Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has finally made his long-awaited spring training debut.
Roberts had been sidelined for the first several weeks of spring training with a disc problem in his back.
The second baseman said he felt fine despite going 0-3 with three strikeouts, which is hardly the type of performance he and the Orioles were hoping for out of him.
That said, it’s pretty much to be expected given the amount of time he has missed and that he has seen very little live pitching over the past few weeks.
Roberts did say that he started to get a lot more comfortable in the batter’s box during his last at bat of the day, which has to be an encouraging sign.
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 10:15 am by steve
Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has left the team in Florida to fly back to Baltimore to see a back specialist.
Roberts continues to be bothered by a back injury that occurred while he was working out in the offseason has not yet played in a spring training game.
General manager Andy MacPhail has admitted that he is less optimistic about the situation and is leaning away from an Opening Day start for his second baseman.
Roberts believes he will be ready in time for Opening Day, but he has less than three weeks to get healthy and gain playing time.
If Roberts is unable to go for Opening Day, the team would likely turn to shortstop Robert Andino or utility man Ty Wigginton.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 9:07 am by steve
