For baseball fans, the thrill of opening day marks the beginning of a five month pleasure ride with their favorite teams and players.

However for the poor beleaguered fans of the Baltimore Orioles, opening day has recently represented the start of a prolonged torture session.

The team has endured 14 consecutive losing seasons. Fans and pundits are close to giving up hope on the storied franchise.

But hope springs eternal, right? And the Orioles “boys of Spring” are showing a surprising spring in their step.

Orioles have started their first few games with a bang, winning 3 of the first 4 to place themselves at the top of the extremely competitive AL East division.

While their hot start is actually not uncommon, considering they’ve won 10 of their past 13 opening days, this season shows a promise that is unique from the past.

It starts with the teams pitching.

Since the Orioles 1960-70’s golden days of Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, and Dave McNally, the Orioles pitching roster has been anywhere from, barely adequate to terrible beyond measure, but this year there is hope.

In the first three games, Orioles starting pitchers have allowed just 1 earned run in 22 innings pitched.  That’s a combined era of .045, which any stat-lover can tell you is nothing short of impressive.

As bad as the Orioles have been over the past decade, their batting lineup has featured a number of formidable hitters.

Players like Miguel Tejada, Tony Bautista, and Albert Belle have all tried to help Baltimore bat its way into the win column, but overcoming the Orioles inability to pitch is no simple matter.  At times it has felt like Orioles pitchers are purposely sabotaging the team.

But this year will be different, right?

Oriole’s 2012 opening day pitcher, Jake Arietta, looked like a straight stud on the mound facing a talented Minnesota lineup.  He allowed just 2 hits in seven innings, showing great command of his curveball and his slider.  Arietta’s performance was followed by two consecutive successful debuts from Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel.

While these three pitchers are not your typical major league Ace’s, who’s to say, they won’t have prosperous years?

Most baseball fans are probably already counting the Orioles out, but it’s never too late to believe in the magic.  There is a common saying in Baltimore: “This will be the year.”