Muscle spasm. Nothing other than that...They didn't see any disk issues or anything. It is what it is. We've all woke up with a stiff neck...It's Feb. 20-whatever. He missed a day. We'll try to get him back on the field tomorrow.
While Buck has the full confidence of the editorial staff of Weaver's Tantrum, I'm not sure he understands the fragility of Oriole fans' confidence. Or of Brian Roberts' spine.
It was a year and a day ago that we learned Roberts' had a herniated disk in his back. On Feb. 20-whatever. Andy MacPhail told us not to worry and Brian Roberts spent all of spring training telling every reporter in sight that he would be fine soon. Not so much. Roberts was limited to 59 games in 2010. So with all due respect to Buck Showalter, I'm going to go ahead and worry. It may be that Roberts' years of playing in 150+ games are over.
On the positive side, this has been a clean spring injury-wise when compared with last year. At this time last year, Nolan Reimold was limping around left field with the grace a bow-legged Quasimodo. Brad Bergesen was still trying to explain how he managed to sustain an injury filming a commercial. And of course, Roberts. It was Feb. 20-whatever and the season was already beginning to unravel.
We were still three weeks away from wondering why Michael Gonzalez couldn't get his fastball out of the 80s; from Koji limping off the mound in Dunedin with a hamstring injury; from Felix Pie injuring his shoulder lifting weights.
In comparison, this spring has been calm. Alfredo Simon is still in jail in the Dominican, but he wasn't projected to be a big part of the team anyway. Last years' injured Orioles seem to be recovering well. So in the big picture the team looks healthy and ready. Everything that Buck said is true. Still, as a lifelong Oriole fan, I have become accustomed to unexpected catastrophe. For no logical reason I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. The shoe in question could well be Roberts.
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