B-Rob: I Wish I Could Quit You

The Brian Roberts Watch is a staple of the Bird’s Eye View podcast. It started as a jab at the media, and morphed into a mockery of the whole situation. It can get negative, and a little mean-spirited, but it’s always in jest. We may be cynical at this point, but Roberts is one of my favorite players, and I will always pull for him to get back on the field. 2013 will most likely be the end of the Brian Roberts era in Baltimore. I’d like to see him go out with a bang… preferably one that doesn’t result in surgery.

Before we start, let me just point out that the Brian Roberts Story is not all sunshine and rainbows. Roberts’ name was one of many Orioles listed in the Mitchell Report, and his lame answer about only trying it once was akin to Bill Clinton’s “I did not inhale” act. Many look at his 18 home run season (2005) as a clear indication that something was amiss. With his admission of guilt, his entire career is rightfully held under suspicion. His recent inability to stay healthy is also well documented, and he has failed to live up to his big contract.

That aside, Roberts is a likeable ballplayer. He was the face of the franchise, and one of the few bright spots in a terrible time for Orioles fans. Sure he’s got boyish good looks and a squeaky-clean personal life. As Scott would tell, you, he’s got pretty decent taste in women. But what makes Roberts so damn likeable for me is that he’s one of our own. He was the product of a farm system that had precious little to be proud of, for a long time. For 12 years, he’s worn “Orioles” across his chest, and represented it well by being one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. In his prime, Roberts could do it all: he could hit for power (a doubles machine), he could flash the leather, and he had his way with pitchers/catchers on the base paths.

In 2009, Roberts chose to resign with the Orioles, inking a 4-year, $40MM deal. Many people will tell you that they thought it was a terrible idea at the time (the benefit of hindsight and revisionist history). To be sure, there were some detractors who questioned giving a blockbuster deal to a middle infielder in his 30s, but most fans heralded the move, and I was one of them. We had seen too many young promising Orioles leave when given the chance. Mike Mussina’s departure still stung every time he beat us in pin stripes. Roberts chose to stay with the Orioles, despite the fact that the team was horrible. He did so because he wanted to  remain a part of the community, and a part of the rebuilding process. He wanted it so much that he orchestrated one of the few no-trade clauses in the Angelos era.

Then the injuries came. A herniated disk, (self-inflicted) concussion, sports hernia, ruptured tendon. And with the injuries, came the whispers. The “what have you done for me lately” crowd derided him for skipping Fan Fest and cancelling Brian’s Baseball Bash. They said he was just sitting on the money, and not working very hard to get back. They called him “selfish.” I think it would have been easy for Roberts to hang it up. Recovery from his concussions was more about quality of life than  about baseball. But baseball, Orioles Baseball,  is something he cares a great deal about. For as hard as the man has worked to get back, I can’t understand why anyone would criticize him of sloth or selfishness.

The question of late is “what does he have left in the tank?” It’s obvious that the Roberts of old is gone, replaced by an old Roberts. His prime is well behind him. But as a shadow of his former self, he brings more to the table than any of our in-house options. In the first 3 games of the season, he showed that he could be a key contributor at the bottom of the lineup (no sense in replacing our two excellent candidates), a point which has been underlined by the failures of Flaherty and Casilla to perform anywhere near replacement value.

I wish that I didn’t care so much that Brian Roberts is coming back. There’s a very good chance that he’ll just get hurt again, and I will be disappointed all over. But I can’t help it. I’m an Orioles fan and a Brian Roberts fan. He’s our guy, and we should be in this together. I can’t wait to see him out there dancing off first and slapping doubles into the gaps. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I am hopeful each time he comes back from injury. I tell myself: maybe this time, it will be for good…