Birds Watcher » Brian Roberts

Orioles’ Roberts to have surgery

Domenic A. Vadala — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:15:50 +0000

Prior to this evening’s game with Kansas City, the Baltimore Orioles announced that second baseman Brian Roberts would be having surgery on his right hamstring. Roberts is expected to be able to resume baseball related activities in about six weeks, at which time he’ll report to Sarasota. If they need an extra spot on the 40-man r0ster, the Orioles could opt to transfer Roberts to the 60-day DL. To my knowledge, that’s not being done right away (only if needed).

Courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

This is undoubtedly a tough pill to swallow for Roberts, who at 35 is in the final year of his contract. As of right now the Birds are expected to continue platooning Ryan Flaherty and Alexi Casilla at second base until Roberts is able to return. The good news is that he is expected to be back this year if that timetable is any indication.

A lot of Orioles fans are expressing increasing frustration with this situation, as Roberts has only played in 118 games in the past four years. Furthermore, many people seem to cringe when they see Flaherty’s name in the lineup because that means he’ll be coming to the plate. Let me start by addressing the Roberts situation; this is a guy that’s meant a lot to the organization over the past 10-12 years. It certainly isn’t his fault that he keeps getting injured, especially this time when he pulled up lame on an attempted stolen base in the third game of the season. While it appears he’s “collected a paycheck” over the past four years, I don’t feel that’s exactly a fair statement. This is a guy that’s worked hard each time to get back into playing shape, only to have something else happen. It’s really easy for people to suggest that “he should give money back” to the organization. Who among us would sincerely consider doing that? (I can tell you one writer who I know would not.)

Courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

As for Flaherty, it’s easy to look at his batting average (.118 coming into tonight) and say that he shouldn’t be in the lineup or on the team. And that in and of itself might be a legitimate point. However Flaherty also has a 1.000 fielding percentage on the year. Again, I agree that the sub-Mendoza Line batting average is tough to justify. However an infielder with a glove that sure is a tough thing to find. It’s worth mentioning that throughout his career Mark Belanger hit .228 for his entire 18-year big league career. However he fielded at a .977 clip. Defense counts for just as much as offense, and that’s true in all sports. In no way am I comparing Flaherty to Belanger, however if he didn’t have a superior glove would he have been in the lineup everyday with that average? .228 is a far cry from .118, however the point is that Flaherty is in the lineup for his glove.

While the Roberts news appears a bit sorrowful, the good news is that as I said above it appears that he’ll be back this year. Does that mean that Flaherty is sent down when that happens? All things being equal, I think there’s a good chance that could be the case. However who knows what the situation is when Roberts is ready to return.

Baltimore Orioles: Defense needs to improve

Amanda Redman — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 03:26:09 +0000

Let’s just get this out of the way — Adam Jones‘ gum had nothing to do with Friday night’s loss to the Yankees.

April 4, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) and left fielder Nate McLouth (9) misses the fly ball during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. though the Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3. Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Is worth noting however that the Orioles have now made some really crucial miscues defensively. Friday it was Jones, in Boston, Nate McClouth dove for a ball that he should have played on a bounce and two runs scored, Chris Davis let a ground ball go by him against the Twins at home which led to a loss. . . I could actually keep going.

The Orioles started playing really well last season when their defense was solid. True, lots of other things were going right for them, but it’s tough to battle back when you’re constantly giving away hits and runs. Last year, the addition of Manny Machado really improved the infield, allowing Mark Reynolds to shift over to first. The outfield defense was solidified with the addition of Nate McLouth (though for much of that run nick markka is was injured). The right pieces seem to be there this season defensively, many of these mistakes seem to be mental.

The season is young — really it is, please don’t panic! — so it could be that the every day grind hasn’t quite come together for the position players. Certainly it is more difficult to get into a groove when every day seems like a different start time, and the O’s have still only played 3 home games out of 10 total, so there has already been a fair bit of travel.

There is no doubt that the defense can pull it together, no matter what the issue is. Entering Friday’s game, the team ranked 8th in the league in fielding, but some of these poor plays pointed out were not scored as errors. More importantly they seem to be coming in big situations.

The potential for this defense is high, with machado and hardy on the left side of the infield and hopefully a healthy Brian Roberts coming back in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the team is getting it all out of their system early.

Once the defense improves, the rest will fall into place. And maybe they’ll turn a triple play, too.

