TT: Buck needs to make a decision on Brian Roberts

[TradeAngelos]

Let Brian get closer to two hundred ABs before we decide he's done. It is not as if we have a great replacement, we have a guy no one wanted on the ML roster a month ago. Let Brob continue to play himself into form. He is our guy. He will improve as the season progresses. If he does not, we always have the newly popular RF.

I see emotions on display. Adorable. All of these feelings. Lets hug it out.

Enjoy your Friday, lets go Os.

He has had 359 AB's since 2011, and has a .576 OPS during that span.

And soon to be 36 year old's don't improve as they get older, they get worse.

[SteveO]

Seriously?? Ray Lewis is a hall of famer, perhaps the best at his position in the history of the NFL and an acknowledged insirational speaker/leader.

Brian Roberts has never even played for a winning team.

The BRob effect will pull the O's out of the last WC spot if Buck doesn't come to his senses.

Seems a little overly dramatic IMO. If the difference between this team getting in the playoffs is BRob at 2B vrs Flaherty/Casilla then I will eat my Orioles hat.

We have gotten nothing out of 2B 90% of this season and to this point BRob is just continuing that trend. Difference is that BRob has a history of productivity when healthy that neither Flaherty or Casilla have.

Whats wrong with giving BRob some time to work into game shape and work out the kinks its not like your benching some amazing prospect or a guy who who was putting up consistent numbers. Your benching a guy who was productive for a couple of weeks and was sent back to the minors for some time. You can go back to him if Roberts does not improve.

[jtschrei]

The difference between BRob and Flaherty will not determine whether we make the playoffs. I think they are both below average at this point.

I had higher hopes for BRob, but he's just not even close to the player he once was.

It's up to our pitching and the top of lineup. Markakis, Davis, and Machado need to step up and the bullpen has to be airtight. That's what will get us to the playoffs.

[Tx Oriole]

So what.

Well the birth of their child will be a blessing.

[weams]

Seems a little overly dramatic IMO. If the difference between this team getting in the playoffs is BRob at 2B vrs Flaherty/Casilla then I will eat my Orioles hat.

We have gotten nothing out of 2B 90% of this season and to this point BRob is just continuing that trend. Difference is that BRob has a history of productivity when healthy that neither Flaherty or Casilla have.

Whats wrong with giving BRob some time to work into game shape and work out the kinks its not like your benching some amazing prospect or a guy who who was putting up consistent numbers. Your benching a guy who was productive for a couple of weeks and was sent back to the minors for some time. You can go back to him if Roberts does not improve.

53 games is not that much time. Brian was not need back until he was in game shape. If he is still improving, let him go on a rehab assignment.

[weams]

Well the birth of their child will be a blessing.

Their family will definitely be enhanced.

[Barnaby Graves]

I think Roberts has something left.

His batted ball stats aren't that bad and are much improved from an abysmal 2012 campaign. I think he's a little BABIP unlucky given his 22.4 LD% and a .265 BABIP. His walk rates aren't very good anymore but they're passable. His ISO shows he has a pulse when it comes to power.

Not as good a fielder as Ryan Flaherty but I think he makes a better hitter this year, all told.

[WEAVERMAN]

I think Buck has made his decision. He thinks BRob's offensive tools are better than the other two options, and that it's worth it to play BRob every day, even though he has not set the world on fire.

While BRob's overall numbers aren't impressive, it's noticeable that when he comes up in a RISP situation, he knows what to do. Not only are the results good (.444/.429/.500), but he just knows what he's doing up there. He makes the pitcher throw strikes and then he usually hits the ball somewhere with authority. He's struck out in only 2 of 22 PA in those situations, and in addition to his .444 BA, has hit two sac flies.

Flaherty, on the other hand, gives away a lot of those at bats. He's been up 47 times in RISP situations, hitting .195/.298/.293. He's struck out 12 times. And it's just pretty easy for a pitcher to get him to chase bad pitches.

