O's Interested in Juan Uribe

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm going to get flamed for this for a number of reasons, but I'm going to say it anyway...

Do you know what I think could possibly help Luis Hernandez turn into a somewhat respectable hitter (at least for a defensive wizard)?

Brian Roberts.

The two of them seemed to form a bond last year and Roberts has spoken twice on the Anita Marks show this winter about his desire to mentor the youngster. Brian seems to have a higher opinion of Luis' ability than most sane people on here, but as both a professional player and the son of a college coach, he might just have the expertise to be seeing something we're missing. He'd also be an ideal candidate to teach Luis some of the things he's lacking. Brian has pretty much the ideal approach at the plate for a "little guy." He might be able to reach Luis in a way no prior hitting coach has about the importance of patience and pitch selection, and might even be able to help with his mechanics. He could also impart advice on strength training, something that couldn't possibly hurt a guy who looks to have a fairly solid build but doesn't seem to hit the ball with any authority whatsoever. Of course, the chances of Hernandez suddenly blossoming under BRob's tutelage aren't great enough to singlehandedly be worth altering the course of the rebuilding process if a solid package is out there that MacPhail really thinks makes the team better in the long run, but if Roberts does stick around, I think an improved Luis Hernandez could eventually be one of the benefits. As an added benefit, the two of them turned some sick double plays together last year while Tejada was on the DL. I think Luis could also help Brian return to the aggressive defensive player he was consistently before his elbow injury.

Do you really think hanging out with Brian Roberts is more important than Luis Hernandez' innate and developed ability, and the coaching he's received over the first 23 years of his life? I suppose that's on the fringes of plausibility, but I don't see any reason to think it's likely.

[BaltimoreTerp]

I'm going to get flamed for this for a number of reasons, but I'm going to say it anyway...

Do you know what I think could possibly help Luis Hernandez turn into a somewhat respectable hitter (at least for a defensive wizard)?

Brian Roberts.

The two of them seemed to form a bond last year and Roberts has spoken twice on the Anita Marks show this winter about his desire to mentor the youngster. Brian seems to have a higher opinion of Luis' ability than most sane people on here, but as both a professional player and the son of a college coach, he might just have the expertise to be seeing something we're missing. He'd also be an ideal candidate to teach Luis some of the things he's lacking. Brian has pretty much the ideal approach at the plate for a "little guy." He might be able to reach Luis in a way no prior hitting coach has about the importance of patience and pitch selection, and might even be able to help with his mechanics. He could also impart advice on strength training, something that couldn't possibly hurt a guy who looks to have a fairly solid build but doesn't seem to hit the ball with any authority whatsoever. Of course, the chances of Hernandez suddenly blossoming under BRob's tutelage aren't great enough to singlehandedly be worth altering the course of the rebuilding process if a solid package is out there that MacPhail really thinks makes the team better in the long run, but if Roberts does stick around, I think an improved Luis Hernandez could eventually be one of the benefits. As an added benefit, the two of them turned some sick double plays together last year while Tejada was on the DL. I think Luis could also help Brian return to the aggressive defensive player he was consistently before his elbow injury.

So...he'll hit .220 instead of .195, OBP of .275 instead of .250, SLG of .300 instead of .250, and adding his defense in only costs us four wins instead of eight?

[blueberryale77]

Do you really think hanging out with Brian Roberts is more important than Luis Hernandez' innate and developed ability, and the coaching he's received over the first 23 years of his life? I suppose that's on the fringes of plausibility, but I don't see any reason to think it's likely.

More important, no. However, Hernandez was once a highly regarded prospect by the Braves. He's struggled offensively to be sure, but sometimes an athlete who hasn't lived up to previous expectations just needs one random thing to fall in the right place to help them put it all together. It's the x-factor that makes sports played by humans more interesting than watching robots or video game simulations.

[Dipper9]

Except that Tony Batista was never accused of shooting someone and then paying off the accuser to make the charges go away. :002_scool:

Well at leats he can think on his toes!

