Something I was told about B Rob

[UpstateNYfan]

If I'm not mistaken, BRob was on something like an 11-22 streak coming into the game. He had a bad night.

It's the little things he does not do....He really does not hustle, running out routine ground balls he hits. He's slow out of the box and running 2/3 rds speed down the line. You watch the Yankees, they run hard through first base, every one of them including ARod. Hell, the beloved R Hernandez last year ran harder down the line than Roberts does. And this not covering bases is just embarassing. I hope Trembley pulls him aside.

[birdman57]

I wasn't going to ever make a thread about this, but given what I saw today, I thought it was worth at least mentioning, a bit of food for thought. This is just for discussion purposes, thats it. I'll be pretty angry if I get ripped for just passing on something I heard. That said..

A few weeks ago I talked with my grandfather. He's retired and lives in Florida, big Rays fan. He was telling me how one of my like, second cousins, who had played some minor league ball, had gotten him a dinner with Dave Magadan, the Red Sox pitching coach. So they had dinner, and they were just discussing various hitters in the AL East. He had called to just tell me about the Orioles.

Nothing exciting really, was singing some praise for Jones and Markakis, and mentioned Wieters (who was unknown to my grandfather lol), but the interesting thing was about B Rob. He basically said that Brian quits in games. Pretty much that if the Orioles get down in games, even not by much, Brian loses interest. The phrase he used to my grandfather was that Brian "mails it in". I've been looking for it, and I'm not sure if I can see it or not. I'm not sure what exactly it was that Magadan sees or exactly why he thinks this, but I thought it was an interesting opinion from a major league hitting coach.

Has anyone else seen anything like this out of B Rob, or do you think this was Dave just blowing steam?

Roberts may be a beloved figure in Baltimore but like Mora, Huff and a few others, he symbolizes this "culture of losing" that seems to have a grip on this organization. I would have no problem with him the others being moved on 7/31. Just my two cents:mad:

[wildcard]

Posts like this are why I don't post much here

All I was saying and all I think a lot of people in this thread are saying is that the guy seems to lose passion sometimes in game. I don't care if you're sick of the losing, if you get paid millions of dollars to run down the line or and hustle you need to do it. Just do it. I've watched countless games since he's been an Oriole and that's how I see it in my IMO.

Sorry you get so upset if someone has a varying opinion from you. Nobody is personally attacking the guy. Keep your "shame on you" routine.

Look, when you question a guys passion you are saying he is not doing his job. He are questioning his character because a player of character has passion. That is not fair when the guys job is to score runs and he is third in the league with 48 runs scored 40% through the season. You are not being fair at all.

On top on that to questioning Brian's passion on a night when he committed a phyical error that contributes to a loss is very poor timing. Brian has 4 errors. He his 4th in the AL in fielding percentage at his position. He is doing his job well.

You can post whatever you want, but if you post something negative about a O's player on the OriolesHangout you should realize that you better know what the heck you are talking about and expect fans that watch Brian day in and day out to say something like - Wait a minute, he is one of the best at what he does in the league. You and anyone else that wants to slam Brian for his passion and production are off base.

I think you are measuring Brian against some ideal that has players go all out on every play not matter what. When in fact very few player do that and last very long. Players do have pain. Players do have to play smart. They have to understand when to give everything they have and when its smarter to not hurt themselves. I don't know everything that is happening with Brian and neither do most fans. Fact is he is very productive.

Tori Hunter made a outstanding effort the other night, got hurt and will miss time that hurts him and his team. I heard the announcers the other night questioning whether that was a smart play. I will not pass judgement on that but I do think that a player over 162 games has to play smart. And playing smart is not a sign that a player does not have passion.

[DrungoHazewood]

- No baseball player goes 100% all of the time. Ok, maybe Pete Rose, but he had/has some serious problems. And almost certainly an amphetamine addiction

- Point #1 is true despite the insistence of oldtimers who say their favorite player from 1949 was in a dead run from the batter's box on all 7544 of his career plate appearances.

- Little guys who steal bases are assumed to hustle more than big sluggers, so you probably notice it more with Roberts.

