Roberts first game back at OPACY - Applaud or Boo?

[Redskins Rick]

There was more to this all than just Buck's whims.

So the number of times Buck said he was playing the best team he felt gave him the best chance of winning was just window dressing? Somehow I don't see Buck as being the type.

[UpstateNYfan]

UMMM, BR did the O's a favor. He left without fanfare. It doesn't matter if it's the Yanks or whatever. He didn't force DD or BS to make a decision that might have been tough. He chose the path and he might have realized that he indeed was helping the Birds. The same people that are going to boo him are the one's that would be booing him if he was playing poorly this year.

[PeteU]

They say time heals all wounds.

But, in this case, the Mussina haters will always hate him.

Heck Johnny U. left the colts and played for another team, without the hatred that Moose has got.

Again, Johnny U. was pretty much a shell of his former self by the time he left the Colts. And the Chargers weren't necessarily the Colts' most hated rival.

Johnny U. as a Charger has about as much significance as Babe Ruth as a Boston Brave.

[weams]

And Moose got what was, allegedly, a very nice ovation just for happening to get spotted in the crowd earlier this season.

Roberts will be treated kindly, I suspect.

Mr. Mussina has been quietly trying to reconnect with his natural fan base.

[mark_beckens]

If someone else wants to boo him for being a Yankee, I don't think I'd argue with them. I boo quite a few Yankees.

So there are two teams you didn't want him to play for, us and them, anyone else would have been ok? :cussing:

[Redskins Rick]

And Moose got what was, allegedly, a very nice ovation just for happening to get spotted in the crowd earlier this season.

Roberts will be treated kindly, I suspect.

Glad to hear that, but as you can see, not all has been forgotten.

[Can_of_corn]

This and exactly how do you know he rushed back? Do you have inside knowledge about how he felt and how healthy he was when he came back? Or is this just your biased opinion?

How do I know? He put up a rWAR of -1.1 in 17 games. His fWAR was -1.2. Those are staggering numbers there. You extend that out to a 154 game season and you are looking at around -10 WAR.

How could anyone look at that and not come to the conclusion he came back before he was ready?

[FlipTheBird]

So there are two teams you didn't want him to play for, us and them, anyone else would have been ok? :cussing:

Brian can play for whomever he wants/will take him. I'm not going to like or dislike him any more or less. Were I there tonight, I would not boo him. That said, I wouldn't blame those that will boo him. Especially since, in all likelihood, I'd boo the very next batter.

[FlipTheBird]

Glad to hear that, but as you can see, not all has been forgotten.

Sometimes the folks that post here on a regular basis sometimes forget that we are not the average fan at the ballpark, but the diehards.

[weams]

What. What then. Tell us. Or don't. But don't do this cryptic nonsense.

I did not mean that to be cryptic. There were many issues at hand with that player and not all were just Buck writing him into the lineup. He was not a utility fielder. And he was required to be carried on the 25 man roster once he returned to the team, supposedly healthy. Buck used him as he needed to, and not just because he has a huge BRob fan boy.

[mark_beckens]

How do I know? He put up a rWAR of -1.1 in 17 games. His fWAR was -1.2. Those are staggering numbers there. You extend that out to a 154 game season and you are looking at around -10 WAR.

How could anyone look at that and not come to the conclusion he came back before he was ready?

It was a rhetorical question, I knew it was your biased opinion.

[weams]

Brian can be for whomever he wants/will take him. I'm not going to like or dislike him any more or less. Were I there tonight, I would not boo him. That said, I wouldn't blame those that will boo him. Especially since, in all likelihood, I'd boo the very next batter.

I boo Teixeira religiously.

[BMann]

Just because Yankees and Red Sox fans are classless does not mean Orioles fans should follow suit.

The bolded part above is so ridiculous I cannot even comment. Go back and watch Cal Ripken's final series in NY and tell me how the fans treated him...an enemy for 21 years!

While I agree with your premise about not aspiring to be classless like Yanks fans, I'd respond that Yanks fans never really had a reason to hate Cal Ripken. How many memorable hits did Cal have after 1983 that helped us win a pennant over the Yanks? We hate Jeter because he's beaten us a million times and won tons of big ball games for our most despised rival. To NY fans, I imagine Cal was a quaint oddity, a player who "played the game the right way" for a team that was almost never a threat (to the Stinkees or anyone else) after his sophomore year. When we did get a chance to beat 'em and get to the WS in '96, the Yanks came out on top. So why not give Cal his due when he retired? By that time, the Yanks were on top of the world, winning pennant after pennant... It's easy to be civil to the division doormat's best player, right? I wonder: if we were the ones winning 6 pennants in 8 years while the Yanks floundered, would Cal have been treated so well up there?

So glad those days are FINALLY behind us!

[weams]

What. What then. Tell us. Or don't. But don't do this cryptic nonsense.

Really, I just was pointing out why the statement was wrong. I was not even really supporting Corn's viewpoint. And his is much stronger than mine. Thee was a period of time after the concussion that Brian should have been hospitalized, and not just for physical health. I am glad he made it the whole way back. And when the Yankees are officially out of the race and Brian is playing the way he is most comfortable, I will be glad to cheer for him. Against other teams that are still in the race that are not Orioles.

[byrdz]

Neither, who cares?