Koji's Conditioning & B-Rob's Back

Koji Uehara threw a bullpen session today that left manager Dave Trembley raving about how strong the right-hander looked.

“He looks quick with his arm,” Trembley said. “He
has late life on his pitches. That’s what he looked like at the
beginning of [last] season. We need him to continue that for us.”

Trembley also noted that Uehara seems better prepared to deal with the rigors of pitching in the American League East.

“He’s more integrated into what the
program is here,” Trembley said.  “And he must have done an awful lot of work in the
off-season because last year I think it was new for him and he didn’t
really know what to expect. This year it looks like he’s come in with a
whole lot better idea of what the routine is here.”

I guess Koji’s new trainer is paying off. Although, Koji has opted to workout with the team this year, and I’ve been told last spring that wasn’t always the case. Maybe there really is something to that strength in numbers expression…

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When Trembley was asked about Brian Roberts’ timeline, he said he was going to check in with hitting coach Terry Crowley to see what the plan was. So, I sought out Crow with fellow reporter Roch Kubato, and Crowley’s plan right now isn’t concrete. Seems he’s playing things by ear, although Crowley sounded less optimistic than Roberts about when the second baseman would take live batting practice. Roberts had said on Tuesday that he had hoped to start taking BP within a week. It’s something that is possible, but I got the feeling from Crowley that that maybe too soon. In the meantime, he’s going to continue to soft toss, hit in the cage and take fielding practice.