The decline in our OF defense is on display

[tvz1997]

As I've said before, this sums up Roberts in a nutshell IMO...

Ugh.

Letters

[Sports Guy]

Yes, the guy who leads the AL in doubles doesn't care.

Instead of slamming on JTrea, how about you(and VaTech) come up with your own reasons why?

End of the day, there is something wrong with these guys....There is something not quite right...Is it getting married? Having a kid? Not caring? Lack of motivation? Who knows.

But I think dismissing anything is ridiculous.

Right now, all we know is that something is wrong..Nick, Adam, BRob, etc...all of them don't seem to be giving it 100% all the time.

Why is that?

I haven't seen one person throw anything out that should be totally dismissed as a reason why.

[Dadaist]

Yes, the guy who leads the AL in doubles doesn't care.

If he CARED he would lead the league in bunt singles as well!

[JTrea81]

And the fact that you think this is really what is going on with Roberts is why most of us have ZERO respect for what you write anymore. You're simply a caricature of your previous self. It is quite sad.

No what is quite sad is that it seems you believe that every Orioles player gives 100% out there all the time, even on a team that has lost for the past 11 years and has no chance at the playoffs for a 12th straight year. And if anybody says something different, you attack them for character assasination.

These guys are entertainers that are paid tons of $. They are playing a game. And some of them, especially veterans don't always give their best performance because they don't have to. And some of them do get complacent.

Is it really hard to think that Roberts might not be motivated to give 100% out there because he's got LT security no matter what and his team is going nowhere?

[Sports Guy]

I have come up with my own reasons in this thread and others and they don't involve a player intentionally mailing it in. And I will continue to rail on JTrea whenever he attacks the integrity of someone without any proof.

I don't think its intentional but clearly BRob has that "I don't care" attitude at times.

[JTrea81]

I have come up with my own reasons in this thread and others and they don't involve a player intentionally mailing it in. And I will continue to rail on JTrea whenever he attacks the integrity of someone without any proof.

A player "mailing it in" on a team going nowhere is just as viable reason as any you've posted.

You just don't like to hear it because it shatters your idealization of an a Orioles player IMO. These guys aren't saints, they are professional baseball players. And professional baseball has never been a pure sport...

[SilentJames]

The Orioles haven't had a nice solid long winning streak. They have fits and starts, win four lose three, win five lose four all year. They haven't been able to get in any sort of rhythm whatsoever.

I think the losing in the first half is just growing weary on them. I mean no one questions Adam Jones effort when he slams himself into the wall against Boston.

All I am saying is, if these guys genuinely didn't care they would manifesting themselves in a different way through interviews and how they act outside of a game situation. But I think think the nature of the first half is beginning to wear on the team's overall focus.

[El Gordo]

Instead of slamming on JTrea, how about you(and VaTech) come up with your own reasons why?

End of the day, there is something wrong with these guys....There is something not quite right...Is it getting married? Having a kid? Not caring? Lack of motivation? Who knows.

But I think dismissing anything is ridiculous.

Right now, all we know is that something is wrong..Nick, Adam, BRob, etc...all of them don't seem to be giving it 100% all the time.

Why is that?

I haven't seen one person throw anything out that should be totally dismissed as a reason why.

Accepting any explanation is more ridiculous. How can you give any credence to this; " Brian is sitting there giggling under his breath going "I tricked these guys into paying me lots of money guaranteed so now I can be the lazy, uncaring guy I've always been but pretended I wasn't"? To this statement JTrea replied, " As I've said before, this sums up Roberts in a nutshell IMO." Do you agree with him?:rolleyestf:

[Sports Guy]

Accepting any explanation is more ridiculous. How can you give any credence to this; " Brian is sitting there giggling under his breath going "I tricked these guys into paying me lots of money guaranteed so now I can be the lazy, uncaring guy I've always been but pretended I wasn't"? To this statement JTrea replied, " As I've said before, this sums up Roberts in a nutshell IMO." Do you agree with him?:rolleyestf:

As I said, I don't think BRob is doing anything intentionally or out of spite but I definitely see a guy not giving it 100% and someone who doesn't seem to care a lot more than he should.