Casilla has been better than Flaherty in RISP situations (30 PA, .208/.276/.417, 5 K's), and in my mind is a little better than Flaherty overall. But it's pretty clear from the first 3 months of the year that Buck likes Flaherty as a starter better than Casilla.

Bottom line, I don't expect Buck to switch from BRob any time soon. He'd have to do significantly worse than he has done to date for Buck to change his mind.

You nailed it, Frobby.

[Tx Oriole]

Seriously?? Ray Lewis is a hall of famer, perhaps the best at his position in the history of the NFL and an acknowledged insirational speaker/leader.

Brian Roberts has never even played for a winning team.

The BRob effect will pull the O's out of the last WC spot if Buck doesn't come to his senses.

Never played on a winning team so what has that got to do with anything? I don't

see where one player will drag the team down. Don't you think that if Buck felt

Roberts was holding the team back that he wouldn't make a move? You really

think thAt Buck would sacrifice the team and playoffs for Roberts? Buck has more

sense than that. IMO

[TonySoprano]

Well the birth of their child will be a blessing.

May the first child be a masculine child

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[Old#5fan]

Brian Roberts is no Ray Lewis. But we know they both like that deer antler powder.

Yeah, but many were saying Ray Lewis was a shell of himself and was done, yada, yada, yada, just like they are here with Roberts. Yet, they were comparing him to his peak years, when he played like a superstar, and again, this seems to be the case with Roberts. The point I am trying to make is whose to say Brian doesn' suddenly go on a tear for his last ride? Ted Williams hit a HR in his last AB and he was well into his 40's. Just last year Jim Thome had some big hits and games for the O's down the stretch.

I just think judging Roberts by a handful of games or even his abbreviated last seasonal appearances is flawed. Give the man a chance. Ray Lewis didn't play like the Ray Lewis of the Ravens first superbowl winning year, but he still lead the team in tackles (I believe) during the playoffs. Whose to say Brob won't go onto a doubles tear and pick this team up in the playoff stretch. I know I can't predict the future, but he does have a career history of being a very good player that he can draw upon and lots of experience and game saavy. Just like Ray had.

[tntoriole]

Roberts had to be given the opportunity, not just because of the money, but because he really might have been able to outproduce Flaherty, Casilla (which was a really low bar). So I have no problem with the extended trial of BRob at second (even with Flaherty doing better in the week prior to BRob's return), and even with the defensive drop off, because I still believe Roberts can hit better and already hits much better with a much better approach in key situations than Flaherty or Casilla.

[Tony-OH]

Those 9 games are the reason that his stats look good not the 37 games. He had 14 hits in those 9 games. The other 28 games 18 hits. His average in the other games was .211. 2 doubles and 1 homer in those other 28 games and 2 walks. That is awful with a slash line of .211/.240/.292/.532.

Ok, so take out Roberts 11-game hot streak and look at what he's done since coming back.

[Old#5fan]

Seriously?? Ray Lewis is a hall of famer, perhaps the best at his position in the history of the NFL and an acknowledged insirational speaker/leader.

Brian Roberts has never even played for a winning team.

The BRob effect will pull the O's out of the last WC spot if Buck doesn't come to his senses.

Do you have a crystal ball to tell you that he has no chance of going on a tear and hitting a slew of doubles like the Brob of old? I am not saying he will, but you cannot completely dismiss that possibility over a handful of games.

[Tony-OH]

"Tell me again about brains" is not any more personal than dismissing other people's arguments because you felt they came from the heart rather than the brain. If you think I was suggesting you don't have a brain, I am sorry, that was not what I meant. I hope I explained myself clearly in my follow up post, that I think your argument was overstated, and I (and others) found your tone to be dismissive of others opinions. If someone thought I was being condescending, I might want to know why. I am simply telling you why I read your comment the way I did. I will refrain from any further comment. If Brian Roberts ends the season with an OPS of below .600, I owe you a Coke.

How about below .630 and you are on.