Jump to content

Spring Notes: Brian Roberts a full go this spring

Tony-OH

By Tony-OH
in Orioles Talk

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 70
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Abadie Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

Abadie

Posted
Posted

Dan & Buck will give Brian every opportunity to show he can be the teams starting 2nd baseman. As the longest tenured Oriole, I think he deserves that.

I think Brian comes back a little slow at the start of spring but eventually heats up before heading North. Buck has already said that Brian will travel to a lot of the away ST games and get in his work...the team is ready to prepare Brian as best as "they" can.

Ultimately, I see Roberts winning the 2nd base job and performing "okay" during April then slowly heating up. I'd expect Flathery to spell Roberts 1x/week out of the gates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oriole Veteran All-Star

oriole

Posted
Posted

I don't know what to think abut Roberts. He doesn't have to return to old form to be upgrade over last year so my hopes are pretty even with my expectations. He has a skill set of seeing lots of pitches and stealing bases and if he can take a walk and steal second, its just as good as a double for a leadoff guy, right?

I think he starts at leadoff and eventually moves to 9th. I think he is out by the break.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jagwar Hangout Grand Counsel

Jagwar

Posted
Posted
I don't know what to think abut Roberts. He doesn't have to return to old form to be upgrade over last year so my hopes are pretty even with my expectations. He has a skill set of seeing lots of pitches and stealing bases and if he can take a walk and steal second, its just as good as a double for a leadoff guy, right?

I think he starts at leadoff and eventually moves to 9th. I think he is out by the break.

An upgrade? What OPS and WAR did the O's get out of 2B last year?

Not being snooty, I really am curious as to what Roberts would have to do to be an upgrade over 2B from 2012.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Satyr3206 Hangout Grand Counsel

Satyr3206

Posted
Posted
An upgrade? What OPS and WAR did the O's get out of 2B last year?

Not being snooty, I really am curious as to what Roberts would have to do to be an upgrade over 2B from 2012.

It wouldn't take much from someone to provide an upgrade. I saw the numbers from last year a few weeks ago and they were bad. I'll see if I can find them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Big Al Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

Big Al

Posted
Posted

I think he starts at leadoff and eventually moves to 9th. I think he is out by the break.

I'd like to see him start the season batting 9th. That would reduce pressure and at bats which = wear and tear. Through the season, if he returns to pre-injury spark-plug form, then consider moving him to the top of the order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oriole Veteran All-Star

oriole

Posted
Posted
I'd like to see him start the season batting 9th. That would reduce pressure and at bats which = wear and tear. Through the season, if he returns to pre-injury spark-plug form, then consider moving him to the top of the order.

I've said it before in other threads and I'll say it again, Buck has a track record of playing veterans in roles that their track record suggests would fit the best despite actual performance. See Vlad, DLee, Hardy in the 2 hole last season, Gregg in the closers role in 2011. Buck will bat Roberts first, at least to start the season. I want to see him hit 9th, but thatsnot what I think will actually happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
srock Veteran All-Star

srock

Posted
Posted

Roberts will get his chance to win or loss the job. If he plays well then by all means ride him as long as possible.

But what if his bat comes back yet he can't play defense? He was never a great defender, at his age with the time missed, I could see him being a hindrance to the infield.

Does he have any value as a DH? Assuming his bat comes around I could see him as a DH this season. Reimold is a better play, but who knows how long he can stay off the DL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dipper9 Hangout Grand Counsel

Dipper9

Posted
Posted

The job will be Roberts' to lose, but that said, I don't see the Orioles "babying" him this Spring. They will send him out there to play. Road trips. A lot of innings. If he can't hold up in ST, then he'll have no use to the team during the season. No more "taking things slowly." Either he can, or he can't.

Do, or do not, there is no try!

Yoda-1980

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Can_of_corn Hangout Grand Counsel

Can_of_corn

Posted
Posted
An upgrade? What OPS and WAR did the O's get out of 2B last year?

Not being snooty, I really am curious as to what Roberts would have to do to be an upgrade over 2B from 2012.

Considering that he put up -1 WAR in only 17 games last season what he will have to do is play significantly better then he did in 2012 to reach the bar of replacement level that Andino set last season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dipper9 Hangout Grand Counsel

Dipper9

Posted
Posted
Considering that he put up -1 WAR in only 17 games last season what he will have to do is play significantly better then he did in 2012 to reach the bar of replacement level that Andino set last season.

