Roberts since August 19th

[Tony-OH]

Since Brian Roberts went on that tear for about a little over a week in August and sent his supporters into the "I told you so" mode, he's hit .198/.274/.333/.607 in his last 106 PAs and basically becoming the player that I thought he truly was.

Add in his two defensively miscues last night (neither were called an error but both cost us runners that thankfully did not hurt the team) and we have to ask, should he be playing every day down the stretch?

Flaherty has received only 27 PAs over the same stretch and his hit .217/.333/.435/.768 while playing much better defense (something even most Roberts supporters would attest to).

Why not give Flaherty some starts against right-handers leaving Roberts to pinch hit in a crucial late inning situation that he's excelled at this year?

Maybe Roberts has one more tear in him, but I still think he's better served coming off the bench at this stage in his career.

Do I think Buck will do this? Nope. But I would.

[Frobby]

You've picked the time period that best suits your argument. Eliminate August 19-20 and BRob is at .667 instead of .607, and really he has been hovering around .660-.680 all during September.

As to the defense, while I do think Flaherty is better, and Roberts did get away with two miscues last night, in general BRob has played very good defense the last 6-7 weeks. His dWAR was at -0.8 at the end of July but is at -0.1 now. UZR shows something similar, and currently has him at +2.5.

Probably the best argument for BRob is his good performance with runners in scoring position, especially getting runners in from 3B with less than two out. In key situations, he always seems to have a good at bat.

Frankly, I'd be fine with Flaherty getting some starts. But I think it's a close case, and like you, I don't really expect Buck to sit Roberts now.

[25 Nuggets]

Since Brian Roberts went on that tear for about a little over a week in August and sent his supporters into the "I told you so" mode, he's hit .198/.274/.333/.607 in his last 106 PAs and basically becoming the player that I thought he truly was.

Add in his two defensively miscues last night (neither were called an error but both cost us runners that thankfully did not hurt the team) and we have to ask, should he be playing every day down the stretch?

Flaherty has received only 27 PAs over the same stretch and his hit .217/.333/.435/.768 while playing much better defense (something even most Roberts supporters would attest to).

Why not give Flaherty some starts against right-handers leaving Roberts to pinch hit in a crucial late inning situation that he's excelled at this year?

Maybe Roberts has one more tear in him, but I still think he's better served coming off the bench at this stage in his career.

Do I think Buck will do this? Nope. But I would.

I hope not. That'd be a sad way to end his career.

[webbrick2010]

Didn't realize he was hitting so poorly... seems to have more than his share of big moments.

Valencia starting against righites has squeezed Flaherty out of the equation... and BRob being a switch hitter make the O's less susceptable to bullpen matchups.

I cringe with every ball hit to 2B... Roberts really has a noodle arm. Flaherty should be in any game that we have a lead (small) after 7 innings.

[Old#5fan]

You've picked the time period that best suits your argument. Eliminate August 19-20 and BRob is at .667 instead of .607, and really he has been hovering around .660-.680 all during September.

As to the defense, while I do think Flaherty is better, and Roberts did get away with two miscues last night, in general BRob has played very good defense the last 6-7 weeks. His dWAR was at -0.8 at the end of July but is at -0.1 now. UZR shows something similar, and currently has him at +2.5.

Probably the best argument for BRob is his good performance with runners in scoring position, especially getting runners in from 3B with less than two out. In key situations, he always seems to have a good at bat.

Frankly, I'd be fine with Flaherty getting some starts. But I think it's a close case, and like you, I don't really expect Buck to sit Roberts now.

I also think Roberts positions himself defensively better than Flaherty and in that way sort of compensates for his comparative lack of range. Not to mention BROBs incredible ability to get runners in from third with less than two out. I love seeing him come up in those situations. He also seems to foul off a lot of tough pitches which is something more of our hitters should be doing..

[El Gordo]

Yeah this is an example of where I wish we had a stat for QAB. I like seeing Roberts in leverage situations because I feel he is one of the hitters most likely to have a QAB. Sometimes the numbers we have don't tell the whole story.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Yeah this is an example of where I wish we had a stat for QAB. I like seeing Roberts in leverage situations because I feel he is one of the hitters most likely to have a QAB. Sometimes the numbers we have don't tell the whole story.

No one going to dispute that Roberts has hit extremely well in high leverage situations this year. The issue is whether that type of performance is sustainable/projectible.

[TonySoprano]

Roberts also has a .962 OPS with RISP, and even with 2 outs, that number is .890, so he's coming through when needed.

[fearthenoodle]

The 9% walk rate (6.8% Flaherty), 16% strikeout rate (22% Flaherty), and 4.12 pitches per plate appearance (3.81 Flaherty) are a few reasons I'm fine with continuing to play Roberts at 2B.

Obviously anyone can frame a sample to reflect whatever supports their eventual opinion though.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Of course it isn't. At the same time, it seems apparent to me that Roberts is a tougher out (not to mean that he and Flaherty won't make the same number of outs) and is tougher to pitch to. Flaherty is dangerous hitter because of his power but he has holes in his swing and seems much more succeptible to offspead stuff. The numbers might be close when it's all said and done but Roberts has better AB's at this stage. The defensive part of the equation is even tougher to compare. There's little doubt that Flaherty looks like the better player defensively but Roberts has been very steady overall.

Well, they OPS about 20 points apart this year. I'd personally give the edge to Flaherty on defense by a wide margin despite what the numbers say in a SSS. I think Flaherty actually takes close to the P/PA that Roberts does last I checked. So I think it really boils down to to discounting Flaherty's upside and whether you think Roberts can hit in the clutch better than Flaherty right now. Maybe. No doubt Roberts has done that.

Like others have said, it doesn't really matter. Roberts is going to play.

[jjnono]

I think Buck is giving Roberts a shot to play playoff-pressure baseball for the Orioles, something Roberts hasn't done - ever. (he was on the bench this time last year, right? God my memory is horrible...)

[Barnaby Graves]

He's come through in the clutch, defense is bad, at-bats are usually pretty awesome to amazing. He slowed Peavy down a bit last night.

I don't think clutch hitting is repeatable. Flaherty should probably be starting but you know he won't, I mean it's basically an academic question since there's no way Roberts isn't starting unless he is hurt. Really surprised he was not replaced on defense in the 12th last night.

[Oriolesfan4life]

I wouldn't mind seeing Roberts become our leadoff guy. With him, you're almost guaranteed to have a quality at bat and a guy who will make the pitcher work. McClouth is struggling...

[Prayin4Reign]

I'm in the camp of playing Flaherty late in a game for defense...but I like the AB's Roberts has when we're in clutch situations. I'm happy for him that he's producing in those key moments.

[Barnaby Graves]

I wouldn't mind seeing Roberts become our leadoff guy. With him, you're almost guaranteed to have a quality at bat and a guy who will make the pitcher work. McClouth is struggling...

.307 OBP? Middling speed? Why?

I'd actually rather lead off Chris Davis or something. Markakis isn't very inspiring either but he's got a better OBP. McLouth is probably the best leadoff option.