Brian Roberts: I am concerned

[weams]

I didn't see him do it. But I did read the article that indicated otherwise. Whether it was hard/harder that particular time seams a relatively insignificant point to me. I'm aware you have business/management experience as well. We have different experiences and opinions. Nothing wrong with that.

Nothing whatsoever. I believe that Brian is responsible for his pain. Not as a union employee. But as a man. I have no idea how the courts would see it, nor do I think that should ever be explored.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Nothing whatsoever. I believe that Brian is responsible for his pain. Not as a union employee. But as a man. I have no idea how the courts would see it, nor do I think that should ever be explored.

..and it likely won't be explored in a legal setting. At least lets hope not.

[weams]

..and it likely won't be explored in a legal setting. At least lets hope not.

We agree completely here.

[oriole]

The 10M was already a spent cost. Who would we have gone after as a 2B, if he retired or renegotiated his contract? There were no real long term options available IMO. Oh wait I get it, if only BRob had retired, we could have signed Prince Fielder.

Let me get this straight...

Its totally cool with you to have a player on a roster designed for squeezing good years out of failed players all offseason with little to no hope of said player actually playing? Even if this player did make it on the field he'd likely have an insane decline due to not being in baseball shape? Let's also add in that this player makes an eighth of the entire payroll. All of this doesn't frustrate you? Of course no matter the outcome the Orioles would still be the joke of an organization it has proved itself to be but still...how can you think its fine and cool and dandy? Its not necessarily the worst thing that could have happened but man, its annoying. Sit him down in a room and tell him its over. For gods sakes he is having to reacclimate himself to people in the stands...put a fork in it and call it a career. Best of luck Roberts, but there's the door...

[Frobby]

Nothing whatsoever. I believe that Brian is responsible for his pain. Not as a union employee. But as a man. I have no idea how the courts would see it, nor do I think that should ever be explored.

Of course Brian is responsible. He has nobody to blame but himself. But it's not like he intentionally set out to injure himself. And, as a matter of contract law, this doesn't rise to the level of something that is grounds for voiding Roberts' contract.

[weams]

Of course Brian is responsible. He has nobody to blame but himself. But it's not like he intentionally set out to injure himself. And, as a matter of contract law, this doesn't rise to the level of something that is grounds for voiding Roberts' contract.

Thank you for the clarification. I never thought his contract should be voided. We paid Sidney and Albert, we should pay Brian.

[olehippi]

Who would you suggest they trade for? There were exactly 13 players in all of major league baseball last year who had a .350+ OBP and 20 or more steals:

                                                                                                                                  Rk              Player  PA  OBP SB Year Age  Tm Lg   G  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB  SO HBP SH SF GDP CS   BA  SLG  OPS     Pos1      Jacoby Ellsbury 732 .376 39 2011  27 BOS AL 158 660 119 212 46  5 32 105 52   1  98   9  3  5   8 15 .321 .552 .928    *8/D2       Dustin Pedroia 731 .387 26 2011  27 BOS AL 159 635 102 195 37  3 21  91 86   6  85   1  2  7  12  8 .307 .474 .861      *43          Ian Kinsler 723 .355 30 2011  29 TEX AL 155 620 121 158 34  4 32  77 89   2  71   8  4  2  17  4 .255 .477 .832     *4D4    Curtis Granderson 691 .364 25 2011  30 NYY AL 156 583 136 153 26 10 41 119 85   0 169  12  4  7  12 10 .262 .552 .916    *8/D5            Matt Kemp 689 .399 40 2011  26 LAD NL 161 602 115 195 33  4 39 126 74  24 159   6  0  7  16 11 .324 .586 .986    *8/D6     Andrew McCutchen 678 .364 23 2011  24 PIT NL 158 572  87 148 34  5 23  89 89   3 126   9  2  6   7 10 .259 .456 .820    *8/D7         Justin Upton 674 .369 21 2011  23 ARI NL 159 592 105 171 39  5 31  88 59   9 126  19  0  4   8  9 .289 .529 .898      *98     Emilio Bonifacio 641 .360 40 2011  26 FLA NL 152 565  78 167 26  7  5  36 59   1 129   1 11  5   4 11 .296 .393 .753 65789/49           Ryan Braun 629 .397 33 2011  27 MIL NL 150 563 109 187 38  6 33 111 58   2  93   5  0  3   9  6 .332 .597 .994    *7/D10          Jose Reyes 586 .384 39 2011  28 NYM NL 126 537 101 181 31 16  7  44 43   9  41   0  2  4   5  7 .337 .493 .877      *611         Bobby Abreu 585 .353 21 2011  37 LAA AL 142 502  54 127 30  1  8  60 78   5 113   1  1  3   8  5 .253 .365 .717    *D7912     Carlos Gonzalez 542 .363 20 2011  25 COL NL 127 481  92 142 27  3 26  92 48   8 105   7  0  6  11  5 .295 .526 .889     79813    Desmond Jennings 287 .356 20 2011  24 TBR AL  63 247  44  64  9  4 10  25 31   1  59   6  3  0   1  6 .259 .449 .805  *7/8D9

The only one I see as being an option is Bobby Abreu, and he comes with a significant risk of collapse.