I keed. I don't want anybody that is gonna be a hindrance to what trembley is trying to accomplish! Why not just sign Cal for a year? He can't be any worse than these other guys!

[TyCobb]

I can't wait until Roberts gets traded so we don't have to listen to how great of a person he is.

[blueberryale77]

Well at leats he can think on his toes!

I keed. I don't want anybody that is gonna be a hindrance to what trembley is trying to accomplish! Why not just sign Cal for a year? He can't be any worse than these other guys!

Why not Mike Bord-ick? If he returned to active play for the Orioles the mods would have to do something about the spam filter.

[mweb]

I think I'd rather just go with Hernandez over Uribe. Like others have said, get someone who can be a potential long term solution or don't get anyone at all.

[orayole]

If we want to trade Payton then trade him for a bag of balls instead of another scrub taking up space.

[orioles77]

If we want to trade Payton then trade him for a bag of balls instead of another scrub taking up space.

How is Uribe taking up space, when we have no depth as SS whatsoever.

[blueberryale77]

How is Uribe taking up space, when we have no depth as SS whatsoever.

He would be eating up fairly significant money, providing subpar defense at the most important position behind a young developing pitching staff and, given his past history, quite possibly creating clubhouse problems. A rebuilding team is better off with a cheap, defensive shortstop who can't hit at all if it can't find a legitimate shortstop of the future.

[orioles77]

He would be eating up fairly significant money, providing subpar defense at the most important position behind a young developing pitching staff and, given his past history, quite possibly creating clubhouse problems. A rebuilding team is better off with a cheap, defensive shortstop who can't hit at all if it can't find a legitimate shortstop of the future.

I agree with you on that, but the idea of sending LH out there on opening day as our shortstop is awful.

[RShack]

Dang. In 1 measly day, it's 5 pp about Juan Uribe... and another thread has 3 pp about Reyes.

Meanwhile, that same RBob thread is still going.

You know what this means, don't you? Nothing to talk about.

Should I stir-up things about something else?

[RShack]

Can you do it in 500,000 words or less?

Com on, RZ... those long posts were less than 5000 words combined... that's less than a stout magazine article (not nearly as well written, I admit that, but still less...)

[BaltimoreGhost]

I don't like Uribe for us, but not because of his ability, which I think is better than any of our options, but because he supposedly killed someone. I wouldn't want that guy in the clubhouse.

Otherwise yea, he doesn't hit for very good OPS, but he's Luis Hernandez with more power. Not to mention at 27, he's entering his supposed prime and he's a World Champion already. Despite his poor OPS in 2005 he still managed to break .800 in the postseason.

Not to mention his off-field issues had to be a distraction. I'd take a chance on the guy after multiple interviews to see if his head is screwed on right.

Are we really trying to compare LH to a guy who started on a World Champion team?

Yea he's not the long-term answer, but IMHO he's better stock than guys we've brought in such as Gibbons, Millar, Payton or Huff. Cut them and add Cintron AND Uribe.

[El Gordo]

The answer to this question is fairly simlpe IM0. If Uribe has a +- FB rating of 0then he will be about equal to LH overall given his 295 OBP lifetime and his 695 OPS last year. Anything over .700 OPS and +- 0 would be an improvement over LH. The quEstion is how good or bad a fielder is Uribe today? No one seems to have any concrete info on that, because no one seems to own a copy of this years Fielding Bible. In 05 Tejada was a +5 and Uribe was a +9. Tejada was +25 to his right, -4 straight on, and -17 to his left. Uribe was +12 to his right, +1 straight on, and -7 to his left. So in '05 he was similar to Tejada in that he was strong to his right but nothing like Tejada, ok straight on, and weak to his left, but not nearly as bad as Tejada. I wouldn't think his arm was any stronger than Miggi's; today he has probabaly declined some what so I would guesstimate that he is + 12 to his right -2 straight on and -12 to his left. Perhaps a -2 overall, but who knows?