Baltimore Orioles: A win and a loss

Domenic A. Vadala — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:37:23 +0000

We’re taught by our parents early on that life isn’t always fair. That’s really all you could say or think yesterday watching Brian Roberts be helped off the field at the Trop in Tampa late in the Baltimore Orioles’ 6-3 win. With the O’s leading 6-2 and Roberts on first base he successfully stole second to get into scoring position. However he came up hurt after the play, grabbing at his right leg. The Orioles’ trainers were out there immediately, and Roberts was helped off the field without putting any weight on his right leg. Over the three years Roberts of course has only played in 115 games due to various injury problems; after working so hard to get all the way back, this has to be a huge blow for him. After the game the Orioles announced that Roberts had injured his lower hamstring, and would undergo an MRI today in Baltimore.

Courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Losing Roberts is big, however the bigger news might have been that the Orioles won the game (and the series). The big story thus far of course is the hot bat of Chris Davis, who’s hit everything in sight. In the eighth inning of yesterday’s game when Davis recorded an out the Tropicana Field faithful actually gave a mock round of applause for Tampa getting him out. As had been the case all series, Davis started the scoring off (in this case with a moon shot of the two-run variety). Davis of on a pace to hit 162 home runs this year; we all know that’s not going to happen, but the fact is that he’s homered in every game of the series. In fact, he’s homered in four of his last five games at Tropicana Field dating back to last year. For a ballpark that’s noted for balls dying in the air, Chris Davis sure has found a stroke there!

Miguel Gonzalez made his first start of 2012, and looked superb. Gonzalez’s line: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K. In following the same pattern of the first two games, Tampa was able to tie it in the fifth, this time on a few hard-luck grounders up the middle that found holes. However Gonzalez battled on, and put his team in a position to win (which is all you can ask of a starter). True to form, the Orioles answered the bell in the sixth in the form of Chris Davis once again. With runners at first and second Davis sent a double to left center, scoring both Nick Markakis and Adam Jones. J.J. Hardy closed out the scoring from the Orioles’ standpoint with a two-run home run in the eighth…

…and the Orioles were cruising with a four-run lead. Closer Jim Johnson was called upon with nobody out and two on. Evan Longoria stepped to the plate and promptly sent a deep shot to left center, scoring Sean Rodriguez and sending Ben Zobrist to third. Immediately the hearts in Birdland fluttered a bit, however an out was recorded on that play in a manner that I’ve never seen in organized baseball, and I’m sure many others were in the same boat. According to the umpires, Longoria inadvertently passed Ben Zobrist on the base paths (near first base); if you go past a runner in front of you of course, you’re out. The replays were inconclusive at best, and while it appeared that Longoria might not have passed Zobrist, it’s also likely that it occurred while the cameras were not on the two. Tampa manager Joe Maddon argued the call for about five minutes, but to no avail. The putout was actually awarded to Chris Davis at first base since he was the closest Oriole to the play, and the game ended with the Orioles winning 6-3.

Speaking for myself I’ve always known that was a rule but I’ve never seen it happen. On the replays you can clearly see Longoria watching the ball and not the guy in front of him. Evan Longoria is one of the best players in MLB, but he made a very bad mental lapse in that case. From his perspective you can really only file it in the category of it happens…but it shouldn’t. As for Brian Roberts, you have to hope that he isn’t too badly injured. The Orioles seemed pretty sure that he’d be back; having pulled my hamstring previously I would say that the best case scenario for him would be a stint on the 15-day DL. However as I said, he’ll have an MRI this morning after which the Orioles will have a better idea of what they’re dealing with.

The O’s return home for their home opener this afternoon at 3 PM against the Minnesota Twins. Jake Arrieta will take to the mound for his third consecutive home opener start, and his second against Minnesota at that. He’ll be opposed by Liam Hendricks, who’s had impressive minor league numbers but has been inconsistent at the major league level. The Orioles will open Camden Yards at noon today, and all fans in attendance will receive a magnetic schedule and car magnet upon entry. Starting at 1:10 PM the BUCKle Up Birds video will be shown on diamondvision, and the pregame ceremony (hosted by MASN’s Jim Hunter) will begin at 2:30. As usual, the players will run through the center field gate on an orange carpet for pregame introductions, and J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters will receive their 2012 Rawlings Gold Gloves. Operatic tenor and Rockville, MD native Rolando Sanz will perform the National Anthem and God Bless America, and a 30′ x 42′ American flag from Ft. McHenry will be unfurled in center field. The colors will be presented by the United States Armed Forces Color Guard provided by the Military District of Washington and the combined Honor Guard Team from the Baltimore City Police and Fire Departments.