[Dadaist]

Call me sad if you wish, but I'm not the one posting whiny "should I continue to post? I'm getting picked on" polls in the rant section.

Hehe, thanks for the heads up, I hadn't been over there.

[JTrea81]

Accepting any explanation is more ridiculous. How can you give any credence to this; " Brian is sitting there giggling under his breath going "I tricked these guys into paying me lots of money guaranteed so now I can be the lazy, uncaring guy I've always been but pretended I wasn't"? To this statement JTrea replied, " As I've said before, this sums up Roberts in a nutshell IMO." Do you agree with him?:rolleyestf:

I was referring to the quote from Office Space, not that part of vatech's post.

Roberts has no motivation to give 100% out there, just like Peter had no motivation to give 100% to Initech...

[tvz1997]

I bet you don't want to align behind him anymore or tell me that our stances are basically the same?

I'm KIDDING

I think I said something to the effect that your opinions aren't that far apart, and unfortunately I should have made it more clear that I think you both the the way Roberts is playing right now is unacceptable and without fire. The "ugh" was for the quote insinuating that BRob doesn't care about the improved performance of the team if it doesn't bring him any reward -- an insinuation that I think WE agree is ridiculous.

The intentionality thing is obviously a big deal to you, as I guess it should be. The problem here is that we're talking about (or SG rightly is talking about) what lies behind something that is more of a "sin of omission" than a "sin of comission.". Intentionality isn't a firm notion in cases like this and I think we end up questioning whether or how much Roberts cares about playing the game the right way. For that, I think a lot of posters have offered evidence on both sides.

[JTrea81]

This is the part that is ludicrous.

Give me a good reason why. I'm not attacking Roberts. I'm saying because he has LT security, he doesn't have to bust his butt and make his #'s look good to get that LT contract. He's already got it. And if he does become Charlie Hustle out there, what is it going to get him? His team will still be in 5th place because they don't have the talent to compete.

Where is his motivation to give 100%? He doesn't really have much to play for this season.

[Skeletor]

Roberts insinuated many, many times before he signed his extension that hr was tired of losing. He was always talking about how he would really like to play for a contender, etc. We have decent talent now. It's time to step up his game. When you're partly causing losses, you've lost this argument. He's been in the league almost ten years. It's time to step up. Yes, we are still rebuilding. There are a lot of rookies with a lot of potential on this team. The last thing I want to see is Nolan Reimold looking at Roberts jog to first base and decide that it's acceptable at the major league level.

Roberts is a very good player. He is not elite. He hits a lot of doubles, he steals some bases, and generally plays pretty well in the field. He can not let Markakis take the blame for yesterday. Even if he thinks it was Nick's ball, Brian didn't play that correctly. Run to the ball until you're called off, Brian. You know this. Admit it.

Teams need leaders, IMO. I realize there are a lot of people that disagree with that. Managers should hold the players accountable and the players should hold each other accountable. I don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Maybe this is happening. But the quotes I see in the paper don't get my hopes up. When players repeatedly make the same mistakes on the base paths or have mental lapses in the field, it's either not being addressed or the way it's being addressed isn't effective.

[Sports Guy]

Only in your warped world is what you've typed here "not attacking Roberts". You're saying he only plays hard if he has a selfish motive. Wake up. You are attacking him. Do you even understand the definition of integrity? What you're accusing him of is pretty much EXACTLY the opposite of integrity. If you said this about me in my presence, we'd have a major problem.

BTW, are you going to take me up on my offer to go explain your rationale in person? Again, I'll pay. Just say the word.

Do you buy into the theory that guys in their contract years play better to get those contracts? Perhaps are more willing to play through injuries, etc...?