The Baltimore Orioles will start Alex Cobb in tonight’s series opener in Minnesota. Cobb you might remember came off the Injured List last weekend just in time to get run out of the ballpark by the same Minnesota team he’s facing tonight. So the question is how healthy is Cobb?
Perhaps the bigger question should be how much rehabbing has he done, and how effectively at that? When Cobb came off the IL (due to a lumbar strain) he didn’t spend any time in the minors on a rehab assignment. He said he felt good, but his rehab was pitching simulated games. Again, this as opposed to a rehab assignment.
Just as spring training games are important to get guys ready for the season, I really feel that rehab assignments are important for injured players. Even if the player’s been out of commission for a short period, it still helps you to get your timing back a bit, and to see live game action. Simulated games are fine, but they aren’t live bullets. There’s a big difference.
Cobb could have taken that type of beating in a minor league game, and then perhaps been ready to come back to the Orioles when he was right. At the end of the day, they opted to do a simulated game – certainly their choice. But the question is whether or not that was the right choice. Tough to say.
The series in Minnesota begins tonight at Target Field. The aforementioned Alex Cobb will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Martin Perez. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.
On a personal note, you can still follow the Birds here on http://www.birdlandcrush.com, and via my Twitter feed. However you might notice some oddities regarding the timing of the columns and in-game tweets. Unfortunately for you, the Orioles aren’t my first priority this weekend – I’ll be attending my sister’s wedding over the weekend. So again, you can expect game recaps as normal, just well after the games have ended. Sorry folks, this is kind of a big deal!
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