I said I wouldn't be surprised if they make a trade, but no way do the Orioles go after anyone on your list. But, step it down a notch to a .340 OBP, plus look for the blocked MiL players, and maybe they find someone who can help......it wouldn't take much.

[HankGChuck]

To me, Roberts is making small gains and you just have to hope he continues improving. I expect him to go on the 60-day DL but I won't be that surprised if he makes it back to the majors in June or later. I think the Orioles have to plan as if he is never playing again, but I still think there is a decent chance he will play at some point.

Is this wishful thinking? The chances of that man playing anywhere near his previous levels are extremely slim. Why are they dragging this out? Why won't they give the man a real retirement or a job within the organization? This is sad and annoying to fans of Brian Roberts. The bureaucracy of insurance and contracts is keeping him locked into the facade of being the leadoff hitter for the team.

Disgraceful.

[Can_of_corn]

Is this wishful thinking? The chances of that man playing anywhere near his previous levels are extremely slim. Why are they dragging this out? Why won't they give the man a real retirement or a job within the organization? This is sad and annoying to fans of Brian Roberts. The bureaucracy of insurance and contracts is keeping him locked into the facade of being the leadoff hitter for the team.

Disgraceful.

I don't think they are dragging it out. I think he isn't ready to quit. My guess is if Roberts' agent calls tomorrow with a buyout number the O's will be willing to discuss details.

[weams]

I don't think they are dragging it out. I think he isn't ready to quit. My guess is if Roberts' agent calls tomorrow with a buyout number the O's will be willing to discuss details.

Yeah. Brian will take his time this season on the 60 day DL and will attempt to get back on the field. It is not going to end anytime soon.

[Rene88]

I've known for almost a year that he will never play again.

Exactly. It burns me up we are even talking about him and they keep interviewing him. I think at this point it is a money game that has to be played. Roberts and the Orioles should just reach a settlement and move on.

[El Gordo]

I don't understand your argument. Because the $10 million was already committed, whether or not any value was derived from the expenditure becomes incidental? That makes no sense.

Simple question: if BRob announced his retirement on October 4th of last year, would the Orioles have gone into spring training with Robert Andino as the default replacement? Possibly, but not certainly. Another question: if Duquette had an extra $10 million to spend, would he have conducted the offseason any differently? Of course he would have.

Why on earth would Roberts retire last Oct. 4th? That renders your argument absurd. For all intents and purposes the 10 M was spent He couldn't be expected to retire that soon, before even finding out if therapy for his concussion would be effective. And he really can't be expected to retire anyway. The best you can hope for is that some sort of settlement can be negotiated. And not knowing what Roberts health would be this spring, it would have been a mistake to spend 10 M on some short term stop gap. What they are doing is about the only thing they could be doing.

[SteveA]

He should just skip the step of getting acclimated to crowds. He would still be able to play in Orioles home games, post Opening Day.

[BarclaySouthway]

For those who thought the Albert Belle situation made Angelos gunshy, now one of his favorite men was given a 40 million dollar deal to play what, 40 games over 4 years? This will be the final nail in the coffin of Angelos never shelling out money for premium talent.

Good chance it will have Petey tightening the pursestrings. Maybe it already has. The lesson should be: don't fall in love with the "faces of the franchise."

Also, be wary of signing guys to 4-5 year deals in their age 32 season, especially middle infielders and guys with anger issues.

[TheBee]

This is the kind of thing that irks me. Some people act like the guy did this on purpose so he could sit around and just collect a check. Have some empathy.

Personally, this is how I feel. I have not seen anything to make me think that Roberts is a malingerer. I hope to see him back, and my guess is he is really frustrated. He was one of the best second basemen in the game, and he probably really wants to finish his playing career on his own terms like most players do. When I was 25 and felt invincible, I might've had a different attitude, but at 42 with spine issues I often find myself frustrated at my inability to lift the weights and do the things physically I used to do with ease. It's hard to say, "I guess I just can't do that anymore." I wish him the best.