Roberts Truly Healthy?

Many Orioles fans know that Brian Roberts health, or lack thereof, was a major reason for the Birds offensive struggles throughout the first part of the season. Brian is one of the better lead-off men in the game and truly set the table for O's hitters, especially Nick Markakis and Adam Jones. Last year Roberts reported to camp with what started as just a sore back and transformed into a herniated disc. 

Today, about mid-morning, it was released that Roberts would not be practicing and would be leaving camp to get an MRI on a self-diagnosed "strained neck." I cringed as I read the ESPN text update, knowing that this was very similar to the way his injury progression started last year. Upon, returning to camp Roberts said all is fine for now and his back has nothing to do with the current pain. It is still unclear when he will return to practice, but should be in the next few days, or so we hope.

I think that Brian is very key to the potential success ahead of the Birds this season. Without his bat in the line-up and speed on the basepaths, the table may not be set for Vlad, Reynolds, and the boys to clean up. Hopefully, the report is accurate and Roberts is not withholding anything. Stay tuned for updates daily.