- Nobody cares a bit, or even notices, when you're winning.

- The bias in favor of guys like Billy Ripken, who used to dive headlong into first base on plays where he was out by six steps, is probably without merit. (Edit: wildcard is absolutely right when he says that playing smart is usually better than going all out all the time. This isn't football.)

- Roberts' contract extension is very fair for his age/production.

- Amateur psychologists are funny.

[FRSmith]

He got Married right before Spring Training. Say no more!:wedge:

[The Wedge]

- No baseball player goes 100% all of the time. Ok, maybe Pete Rose, but he had/has some serious problems. And almost certainly an amphetamine addiction

- Point #1 is true despite the insistence of oldtimers who say their favorite player from 1949 was in a dead run from the batter's box on all 7544 of his career plate appearances.

- Little guys who steal bases are assumed to hustle more than big sluggers, so you probably notice it more with Roberts.

- Nobody cares a bit, or even notices, when you're winning.

- The bias in favor of guys like Billy Ripken, who used to dive headlong into first base on plays where he was out by six steps, is probably without merit. (Edit: wildcard is absolutely right when he says that playing smart is usually better than going all out all the time. This isn't football.)

- Roberts' contract extension is very fair for his age/production.

- Amateur psychologists are funny.

-Logic and reason have no place on OH.

[Mackus]

It's the little things he does not do....He really does not hustle, running out routine ground balls he hits. He's slow out of the box and running 2/3 rds speed down the line. You watch the Yankees, they run hard through first base, every one of them including ARod. Hell, the beloved R Hernandez last year ran harder down the line than Roberts does. And this not covering bases is just embarassing. I hope Trembley pulls him aside.

So many lies in this post...

[Dipper9]

Thank God!:clap3:

Yeah, there is certainly no room for a Hall of Fame leader on this team. No siree Bob!

[Dipper9]

I say "garbage" to this thread and say shame on any O's fan who contributed to such garbage as Brian has "never won" or is a "quitter". Disgraceful.

First off Brian is a tablesetter that on a pace to score 121 runs. He gets on base 36% of the time and he does that by being written into the lineup by his manager every fricken' game. He plays great and Mr Magadan only wishes his career would have been that good.

He never won? How about the O's management have never put a team around him that was/is capable of winning.

He mails it in? Why the heck didn't you post this garbage on Saturday when Brian went 4-5 and drove in 2 runs.

If you want to say that the O's stink because they have a pitching staff that has a 5.11 ERA and is 13th in the AL then fine.

If you want to to say the O's offense in not strong enough to carry a 3rd baseman that is currently on pace to drive in 40 runs after driving in 100 last year, a catching crew that has driven in 7 runs all year and and no hit/all field SS pair, then I would probably have to agree.

But take your eighth handed info about Brian being a quitter and shove it up your nose. It's not true. It belongs on the Red Sox site not the OH. And shame on anyone who piled on.

Wow. I was all set to positive rep you, and then I read the last paragraph. Yikes. I agree with all of your points, but getting angry at the OP and others for questioning Roberts desire I do NOT agree with. BRob "appears" lazy at times. Unless you can tell us that an "appearance" is WRONG, then there is no reason to bash anyone for stating what they see.

I agree that starting this thread after ONE bad game was probably bad timing, especially after Roberts has been smoking for the past week, but the observations are from 8 years of watching the guy play. To be fair, Jones and Markakis also show some of this from time to time. I know when my softball team is getting killed, all I want to do is have the slaughter rule enforced and go the hell home. I can't say I blame the pros for feeling the same way at times.

[Frobby]

I don't really buy this, and I think it may be a conclusion reached on a selective sample.

First, I have seen Brian get clutch hits to tie or win a game, or to start a late inning rally, too many times in his career for me to conclude that he quits in games. His career average in "high leverage" situations is .311/.386/.447. He tends to hit a bit worse in the later innings of games than earlier in games, but I suspect that is generally true of all players because you generally have fresh relievers, including the other team's best relievers, in that part of the game.

