Brian Roberts: Utility DH
I am not a Brian Roberts fan. Sorry Baltimore, but I’ve become far too jaded with his injury status to even consider him as part of this team. Last year when he appeared, we went to his first game back and it felt more like we had just traded for this individual rather than him being a part of the club all along. Perhaps that’s a good thing though in distancing yourself from the past and its failures and embracing the future with Buck.
However, there could be a role for Brian on this team. No I don’t think it includes second base often, but rather DH. The stats for DH so far this season have been as follows:
[table id=7 /]
As can be seen, the Orioles have drastically under performed in this area including the DH trio of Pearce/Valencia/Dickerson. The Orioles need to get consistency out of this position and will be turning to two players in hope they can deliver. Those two players returning would be Brian Roberts and Nolan Reimold. It’s amusing to note though that the issue with both of these players moving forward is their health consistency. I’m not sure why I have more faith in Brian Roberts. Baseball is an illogical game and nothing makes more sense than for a player in the twilight of his career to come back and be a catalyst leading his team to the division title.
Why do I consider Roberts as a utility DH? He can of course play second base, but the question is how good is compared to a player like Flaherty? We’ve seen other second baseman play including Casilla and Navarro this season, but they haven’t displayed a great defense like Flaherty has so far this season. Can BRob be a better defensive substitution over Flaherty? My gut says no as I really enjoy the way Flaherty turns the DP. However, Buck is committed to him as the second baseman for this team as he is already scheduled for a start in Chicago. However, I think that start at 2B should be only against LHP and DH against RHP. In addition, Casilla should be a late inning replacement as a pinch hitter and defense for him when he starts.
Reading that, it makes me think why should we have him on this team? If you are going to limit a player that much, what’s the point? The point is experience and the ability to put a ball into the field deep enough to get an insurance run against the MFY to secure the sweep. If Brian can stay healthy, he is going to give that extra level of experience that Thome was suppose to give this team last year. So go get them Brian, just take it easy.
