guess we won't be winning it THIS year. And we were so close. Well, we always have 2016.

People need to calm down over this. Roberts has one ailment or another every spring training then is suddenly OK for opening day. Bergy's the one i'm worried about. I don't believe he's OK.If Bergy can't go you can mail this season in. the o's don't have the staring depth to cover injuries already. they'll be tapping Zagone and Britton by july if the dominos start falling.Tillman was pulled out of game last year with back spams. we can't go into the seaon with an unreliable starter.

I love the LaserSpineInstitute.com ad right next to this post.

Hey Pete,

ESPN's Rumor Central has the Mets interested in Will Ohman, if he'll sign a contract similar to the contract that Rod Barajas signed. Did I miss something after he signed and we voided the contract or something? I've contacted ESPN, but from my experience, they are much slower to respond than you are. Thanks!

Just for the purposes of a lively blog on the topic; let's say Roberts does go on the DL, who is the best backup option who is currently in the O's backup infield mix?

Who plays 2nd - Is it Turner, Andino, Wigginton?

Who hits leadoff - is it Izturis, Pie?

Hey Pete,
Any chance the O's are looking at Felipe Lopez as an option for their back-up infield spot? I know he is still available and put up decent numbers last year between Arizona and the Brewers... seems to me to be a better back-up for Izzy and BRob than Andino, offensively speaking... I know his glove is not very good (17 Errors in 2009)... Any thoughts?

DeCinces? Seriously Pete!

Was he counted on for 40 sb's and 110 runs? Did he have to turn a double play on a dime?

Great comparison!

The only true, reliably productive player the team has. Cya!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: No, but he was counted on hit 35 home runs and play Gold Glove defense at third base, which is a tougher position for a sore back than second base.

Pete Pete Pete,

Now you are sounding like your readers.
"No, but he was counted on hit 35 home runs".

What were you smoking when you wrote that? In his Orioles career he had ONE season where he hit more than 19 HRs and that was 1978 where he hit 28.
In CA he had more power but topped out at 30 HRs and then 26 HRs.

He was NEVER expected to hit 35 HRs or 30 for that matter. I also don't believe he ever won even a single gold glove award.

So you might want to rethink your response to the famous "anonymous".

pete is really refreshing for just once that you didn't put a positive spin on something. Before i express my opinion on this i will let it play out a little bit further.But again pete your article is a good start.

Anonymous and Rich.

After DeCinces hit 28 HRs in 1978 it was perfectly accurate to propose that he was projected as a guy who could hit 35 dingers.

His point was that DeCinces was a guy who played through back issues that were in fact worse than Roberts. The fact that one was a corner infielder with HR power and the other is a middle infielder with base stealing and gap power doesn't change the point.

DeCinces' numbers were probably hurt, but he played ten more years with a worse issue and poorer medical support. It's a point of reference. Ease up.

Boomer-
I would say I'd rather see Andino start at 2nd right now and if BRob's back continues to hurt and Andino doesn't pick it up offensively then try Turner, who I believe would be more of an offensive threat than Andino.
As for the leadoff spot it would depend on who's playing left field. Izturis would be the one I'd go with just for the fact that we don't know exactly how much time Pie is going to get if Reimold stays healthy. Plus if Pie can keep hitting like he did at the end of the year I'd like to see him somewhere around 6 or 7..
My lineup would look like this if Roberts were to go down:
Izturis, SS
Markakis, RF
Jones, CF
Scott, DH (to start or until Atkins finds his old swing)
Miggy, 3B
Weiters, C
Reimold, LF (I'd leave Pie in this spot to if Reimold's Achilles is affecting his playing)
Atkins, 1B
Andino, 2B

Sadly, if Roberts misses any time we really don't have many good leadoff options.

To anyone thinking of Izturis, I must whole-heartedly disagree. He had a sub-mediocre .294 On Base Percentage last year, right around his .298 career mark. By contrast, Roberts is a .356 career OBP (also his mark last season).

It would be a very tough decision considering the options, but I would say go with Reimold due to his plate discipline and patience, or Jones if he can play closer to his 1st half than 2nd half last year.

I'd say try Nick or Miggy, but you really want them down farther to produce runs. If a few of our other hitters start stepping up in that department, Miggy may not be a bad choice for a fill-in. (career OBP of .341)

Jeff I think Miggy actually would be a good option because his power numbers have been dropping but his avg and obp have been pretty steady. I would rather have Reimold in the middle because of his power, Jones would be the most logical because he has the speed to be a threat on the base paths when he gets on to start the game.
With all of this said, I really, truly wish Roberts a safe, speedy recovery so we won't have to worry about these last several "what-if" posts.

...I think you see my point: we will not really miss Roberts in the field but we really have a sore spot at leadoff if he misses any time due to the bad back or some other future physical issue.

You can really take having a good leadoff hitter for granted until your forced to find an organizational replacement.

I think Turner has some pop in his bat but I wonder how he might do as a leadoff hitter.

I think Andino enjoyed a reasonably good stint offensively while playing but I don't think that translates into a consistent leadoff hitter role yet.

Wigginton - I hope not.

Izturis is probable first best choice based solely on known experience.

Pie is too much of an unknown and has not demonstrated any basestealing threat.

I would stop watching this team if Izturis batted leadoff.

Why not try Reimold leading off? He has always been a good OBP guy, has at least decent speed. If his HR power really comes around you can move him down to the middle of lineup which would be a good problem to have.

If our table-setter is down for extended period, we got big problems....

I hope this turns out fine for Brian, but I wish the O's would go out and get Felipe Lopez because at least he's a viable option. I like Andino, but if he or Wiggy are forced to play 2B for an extended amount of time, the O's are in big trouble.

F. Lopez makes too much sense and costs too much for the O's. IMHO, he would have been a better option than Miggy. At any rate, he sure looks damn good now. But, only winners make bold moves. That's not the O's.

Fire Trembley

Having a 6'4" Reimold batting leadoff is an unusual choice but given the current set of options without Roberts, he actually makes the most sense.

Even with Roberts leading off (and he's not an ideal candidate either since the O's are weak at the bottom of the order semi-NL style), I thought Reimold was the best #2 hitter option given the Orioles don't really have an ideal hitter for that spot either.

Reimold, given his plate discipline, is perfect for the #2 hole and would be the best way to go for the leadoff spot if Roberts can't go. The should do whatever they need to do to hit Jones lower in the order. A 4-5-6 or Miggy, Weiters, Jones would be pretty tough.

Olney gives one example, Mattingly, to make his point. Nice job Buster. That means every football player who has a toe injury will have their career ended like Jack Lambert did.

There's no dobt this injury could turn into a major issue but, come on Buster - do you want us to take you seriously when you give us one example to compare to when I'm sure hundreds and hundreds of ML baseball players have had low back issues since the days of Mattingly?

It's amazing Buster keeps his credibility after leading the meadia league in the amount of times he is wrong.

Obviously, herniated discs can run from mild to severe. That Roberts is hitting off a tee would indicate it is to the mild end of the spectrum.

As far as comparisons to players from the past, it really can't be done. Medical treatments for those kinds of things today are way advanced compared to yesteryear.