I'm a big believer that if you don't have good pitching and a good middle infield defensively, you don't have a chance at winning.

Everyone's concerned about the SS position, and rightfully so, since Izturis is solid defensively but represents a hole in hte lineup.

But it's becoming urgent that the O's look at the future at 2B as well. Roberts has been diagnosed with a herniated disc in his spine, which is one of those classic wear and tear injuries. His stolen base numbers have decreased steadily over the last 3 seasons. His strikeout numbers are starting to go up and his OBP is going down. He's still a young man at age 32, but the signs are there for a decline.

Meanwhile, there isn't much yet in the farm at the middle infield positions. I think by the end of this year, we may find that the O's need to come up with replacements for both middle infield positions.

After this year, we need an entire infield. WE can hope first and third are covered by Atkins and Bell, but that still leaves your 50% missing.

As for herniated discs, they are a strange thing. I saw a presentation by a nationally recognized MD who showed an MRI of a really significant bulge/herniation of a lumbar vertebrae and he asked people what they thought. The general consensus was that it was a huge disk problem, perhaps the largest any had seen, and they then answered his second question--what would they expect the patient to be suffering. Again everybody thought the guy would be flat on his back in agony.

The MD smiled. It was his disc and he was pain free and fine. Go figure.

Let's hope Roberts gets back on track.

He does not necessarily need to steal a lot of bases as long as he still has speed around the bases. And his supporting cast is hitting.

Roberts is signed through 2014. We are going to need a SS next year and a guy who can play both SS and 2B to play whenever there is an injury.

I'm worried more about the pitching and who is at 1st and 3rd then who bats 9th. The main issue with Roberts being injured is that we need Jones or someone else to bat leadoff.

You guys inadvertently hit on a couple concerns of mine.

Roberts' game is absolutely built on his legs. Unfortunately, that's one of the first things to go when a ballplayer is in decline. My concern is that if Roberts appears to be showing signs of wear and tear now, his speed may not be around for much longer.

Second, Roberts is signed through 2014. I believe Milt expressed concerns about the longterm value of that deal when it was signed. Well, the concerns he was expressing may be coming closer to reality.

We all like Roberts a great deal and he is still a young man. He should still put up good numbers this year. Assuming he is healthy, he should have 2 or 3 more years of Roberts-like production. Just saying that I see signs that he may not have those 2 or 3 seasons after all.

If you are a GM with his eyes to points beyond this season and next, and understanding that it may take a few years to develop someone to play 2B in the majors, the O's need to consider acquiring a young 2B either via trade or draft.

They have spent so many years drafting pitchers, catchers, and outfielders that the infield positions are weak at the farm. If they draft a couple now, they may have a candidate by 2013 at the earliest. A trade is the only solution if you are correct and Roberts' decline occurs before then.