Roberts going back to Baltimore (updated)
It seemed like things were looking up for Brian Roberts when he took infield today, but a team official just informed us he's being sent to Baltimore to undergo an "epidural" on his sore lower back.
Really don't know what to make of that right now, other than an epidural is a local anesthetic procedure to reduce inflammation. Roberts is going to update the media in the next 20 minutes, so stay tuned.
Update: Roberts just talked to the media and said that he's going back to Baltimore to see a Johns Hopkins back specialist (Dr. Lee Riley), but Roberts claims he doesn't know if he will receive an epidural injection and he has not suffered a setback in his recovery from a herniated disk.
"I’m just going there to see a back doctor and just make sure we’re progressing in a way we need to be and if we need to ramp it up and do anything else, then we will,'' Roberts said.
He said that the decision was not connected to his infield session earlier in the day, which he said went fine.
"I feel fine doing that sort of stuff,'' he said. "I still have a little bit of discomfort in certain areas and in certain ways, so those are the kinds of things that we’re just going to check and make sure that we don’t need to try to do anything different treatment wise."
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Comments
I wonder how long AM and company will use BRob as an excuse for the team losing in 2010?
I can hear Trem and AM talking about it now in mid April.....
This team has no dept to go along with it's already last place starting line-up.
WIll be interesting to say the least!
Posted by: wayne | March 14, 2010 11:50 AM
We are going to have some serious problems offensively if Roberts cannot play. Considering the team did not have a legitimate number 2 hitter we can expect some run scoring issues to plague the team. It is a shame too given that our 3-7 guys looked capable of doing some damage this year.
PS: What are the chances of the Orioles dealing for Jose Reyes come mid-season do you think?
Posted by: Mick | March 14, 2010 12:14 PM
Why is it that every time we are told not to worry about a player's injury, that he'll be fine and playing in short order, it seems to always turn out to be weeks instead of days?
I have to say that when I first heard of Robert's injury and we got the usual "nothing to see here, move along" response from the club, my first reaction was "Crap, he'll end up missing most of the spring, and I hope that's all." Why does the club seem to so routinely underestimate the time a player will be out? Is it incompetence on the medical staff or just a bad (and endlessly recurring) case of wishful thinking? Fans hundreds of miles away should not be better at predicting the severity of a player's injuries than the medical staff who sees him every day.
Posted by: Roy | March 14, 2010 12:25 PM
I told you so!
The truth will set you free!
Posted by: Keith Rowe | March 14, 2010 12:40 PM
did you Keith Rowe? did you? It feels good taking credit for negative stuff doesn't it? the truth may set you free, but positivity sure beats the hell of out walking around in a constant state of anger and paranoid depression...
anyhoo...
Brob should have had this done a while ago. The epidural injections work wonders for minor to moderate herniations. I had a series of three of them and I haven't had any of the severe symptoms since.
With the ready access to medical care that ball players have, what took them so long to get to this point? You can physical therapy away a disk herniation. Bulging disk, yes. Rupture, no.
The epidural should give pretty immediate relief to help him rehab properly and strengthen the weaker muscles in the area that led to the herniation.
Posted by: DR. SHAMROCK, MD Back Pain Expert | March 14, 2010 12:53 PM
Wayne...
While I normally don't mind some of your dumping on AM and the O's (and in fact, I agree with some of it); I have to call you out here.
Have the Orioles (AM in particular) ever tried to use an injury as an excuse for losing? Actually, has MacPhail ever made any excuse for losing?
I have never heard him make excuses for club performance. I've heard him acknowledge that the pieces aren't all there and that he's trying to get them... and whether you agree with his methods or not is a different argument.
Now, I've heard plenty of fans (occasionally myself included) talk about injuries as "dramatically changing something" and creating losing. But MacPhail doesn't deserve every pile of shit you can heave his way.
Posted by: Dan | March 14, 2010 1:10 PM
95% of people suffering from chronic lower back pain find significant relief after supplementing with vitamin D to healthy, normal levels (at least 50 ng/ml) . Almost no one is aware of this including most doctors. Unfortunately there is little revenue in sunshine or cheap D3 available everywhere.
Vitamin D levels are lowest in winter and early spring. As a general rule of thumb one can produce the precursors of D3 in the skin when one's shadow is shorter then they are tall.
Posted by: Got Your Back | March 14, 2010 1:20 PM
I haven't heard much discussion of how tough the O's early schedule. O's will p[lay alot of games against above .500 competition and alot of away games.
Posted by: Frank | March 14, 2010 1:22 PM
95% of people suffering from chronic lower back pain find significant relief after supplementing with vitamin D to healthy, normal levels (at least 50 ng/ml) . Almost no one is aware of this including most doctors. Unfortunately there is little revenue in sunshine or cheap D3 available everywhere.
Vitamin D levels are lowest in winter and early spring. As a general rule of thumb one can produce the precursors of D3 in the skin when one's shadow is shorter then they are tall.
Posted by: Got Your Back | March 14, 2010 2:20 PM
So, the O's dont have a clean-up hitter (havent for years) and now they may lose their leadoff guy'
Hmm, looks like another long year in Turdland
Posted by: TP for my bunghole | March 14, 2010 4:40 PM