Does Roberts' return matter?

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has finally made his long-awaited return to the major league club, but does it really matter?

The team is already well on its way to one of the worst records in the major leagues, if not the worst, and possibly even a historically bad season.

His back problems are nothing to play around with, so more rest or even surgery seem like better options than rushing back and risking further injury to play for an Orioles team in disarray.

From interviews conducted by Roberts, it was clear the second baseman got upset with recent comments from fans wondering if he even cared or was even trying to work his way back to play this season.

That seemed to light a fire under Roberts to find a way to get back to the big leagues this season and try and help the O's salvage something from another lost year.

There has been a lot of talk about how many of the team's young position players have regressed this year. A lot of those struggles could be blamed on the loss of the team's only true leadoff hitter and table- setter and one of its veteran leaders.

The return of Roberts will allow the organization to see how the younger position players respond with a talented, established leadoff hitter back in the lineup. If the struggles continue, then maybe there are really some serious problems. If the young players start to play better, than maybe the loss of Roberts was even bigger than first thought.

Of course, a lot of this hinges on the fact that Roberts doesn't manage to re-injure his back over the final two months of the season. If that happens, then coming back this season was a terrible idea.