The strange injury suffered by Orioles pitcher Matt Albers illustrates the fragile nature of a team roster, particularly its pitching staff these days.  With so many pitchers locked into roles and so much reliance on the bullpen, a broken link is a much bigger tactical problem than it would have been in previous eras.

In the Orioles case, you have the traditional bullpen role of closer (George Sherrill) and more recently defined role of set-up man (Jim Johnson) requiring those pitchers to be reserved for those instances.  Some pitcher have their best use in very specific situations (lefty Jamie Walker versus lefthanded hitters).  Of course, your starters are your starters and unfortunately, too often they can be counted on for just five or six innings.

Albers had been especially reliable in a versatile capacity.  Ideally, he was the bridge between the starter and Johnson.  On a few occasions, he started himself.  Last night, he was the emergency starter for an ill Brian Burress. After feeling a twinge in his shoulder, Albers came out of last night's game, a 7-4 loss to the Cubs, after five batters and getting just one out. His ERA soared from under 3.00, where it had been most of the season, to 3.49. Considering he had absorbed the most innings of any pitcher in the bullpen, it's easy to see how he has really been something of a keystone holding the pitching arrangement in place.

Best case for the Orioles is that Albers is OK and that the discomfort he felt in his shoulder is nothing serious.