After suffering through an injury-riddled season in 2010, it looks like Brian Roberts will be spending a significant stretch on the sidelines again in 2011 following a serious concussion suffered in mid-May. Though the Orioles’ table-setter isn’t the All-Star he used to be, he is still a crucial part of the Baltimore offense and replacing his production will be a key as the O’s try to stay in contention in the AL East.
Much as it was the case a year ago, a big struggle for the Orioles in 2011 has been scoring runs in a consistent manner. The O’s rank 21st in the majors in runs scored and have scored three or fewer runs in 25 of their first 51 games.
In an era when run production is down across the entire league, the Orioles must find ways to manufacture runs and try to improve their overall run production. They rank 16th in team batting average, 19th in walks, 26th in stolen bases.
Even when Roberts was in the lineup, the two-time All-Star wasn’t playing at his peak, hitting just...
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