Late last week, I'd deluded myself into thinking that Brian Roberts' return was just around the corner. He would be eligible to come off of the 60-day disabled list on June 9 (why, that's today!), and he had finally resumed baseball activities and put that cascade of bizarre injuries and illnesses behind him. Last Friday, he was even scheduled to play in his first extended spring training game.Hold the phone.
Roberts was scratched, held out of the game after complaining of back pain. Team officials nearly gave themselves whiplash in jumping out ahead of the story to swear up and down that this undefined soreness had nothing to do with his herniated disk, oh no, no sir. The rest of the tale is all-too-familiar: his game appearance was put off once more, and once again, and another time. Finally he was shelved indefinitely again, and will undergo still more tests. Managerial placeholder Juan Samuel eloquently summed it up: the news is "not very good".
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Brian Roberts take the field in 2010. Boy, do I hope I'm wrong about that.
