Roberts: "I think this is the closest we've been"

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 02, 2010, 6:40am

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And he doesn't mean a crowded trainers room. That was the old stadium. Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is referring to the team's upgraded roster and the expectations for a much-improved season. "I think we're all excited," he said earlier today. "I think this is the closest we've been, probably since I've been here. When you just look talent-wise, I think this is the most capable we've been in a long time, with a combination of young and old. Hopefully, I'm not old. Older. "With Nick and Jonesy and Reimold and Pie and Wieters - geez, that's a pretty good young nucleus. And you haven't even thrown in Matusz and Tillman and Arrieta and Bergy. And then it's our job - myself and Nick and Millwood and a bunch of those guys - to kind of provide some veteran leadership and get this thing going the right way." With Melvin Mora gone, Roberts is the longest-tenured Oriole in the clubhouse. "It's exciting. It's kind of cool," he said. "I see Bordy and it feels weird to think I probably looked at Bordy the way they look at me now. And that's crazy. But in some ways that's a good thing. I've been here a long time, and hopefully play well enough to keep myself here."