Slumps happen in the field as well as at the plate, overall, Brian is having an A-1 season. Leave well enough alone. Go Brian!! Go O's!!

Mr. Anonymous is probably in the front office for the Red Sox or Angels.

Is it possible that issues they have with BRob is his lack of passion and hustle , NOT his numbers ? I believe first step is get Trembley have one on one talk with BRob , before we consider next , more drastic steps.

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Pete's reply: Whatever drastic steps your thinking of would put the club back in 2004. I hope Brian improves his body language, since it offends so many people, but you don't throw away one of the two or three best leadoff hitters/second basemen in the game because he looks disinterested. He obviously isn't disinterested, or he couldn't excel at this level. Make no mistake, guys who don't play hard don't rank where he ranks offensively, but you can think whatever you want.

Chopped off nicely at the ankles, Mr. A. Nonymouse.

PETE - Here's the rub it's NOT about the NUMBERS, it's about the attitude. Albert Bell could put up NUMBERS!! When Brian does NOT run out grounders and hustle he makes his team, look BAD, makes his manager look BAD and most of all makes himself look BAD!! And turns his wannabe fans into non fans! Does anyone NOT admire Ichiro and Jeter for their HUSTLE and attitude on EVERY gound ball? And you can't tell me they don't on rare occasion make the fielder rush his throw or bobble to try and get the ball there before their huslting butt!! Brian - do yourself a favor and drop the Ca. attitude - run Brian, run!! For $10 million a year and for pride - is it too much to ask! Again - it's NOT about the numbers Pete!

Pete,

I have a friend (not an O's fan but huge MLB fan) who thinks BRob is incredibly overrated largely because of his annual second half slumps. And when you look at the numbers, the slumps are there. His OPS drops 100 points every year following June 1... and it would be more if not for a little better balancing act the last two seasons, though still dramatic drops.

Personally, I think part of Brian's issue is having been a part of a losing organization for so long. He's the spark for the first 90 days of the season... but it's a hard job to keep up when you see things fall apart and falling out of contention so early. I always hope that some life from the players around him will hold him - perhaps if Jones, Markakis, Huff, Reimold, etc etc continue to keep this team playing well, Roberts will not feel like he's doing it alone.

Regardless, the Roberts second-half slumps happen. But even with they happen, he remains one of the best lead-off men in the game. There are very few players who really fill the lead-off hole well and even when down, Roberts does it better than most. Benching won't solve a thing.

As for a lack of passion and hustle, a lack of heart? I don't see it. Again, perhaps it fades or is hard to keep up, but I don't see Roberts lacking the intensity to be a team player.

Pete,
This poster and many others just feel BR needs to be benched to get the fire back what’s so crazy about that? If I remember correctly the Phils last year benched Jimmy Rollins for not running and he ended up helping them win a WS. The O’s have talent and the fans want to see a manager that will hold the players accountable and work. This all goes back to the real issue at hand... Where is the leadership?

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Pete's reply: What's so crazy about that is that you're looking for a cosmetic fix in exchange for his strong numbers. Believe it or not, the fact that you think he has a bad attitude doesn't necessarily mean he does. Looks really can be deceiving. I might write a column on this issue, because I've been around a ton of great players over the years who pulled up 10 feet before they got to first base on a routine out. In fact, guys who run absolutely full out through the bag are in the great minority. I'd say 20 percent. I applaud Eric Byrnes for pulling up his socks and running like a banshee, but a lot of people here are in the fishbowl and aren't really seeing the whole picture. I think it's time to stop looking at the game through the eyes of a Little League coach. These guys are who they are, and sometimes you have to accept the whole package.

Bench Roberts for a week? Now that's just silly.

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Pete's reply: Chuck, you're right on the money. If Dave benched Brian for a week, you wouldn't straighten him out, you'd lose him completely and you might as well set fire to that $40 million.

BROB is a great talent but seems more of just a piece to the puzzle for a good team that is on the cusp of winning a world series with good fiery management installed like Lou Piniella. Great guy bad fit for the O’s. He reminds me of Andy Dufrane from Shawshank.

I agree that the numbers are there but I also think he does make himself look bad (and reflect poorly on his teammates and coaches) by not running through the bag at first. I think it was Earl Weaver who said that the game is hard enough as it is; the easiest part of it is running, so run hard, all the time. And a time or two a year it WILL result in a misplay by the opposition or the inability of the opposition to recover from a misplay. I think hustle can be infectious and woud love for B-Rob to lead the team by example as well as in production. I am a fan of his and will continue to be but I would love to see him take that extra (running) step and elevate himself to the truly elite, those who care all the way down the line. Perception becomes reality and I don't want Brian or the O's to be pegged as loafers. I agree its easier to hustle enthusiastically when the team is in contention but as a leader on and on the field Brian sets the tone for the whole club. GO O's.

Brian is the best leadoff man in baseball, Sit Him? No Way !!

The guy just had a run where he drove in 12 runs in 11 games or something silly like that, I'll take him in the leadoff spot over most thank you very much.

He's such a catalyst for this offense and I'm glad we've got him locked up for the run we should go on the next couple of years.

Brian Roberts seems to be silently protesting all season for some kind of change in the team. He may be one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball but he seems very negative at times and is not setting the example a veteran player should set for the rookies and sophomores. All the fans love the guy and just want him to play with more passion its not too much to expect.

