FLP Chris Roberson is quietly putting up some very decent numbers down in Norfolk.  You will recall that Chris was traded out of the Phillies system to Baltimore earlier this year.  In 97 games in a Tides uniform, Chris is hitting a respectable .270, but has been on an absolute tear in his last ten games - .526 in 38 AB.  Norfolk has moved the former centrefielder into right (coincidentally, FLP Luis Terrero is in left) and he’s moved down to sixth or seventh in the order instead of leading off.  While there’s no evidence to suggest his speed has diminished at all, it seems that he still has difficulty “picking his spots” - he’s picked up 19 stolen bases in 2008, but has been caught 15 times (by contrast, IL leader Wayne Lydon of Syracuse has 39 SB vs. 8 CS).  Just sayin’.

A recent story in The Virginian-Pilot caught my eye,

Not long before the Tides sealed the win, Joe Thurston seemed to be on his way to putting Pawtucket ahead in the 10th inning. He had just laced a pitch thrown by Rocky Cherry down the right field line. The ball kicked off the wall, rolling underneath the glove of Chris Roberson toward the middle of the field.

Roberson quickly regrouped and then launched a throw from the warning track.

“At that point, I was just like, ‘I’m going to get him,’” Roberson said.

Seconds later, the ball landed in the glove of Mike Costanzo and he applied the tag to Thurston as he attempted a slide.

“I don’t think I ever had one like that,” said Roberson, who leads the International League in outfield assists with 15. “That was pretty good.”

Joe and Chris, Ottawa 2007.  Photo credit: Patrick Shanks.

Hopefully Chris will make it to Baltimore when rosters expand in September.