaro Fujinami (including the possibility of bringing Flaherty back) than the offseason swap for Corbin Burnes.

A counter: Have you seen this team lately? If the Orioles want to protect their spot atop the AL East — which they really, really should try to do — the club needs a serious vibe shift.

It felt like the magnitude of what the O’s were achieving last season never weighed them down as they won 101 games. This season’s team, though largely composed of the same players, feels a bit different.

The Orioles have allowed off-field tensions to simmer. There is an old guard fighting for their jobs amid contract years. There are young stars who deserve long-term contracts but for whatever reason — be it the front office or the players’ agents — haven’t inked those deals. The farm system spilleth over, and it’s obvious that many of the youngest players stuck in baseball’s “quadruple A” believe they’re ready for big league roles that the Orioles are still too stacked to give them.

Add to the pot the poor injury luck that has seen three Orioles starters lost to elbow surgery and the recent string of stagnant performances. It is not that the locker room has fractured or turned sour — not at all — but the pressure on a team trying to repeat as division champions is a lot higher than it is on one simply trying to break in. Reports that veterans, such as Mountcastle and Mullins, are on the trade block only ratchet that up.

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All this is to say that it seems obvious Baltimore needs belief from its front office, a vote of confidence that this team, which is already positioned for the postseason, can get back on track. Trading veteran outfielder Austin Hays on Friday afternoon is a sign the Orioles see a need to make changes, too. But the final moves before the deadline need to be even more focused on the present.

An aggressive trade deadline, looking for a top-of-the-line starter or reliever (maybe both, dream big!), would shake up the clubhouse and create its own kind of momentum. Although the Orioles offense started the season exceptionally well and still leads the league in homers, it might make sense, too, to find another bat who can contribute through the final two months of the regular season and beyond.

Another trade for Flaherty would be wrong for many reasons, but playing it too safe and too small scale would be the chief sin of that kind of move.

Although it’s understandable and advisable for the Orioles to protect their top prospects as the deadline approaches, winning a World Series is the goal — and, frankly, the Orioles have another great opportunity this season with the win total they’ve already piled up. I’ve written before that it’s too late to retreat, given what the team put into the trade for Burnes, and the standings still reflect that Baltimore needs to seize the moment.

It’s not the end of the world for the Orioles, but they’d better hope they’re reaching the end of the slump. An uninspiring, unambitious trade deadline would be exactly the wrong thing for a club that is begging for any momentum it can get.