Roberts goes through 3-4 slumps every year, it's just who he is.When you have to play just about every game in a 162 game schedule it's insane to burn yourself out running out grounders to first.Roberts lives by his legs do people really want them fatigued to the point he can't play. You have to pick your spots to hustle hard.None of these arm chair manager have a clue what the rigors are of playing everyday and through the hot summer.This teams problems have nothing to do with running grounders out but a lack of patience at the plate. They help give the other pitcher too many easy innings.They need to take one strike at least in every AB.
They should have never sent Hernandez back to Norfolk. He would have been a good extra middle relief arm. Andy just didn't want to eat Hendrickson's contract regardless of his lack of use to the team.Ray still isn't any use to this team but neither is anyone else in the minors except Miller,maybe.

i normally don't read or respond to the posters on these boards, but sometimes the utter lack of intelligence and knowledge of whatever sport is being discussed is just insane. bottomline, b rob is in the top 5 of any leadoff hitter conversation, if you don't agree, i challenge you to name 5 better, so he doesn't sprint to firstbase on a surefire out, whoopedy-doo. i didn't see anyone complaining last weekend when he had back to back game winning hits vs. philly. say he sprints to first on surefire out, pulls his hammy, groin or twists an ankle, he's on the DL for 2-3 weeks, you guys slam him for that, too. perhaps he remembers that time in NY when he huslted down the line and a bad throw resulted in him with a dislocated elbow....it's all about choosing your battles, he might cause 1 or 2 errors a year, maximum by doing that, so come on now, get a grip, it's not b rob's fault the O's have lost since he's been here. would you guys preferred we kept hairston, jr....didn't think so

Pete,
You are absolutely right. Even though he’s been in Baltimore for awhile it is hard to understand who he is. He either looks happy as a little leaguer or totally negative. He seems rather uncomfortable around the media on the MASN interviews and rarely when on BBTN. He is very monotone and the stuff he says sounds like the writing of focus groups. Everyone likes him but sometimes the fans feel he’s not into it.

Pete i don't care what anybody say's brian really doesn't want to be here. playing on a losing team ever since he has been here has really taken a toll on him. I believe it would take a toll on anybody. This game is so different then football because you only have to play 16 games ayear and you have a week in between games. 162 games is a grind especially when you don't have any realistic hope of winning or contending for the playoffs. He couldn't turn down the money because it was to great but make no mistake his heart isn't here. He will be 32 next year and the time table for winning is winding down. Money is fine pete but there is no subsitute for that winning atmosphere to make a player hustle and put out every day, something that he has never experienced and for that matter something he might never experience. That is all there is to it nothing more nothing less.

I think with all the trade talk last year and whenever Roberts is mentioned in nationally televised games like in the WBC or that 1st game vs the Yanks on espn the media always say things like Brian would be a superstar in a major market etc etc. That kind of stuff has to get him angry. Also how the team finally signed him this season might have made some fans think he just made a money grab in a bad economy because other teams had little interest and now he’s an unhappy oriole martyr that may not be the case at all but I think people want to hear that he is confident in the rebuilding plan and his place in it being one of the most popular birds.

Listen everyone people just don’t fully believe Roberts’s heart is in the game. Guys like A-Rod put up numbers and we all saw how he took down teams even with awesome numbers. In order for a player to truly do well and elevate a team to greatness he has to want to be there.

Pete,

You have NEVER BEEN MORE RIGHT! What are these people smoking? There may NOT be a better leadoff guy in all of baseball. Brian Roberts is the ENGINE that makes the Orioles GO and would in fact be my team CAPTAIN if the O's choose to go that route!

I agree with the naysayers for a change. I think Brian needs to be benched for a week. I propose we sit him the week between Christmas and New Years even if we lose all the games we play that week.

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Pete's reply: I'm with you on this.

Don't placate a vocal minority. Benching Roberts is silly. I am amazed at how shrill and fickle the fans on these boards can be.

Remember Eddie Murray, guys? When we dumped him after '88, people were upset because he folded his arms across his chest sometimes. Yeah, after 10 years of Hall of Fame contributions, let's jump on a guy's back because he folds his arms... Gah!

If the selfish player that was involved in the Mitchell report acts like a bum he should sit on the bench. Maybe not a week that is a bit excessive but maybe the rest of the game he doesn’t hustle or does something to make the team look bad.

Lemme see if I have this right... people are upset because Roberts doesn't always "hustle" - which in this case means explicitly (and exclusively) that he doesn't sprint to first base on every ball he puts in play. I agree that I would like to see him put more pressure on fielders whenever possible, but the reality is that he only pulls up after the ball is securely in the fielder's glove and the play is essentially made. I hate to say this, but Roberts is not the fastest guy in the world from home to first. He steals so effectively because he reads the pitchers and gets a good jump. Oh, he's not slow by any stretch, but the balls that he is not sprinting hard on he is not going to beat out. On the ones where there is any kind of chance to beat it out he's going full tilt.

As others have pointed out, there's a difference between false "hustle" and playing hard and smart. I think Pete said it best, you have to take the whole guy for who he is. And who he is is one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.

Does this guy realize Roberts is the most consistent player on the O's? Even if his numbers are down now, he has still been our best hitter in June. Not to take any shots at the heart of our lineup but going into this week Roberts was leading our team in RBIs this month. Anyone who thinks Roberts should sit for a day, much less a week, is an idiot.

All right kiddies listen up!!

Both sides of this argument make fair points but….. Why are we even talking about Roberts!?! LOL The story is the rookies right now. We are doing them a huge disservice talking about friggin Roberts.

Let’s talk about less polarizing players that we all enjoy watching like ROY AS Nolan Reimold.

Roberts.... HA!

Dave Trembley is not allowed to discipline the players except when using Pie as a fall guy.