I don't deny this, but, the man was injured last year. I don't think we can conclude anything by his 17 games last season.

That said, I don't expect BRob to play a significant role on this team. But, I HOPE that I'm wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tx Oriole Hangout Grand Counsel

Tx Oriole

Posted
Posted
http://www.orioleshangout.com/article/3989/spring-notes-brian-roberts-a-full-go-this-spring

Can Roberts come back this spring? Will the Orioles run him out there even if he shows he's not productive any more?

Tony I believe Roberts needs a chance but if it proves he can't play anymore then the O's need to go in another direction. IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing


  • Posts

    • Yossarian
      Anyone tried the Immaculate Grid game?

      By Yossarian · Posted

      Got my all-time low rarity score on today's game - 6.
    • Baseball fandom
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Baseball fandom · Posted

      Lol.  I give up. Next. 
    • Baseball fandom
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Baseball fandom · Posted

      41 freaking years and here's this guy with the name pickles telling me I should be happy with 91 wins and getting owned in the playoffs again. 😂 😂 I saw a team that looked terrible the second half and probably didn't even deserve that spot the way they were playing .
    • Baseball fandom
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Baseball fandom · Posted

      Lol. Here's the funny they know more then you know. Typical Oriole fan who's happy with getting punched in the mouth. 
    • e16bball
      Walltimore

      By e16bball · Posted

      I don’t like the wall. I think it’s affecting our hitters. I’ve mentioned before that I think it has totally warped Mountcastle into something he was never really meant to be. The guy came up as a pull-heavy HR hitter, and in his first season-plus (725 PAs), he puts up 38 HRs and a 116 wRC+. Since then, the wRC+ is down to 110, and his approach has totally changed, with his pull numbers plummeting (down from 39% in 2021 to less than 28% this year). He still hits the ball hard, but constantly underachieves his batted ball data — probably because he’s trying to avoid the pull field and hitting balls to the deepest parts of pretty much every other park. Will the same thing happen to Mayo? Maybe he has more pure power, but it’s always going to be a challenge for a RH slugger to survive with that wall. So much harder to do damage.   Beyond that, I think it’s also creating a serious risk of changing our LH hitters’ approaches too. These guys (Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, 2/3 of Adley) have come up with a reputation for being able to drive the ball to all fields. But how long does that continue when they just can’t hit it out to the opposite field? Our LH hitters had a combined 44 wRC+ at OPACY, and only one HR. They had the 3rd most balls hit to LF at home by LHHs, but the lowest wRC+ of any team on those balls (for the second straight year). The Royals, ironically enough, were the only team that was lower than a 70 wRC+ — that’s how much worse our lefties fared going oppo (at OPACY) than everyone else’s. By player: Gunnar Henderson: 112 wRC+ / .160 ISO (51 PAs) Adley Rutschman: 10 wRC+ / .026 ISO (38 PAs) Anthony Santander: 14 wRC+ / .095 ISO (43 PAs) Colton Cowser: 58 wRC+ / .057 ISO (36 PAs) Ryan O’Hearn: 47 wRC+ / .091 ISO (55 PAs) Cedric Mullins: 23 wRC+ / .100 ISO (41 PAs) Jackson Holliday: -72 wRC+ / .000 ISO (16 PAs)   On the road, they had a combined 126 wRC+ (with 9 HRs) going to left field, so it’s not like they’re bad at it. It’s just Death Valley out there in LF for them at OPACY.  How long will it be until these LH guys just start going full pull-happy? Essentially, the opposite of what’s happened with Mountcastle. When (a) your team’s philosophy is to focus on doing damage and (b) you can’t DO damage to the opposite field — the rational endpoint is just to try to pull everything. I don’t think that’s a good outcome. I think it makes them much worse hitters in the other 81 games, and I think it’s a terrible waste of a bunch of really talented hitters with all-field abilities.
    • Pickles
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pickles · Posted

      Which core players beside Adley Rutschman struggled?
    • Pat Kelly
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pat Kelly · Posted

      The entire commentary on Hyde and the team seems odd but have to admit there does seem to be something off.   Team seemed adrift for most of the 2nd half.  A very talented team went off the rails midway through the season mostly due to core players struggling and rookies not performing or filling in adequately for a few injured starters.    None of the position player trade line acquisitions performed that well.     Hyde seemed in over his head or at a loss on how to correct things, but he must have convinced Elias that he has a plan to fix things.  Curious to see what happens with the coaching staff.  

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...