masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSecond baseman Brian Roberts estimated that it could be four to six days before he’s ready to play, but he remains hopeful that he’ll avoid a trip to the disabled list.

Roberts said he feels “actually a little better than I thought.”

“I was definitely pretty sore last night, but woke up feeling encouraged. The recovery process is a little better than I thought.”

This is Roberts’ first strained abdominal muscle. We’ll all remember where we were the day it happened.

“I don’t know if…Second baseman Brian Roberts estimated that it could be four to six days before he’s ready to play, but he remains hopeful that he’ll avoid a trip to the disabled list.

Roberts said he feels “actually a little better than I thought.”

“I was definitely pretty sore last night, but woke up feeling encouraged. The recovery process is a little better than I thought.”

This is Roberts’ first strained abdominal muscle. We’ll all remember where we were the day it happened.

“I don’t know if part of it was maybe a little bit of bruising from hitting the base,” he said. “Immediately I thought I strained something in my stomach, and the soreness made it seem that way, as well.”

Roberts and head athletic traininer Richie Bancells don’t think it’s a DL situation, though they’ll know more in the next day or two.

“We’ll see how it reacts in the next 24 hours,” Roberts said.

Though he doesn’t claim to be a doctor, Roberts doubts that his latest injury is related to the herniated disk in his back.

“It’s been a rough month-and-a-half so far, but the great part is we still have 158 games left,” he said. “I miss a couple now and hopefully play the rest of the way healthy. You can do everything you possibly can to keep yourself healthy and get yourself in playing shape, but when you’re out there going 100 percent, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s one of those things where we’ll just move on and treat it and get well and hopefully play the rest of the way.”