At this point is seems all but a forgone conclusion that Orioles lead-off hitter Brian Roberts will be put on the disabled list after straining an abdominal muscle while stealing second base in Friday’s home opener. Our own Matt Sadler was privy to a mini press conference with O’s GM Andy MacPhail during MASN’s blogger day. According to Sadler, MacPhail basically said that the club will make a decision on Roberts on Monday, but with the long road trip ahead a trip to the DL is likely as the team cannot afford to be a man down for a significant portion of the trip.
This along with the Orioles finding new ways to lose seemingly every day has to leave fans wondering “what’s next?” This stretch of baseball was tough without having to use Felix Pie in the lead-off spot and Julio Lugo as the starting second baseman. At least in previous years the Orioles have started out well enough to tease us. This year has been a huge letdown from the beginning for fans (myself included) expecting a more enjoyable brand of baseball. Even with low expectations disappointment still stings. There seem to be no quick fixes for the Orioles. The starting pitching has for the most part done it’s job, but the offense has shown few signs of life and the continued implosions sucked the life right out of the opening week of the season.
An injury like this (and the back injury) is why so many were wondering why the team gave him that 4th year on his contract extension. The team is on the hook for over $40 million to a now 32 year old 2B with a bad back and what could very likely be a lingering abdominal injury.
I'm not a fan of Roberts but the team is clearly worse off without him and they are pretty bad now.
If I thought this team had a chance to sniff .500 with Roberts I'd be worried. Now they are just worse than the 70 win team I thought they were.
The above statement is brutal isn't it?
This injury frustrates me. I didn't understand why the Orioles were having Roberts steal knowing that he'd be diving head first into the base. For a guy with a herniated disk, you're asking for trouble…we got it.
I am frustrated by the injury as well, but I don't think a strained abdominal muscle has anything to do with his back issue. Plus you have to let the guy go out and play the way he is used to.
I agree that the two injuries are unrelated. I just think he may have rushed back into play and the club could have been a little more cautious with him. If they would have tried to stop him from re-injuring his back, they could have avoided this injury.
I agree. This kid is facing a potential career ending injury. For all we know, he could be lacing up one day and tweak it to the point he's gone for the rest of the season and possibly his career. He barely played all spring and you would think that giving him a day off more frequently would help him out. I figured Trembley would sit him in the opener after playing all three days in Tampa.
Go figure, I just looked at MLB.com and he's been put on the disabled list.
Yeah it's official now. He's on the DL and Roch is reporting that he may not even be ready to come off in 15 days.
The O's called up Justin Turner…Yikes.
Bip twice signed extensions to stay here…All the while knowing how crappy the team was around him,and knowing who else plays in the A.L. East…While he buy all accounts is a "fine young man", apparently he doesn't place "winning" anywhere near the top of his checklist. Other things higher on his checklist presumably are: Is the nearest airport close to the ballpark? Is the ballpark, itself, a nice enough place in which to work 81 times a year? Is there just one newspaper in town, one that isn't terribly critical of the hometown team? If there is ever any criticism of the team, is it directed entirely at the owner and/or GM and/or the field manager? Will I make a reasonable wage? There isn't any real pressure to actually win games, is there? Am I "comfortable"? Ya see, Boys and Girls, I can't help but think Bip is a lot like some Gov't workers I know…Well compensated without having to actually do a whole Helluva lot…If he was truly interested in "Winning" at some point in his career, he wouldn't a ever signed up for more of this crap once, much less twice…That said, I wish him a speedy recovery!
Hmmm. I certainly hope that isn't true. But it's a tough one for me to argue against. How we know that Roberts doesn't place "winning" near the top of his checklist is a mystery to me. But I can't make a case against it…
PLEASE RESPOND TO THE PREVIOUS COMMENT! Was I spot-on here or way off base?
Touche, Ol Bruz, Touche.