Second, BRob generally has not played well against Boston, and that may be coloring Madagan's view. BRob vs. the AL East:

Boston .680

New York .796

Tampa .797

Toronto .759

For whatever reason, BRob just hasn't played well versus the Red Sox in his career, and so Madagan concludes that he quits in games. I wonder if the Yankees share that view -- I bet they don't.

[wildcard]

Wow. I was all set to positive rep you, and then I read the last paragraph. Yikes. I agree with all of your points, but getting angry at the OP and others for questioning Roberts desire I do NOT agree with. BRob "appears" lazy at times. Unless you can tell us that an "appearance" is WRONG, then there is no reason to bash anyone for stating what they see.

I agree that starting this thread after ONE bad game was probably bad timing, especially after Roberts has been smoking for the past week, but the observations are from 8 years of watching the guy play. To be fair, Jones and Markakis also show some of this from time to time. I know when my softball team is getting killed, all I want to do is have the slaughter rule enforced and go the hell home. I can't say I blame the pros for feeling the same way at times.

Dipper in this thread there have been character attacks on Brian. He has been called a quitter, who plays without passion and who has never won. I think that is unjustified. I don't see how those word match a guy who plays ever game and is as productive as Brian is.

Maybe the reason that Brian is able to play as much as he does is that he adjusts his style of play so he can stay on the field instead on taking time on the bench.

Since Izturis is out and Andino is playing everyday at SS, who subs for Brian when he is out? Wiggy. So Brian taking a days off means that the O's go from one of the most productive players to a range challenged player who is having a terrible first half offensively. Brian knows this. Maybe what you see as lazy might well be a very smart style of play on BRob's part.

[TyCobb]

Dipper in this thread there have been character attacks on Brian. He has been called a quitter, who plays without passion and who has never won. I think that is unjustified. I don't see how those word match a guy who plays ever game and is as productive as Brian is.

Maybe the reason that Brian is able to play as much as he does is that he adjusts his style of play so he can stay on the field instead on taking time on the bench.

Since Izturis is out and Andino is playing everyday at SS, who subs for Brian when he is out? Wiggy. So Brian taking a days off means that the O's go from one of the most productive players to a range challenged player who is having a terrible first half offensively. Brian knows this. Maybe what you see as lazy might well be a very smart style of play on BRob's part.

You can't be serious? You think Roberts is pacing himself? A professional athletic doesn't have enough condition to play a baseball game?

[TGO]

I say "garbage" to this thread and say shame on any O's fan who contributed to such garbage as Brian has "never won" or is a "quitter". Disgraceful.

...

He never won? How about the O's management have never put a team around him that was/is capable of winning.

He mails it in? Why the heck didn't you post this garbage on Saturday when Brian went 4-5 and drove in 2 runs.

The phrase "never won" didn't mean he personally is a loser. It means he's never been on a winning team. Actually I think he was on one winning team in the minors, but that was it. Other than that he has never been on a winning professional baseball team.

No one blamed him for that. You're right, it's the fault of the O's front office that he's never won. What the comment meant, though, was that that situation can really affect someone. Have you ever watched Roberts play in the All Star game or the WBC? It's like night and day, just the look on his face. Does he still play really well on a losing team? Well, yeah, but that's not the point.

Frobby's post about playing against the Red Sox is also worth noting. Roberts does not play well against them and the O's typically get their brains bashed in against Boston.

[DrungoHazewood]

You can't be serious? You think Roberts is pacing himself? A professional athletic doesn't have enough condition to play a baseball game?

How many players can you recall who went all out every game from March through October and didn't regularly visit the DL? These guys have to survive 180+ baseball games, plus workouts, plus practices every year. You're not going to do that very often if you're always playing like a hummingbird on greenies.

[TyCobb]

How many players can you recall who went all out every game from March through October and didn't regularly visit the DL? These guys have to survive 180+ baseball games, plus workouts, plus practices every year. You're not going to do that very often if you're always playing like a hummingbird on greenies.

I think there is a very big difference between going 100% and dogging it. I said already that I don't think Roberts is any different than the average MLB player, but it isn't because these MLBers are pacing themselves physically. I think they just lose their focus every now and then.