Although there have been flashes of brilliance, things haven’t gotten much better during the intervening years.

Last season was a microcosm of what the Orioles have become.

Baltimore actually played well in April and, you may have already forgotten this, led the tough American League East Division right up until the All-Star break. Led by the bat and glove of shortstop Miguel Tejada, Baltimore appeared to be legitimate contenders.

Things then unraveled faster than you can say Rafael Palmeiro.

Baltimore started to lose games in bunches and fell out of contention by August. Things got worse after that.

Palmeiro, you may remember, sat in front of a Senate sub-committee charged with investigating steroid use in Major League Baseball, shook his finger at the legislators, and stated that he had never, ever, used steroids.

In mid-August of last season, Palmeiro tested positive for steroids and basically, his career was over. So was the Orioles season, but that tire went flat long before the Palmeiro debacle.

Baltimore’s utter collapse after the All-Star break was of colossal proportions. Owner Peter Angelos looked around to find out who to blame for this mess and, unable to locate a mirror, decided to take it out on second-year manager Lee Mazilli.

Mazilli was promptly fired, just after Palmeiro was suspended for his alleged steroid involvement. Palmeiro deserved what he got. Mazilli didn’t.

The fact that Baltimore played so far above their heads in the first half of the season is a tribute to Mazilli. A wafer-thin pitching staff and key injuries in the outfield brought down the Birds, not any lack of talent on Mazilli’s part.

Yes, it is sad to see what has become of the Orioles. Like the hapless Royals, Baltimore can only look back at the glories of yesteryear. The future, as of yet, doesn’t look too promising.

Competing in the same division as the Yankees, Red Sox and the much-improved Blue Jays, it may be a long time before fans at Camden Yards again see post-season action. It’s a shame. Really it is.

Each year it seems that a team most pundits predicted to be toward the bottom of the heap somehow manages to come out of the gate hot and fast. Some of these teams fade by mid-May. Others continue to play well and ignite a firestorm of speculation about whether or not they will be in the pennant hunt come October.

This year’s Cinderella story is the Detroit Tigers.

Most folks in the know predicted the Tigers would be better in 2006, but few figured they would have the best record in baseball as late as Memorial Day. Chicago and Cleveland were predicted to battle it out for the American League Central title, with Minnesota and Detroit vying for third place. Kansas City, well…what can I say?

Chicago is still playing well, but Cleveland is barely treading water. The Tigers, on the other hand, are on fire. How did all this come to be? How did Detroit get this good, this fast?

Let’s start at the top.

Detroit has one of the best general managers in baseball in the person of Dave Dombrowski. Dombrowski is in his fifth year as pilot of the Tiger front office and has done a masterful job of signing key free agents, making beneficial trades, and holding on to a cadre of talented young players who are, at last, coming into their own.

Dombrowski also took a masterful step over the winter by hiring veteran Jim Leyland to manage the Tigers. Leyland has been a winner wherever he has managed, taking the Pirates to the playoffs year after year in the late ‘80’s and early 90’s and piloting the Marlins all the way to the Promised Land in 1997.

Fans should be quick to remember that it was the managerial team of Dombrowski and Leyland that worked together to forge the ’97 Marlins’ World Championship team. The question now is: Can this dynamic duo repeat the magic in Motown?

If Dombrowski and Leyland can manage to get the Tigers to the top, considering the team’s recent history, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Three years ago, the Tigers lost 119 games, just one loss shy of the all-time single season record of 120, set by the infamous ’62 Mets. The team improved slightly in 2004, but didn’t take anyone’s breath away with its on-field performance.

Last season, Detroit was playing close to .500 baseball in late August, but then went belly up like a bloated catfish in a muddy creek. Over the last six weeks of the season, the Tigers went 8-24, finished the year with 91 losses and garnered a pink slip for manager Alan Trammell.

Enter Dombrowski and Leyland.

Aware that Chicago and Cleveland were going to be even stronger in 2006, the dynamic duo went to work. Dombrowski fleshed out his talented but young pitching staff by adding veteran starter Kenny Rogers and closer Todd Jones. Rogers, along with Mike Maroth, Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman, give the Tigers a pitching staff that can match up man-for-man with anyone in the American League, with the possible exception of the White Sox. The fifth starter, youngster Justin Verlander, is already 6-3 with an ERA of 2.70. Not bad numbers for a guy throwing out of the No. 5 slot in the rotation.

Detroit’s pitching staff, with the exception of Rogers and Jones, is a group of young guns that can bring the heat.

The offense isn’t shabby, either. Anchored by the veteran bats of Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, the Detroit offense is one of the most productive in the league. Two great trades by Dombrowski helped considerably. Shortstop Carlos Guillen came over in 2004 and second baseman Placido Polanco was added last June. Both provide solid defense up the middle and have plenty of pop in their bats.

Leyland has made his presence felt on the bench and in the clubhouse. Leyland is an old-school, no-nonsense sort of skipper and has no hesitation to give his team a thorough butt-chewing when it is needed.

Some fans may remember that, in mid-April, the Tigers started to swoon a tad and Leyland went ballistic. He blasted the team and told them in no uncertain terms that the days of contributing less than one hundred percent in Detroit were long gone.

It would seem that Leyland’s rant was effective. Since his now famous tirade, the Tigers are 24-8 and playing their hearts out.

It remains to be seen whether or not Detroit has enough muscle to hang near the top through the rigors of a 162-game schedule. Playing in the same division with Chicago and Cleveland is a major hurdle as well. Still, the Tigers have served notice that they are here, they are for real, and they view themselves as contenders.

How far can Detroit go? Stay tuned.