masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBrian Roberts still doesn’t have a timetable for beginning baseball activities and returning to the lineup. The discomfort in his lower back has subsided considerably and he remains convinced that he’ll play this season, but he can’t even provide an approximate date.

“We’re just continuing to do some physical therapy,” he said. “Other than that, we’re just waiting for it to get better.’

Roberts said it’s conceivable that he could miss the first half of the season.

“I wish I could…Brian Roberts still doesn’t have a timetable for beginning baseball activities and returning to the lineup. The discomfort in his lower back has subsided considerably and he remains convinced that he’ll play this season, but he can’t even provide an approximate date.

“We’re just continuing to do some physical therapy,” he said. “Other than that, we’re just waiting for it to get better.’

Roberts said it’s conceivable that he could miss the first half of the season.

“I wish I could tell you something. I wish I knew something, but I just don’t right this second,” he said.

“That’s a little bit of the hard part. When you have a goal or when you have a date, it gives you something to shoot for. It could be three weeks from now, it could be three months from now. I honestly don’t know.”

Roberts stated later that he doesn’t think it will take three months. Surgery still isn’t a consideration.

He’s maintaining a constant dialogue with Johns Hopkins back specialist Dr. Lee Riley, but he doesn’t have another appointment scheduled at this time.

“It definitely feels better than that Saturday after Opening Day,” he said. “But there are things we’re still waiting to see. We’re still waiting for improvement in some areas.”

Roberts also said his stomach’s fine and it never posed a risk to his eventual return.