TT: Buck needs to make a decision on Brian Roberts

[bpilktree]

Are we talking about the same Flaherty that was hitting .161 in mid June. The one that had 2 homers through mid June in 150 at bats. The same guy that had 6 RBI in those at bats and 36 k's. Flaherty had a hot 9 games yeah it sucks it was right at the end of his time but there is no way I am saying he would have kept anywhere close to what he did in 9 games when the previous 50 was so awful. Ryan's p/pa appearence is helped with the fact it takes atleast 3 pitches to strike out 28% of the time.

[Norfolk orioles]

I think we can ALL agree on one thing........

As soon as schoop is healthy, he's the first September call up and he needs to be in the lineup, provided he is hitting.

Anyone disagree with that?

[Tony-OH]

Can you get any more condescending?

I can be a lot more condescending but I don't know how that comment is condescending at all. Lots of fans think with their hearts.

[MDstar08]

I think if I was coming off a hamstring injury that required surgery I would more than a month to get back into the swing of things after only playing 3 games and missing over half of spring training. BRob has more in the tank. Flaherty has not shown consistency he is basically a utility infielder/outfielder

[Going Underground]

I can be a lot more condescending but I don't know how that comment is condescending at all. Lots of fans think with their hearts.

I thought most men think with something else.

[waroriole]

I can be a lot more condescending but I don't know how that comment is condescending at all. Lots of fans think with their hearts.

You don't have to think with your heart to believe BRob can be a .700 OPS guy, when he currently has a .640 OPS and a BABIP of .265 (48 points below his career average).

[Tony-OH]

Are we talking about the same Flaherty that was hitting .161 in mid June. The one that had 2 homers through mid June in 150 at bats. The same guy that had 6 RBI in those at bats and 36 k's. Flaherty had a hot 9 games yeah it sucks it was right at the end of his time but there is no way I am saying he would have kept anywhere close to what he did in 9 games when the previous 50 was so awful. Ryan's p/pa appearence is helped with the fact it takes atleast 3 pitches to strike out 28% of the time.

No, we are talking about the Flaherty in his last 37 games in the big leagues this year covering 112 PAs, hit .286/.330/.457/.787.

[Tony-OH]

Yeah the problem is some of us are using valid stats to back up our "heart", and it's being dismissed outright. Surely, there's a middle ground here and we can concede points on either side.

You mean like run scored, RBIs, and an empty seven day batting average?

[MurphDogg]

Roberts is a .575-.600 OPS second baseman? With an OPS of .640 (and .722 a week ago)? Tell me again about brains.

Really, neg-rep Tony?

Brian Roberts is having good at-bats, seeing a decent amount of pitches and has a seemingly unsustainably low BABIP. To say that someone is who they are and capping there potential at below their current statistics is silly.

Nobody thinks Brian Roberts is worth $10,000,000 a year but it is not a foregone conclusion that he is a worse option than Flaherty or Casilla.

[waroriole]

You mean like run scored, RBIs, and an empty seven day batting average?

This one:

You don't have to think with your heart to believe BRob can be a .700 OPS guy, when he currently has a .640 OPS and a BABIP of .265 (48 points below his career average).

[Can_of_corn]

Really, neg-rep Tony?

Brian Roberts is having good at-bats, seeing a decent amount of pitches and has a seemingly unsustainably low BABIP. To say that someone is who they are and capping there potential at below their current statistics is silly.

Nobody thinks Brian Roberts is worth $10,000,000 a year but it is not a foregone conclusion that he is a worse option than Flaherty or Casilla.

Not a lot of data in yet but BB Ref and Fangraphs both think he is.

[olehippi]

So you think Buck (Yes I know Duquette signs the players) would have signed Brian Roberts as a free agent with his current skill set and played him over Ryan Flaherty? I think it's way more complicated than some of you would like to admit. As for in buck we trust, well, considering some of his bullpen and lineup decisions, I'll say that went out the door once we realized that although buck is a very good manager, he's not without fault and afterall, that is what we do here.

You offer a hypothetical in response to a reality? And i really don't think its all that complicated. The facts are, Roberts was already a member of the team, he had a track record of being a very good player, and its clear that at this point, Showalter believes he can and will get better and help the team.

I'm not among the "trust Buck" group. Like you I think some of his decisions have sucked. And if I was the manager, Flaherty would have stayed at 2B after Roberts came back....or at least until he stopped hitting again.

[waroriole]

Not a lot of data in yet but BB Ref and Fangraphs both think he is.

Hard to rely on a month's worth of defensive metrics as a measure of a player.

[Tony-OH]

Well, only RZNJ answered my question about whether you would have signed Brian Roberts as a free agent and have him replace Flaherty.

That's what I thought. That's ok though, I know it's hard to drop the fandom sometimes, but that's what I'm here for.

Maybe Roberts is a .650 OPS guy (Better than he's hit since 2010), maybe in the best of all worlds he's a .700 OPS guy (I seriously doubt it), but at the end of the day, few will argue that Flaherty is not a better defensive second baseman and even if they produced the same offensively, Flaherty is the better player overall.

I will say this though, Roberts may be the better pinch hitter of the two since he does handle the bat better than Flaherty. Another reason to put Roberts on the bench and player Flaherty and Casilla at second base.

[Can_of_corn]

Hard to rely on a month's worth of defensive metrics as a measure of a player.

That would be why I said not a lot of data.

I find eyes + limited info > eyes.