Roberts is a key to the Giants' running game

He will be a key to Giants' running game

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Around this time last spring, Dave Roberts was ecstatic. Barry Bonds walked up to the Giants' new leadoff hitter and encouraged him to run his heart out.

Roberts eventually realized his green light came with a Bonds restrictor plate. He wasn't truly free to take a base whenever it was there for the stealing.

"The way it played out . . ." said Roberts, wearing a glum expression. "It was pretty clear we wanted him to get his at-bats. We weren't scoring runs early in the season, and he was our best chance. We had to put the brakes on so he could get his opportunities."

There also was the little matter of the all-time home run record. As fans stood and cheered one of Bonds' at-bats, the last thing they wanted to see was the inning end on a swipe tag at second base.

"Even though Barry says it's OK to run, in the back of Dave's mind, my mind, the fans' minds, you don't want to take the bat out of Barry's hands," Manager Bruce Bochy said. "A couple times we did run, but it'll be different now. Dave will have a green light and we'll need him to run."

The Giants are through standing and watching, and Roberts is eager to lead their power-deprived lineup in another direction.

In some fan circles, there is strong sentiment to start Fred Lewis in left field, or move Randy Winn to left and open an everyday spot for Nate Schierholtz in right. They view Roberts, 35, as a spare part from the Bonds era.

But it's worth noting that Roberts has experience leading off for low-scoring lineups. And two of them were playoff teams.

"I do think I'm the right guy to lead off for this team," said Roberts, who helped Bochy's San Diego Padres to the postseason in 2005 and '06. "I'm a guy who's going to see pitches and put an at-bat on you, and I think there are other guys in the lineup like that as well. Hopefully we can get to the starting pitchers, run up pitch counts and get into those bullpens early. The great teams find a way to do that."

A platoon of right-handed-hitting Rajai Davis and left-handed-hitting Roberts could steal more than 75 bases. Even though he missed a month because of elbow surgery last season, Roberts stole 31 bases in 36 attempts - the first 30-steal season by a Giant since Bonds in 1997.

It's hidden by his miserable start, but Roberts became the player the Giants envisioned after he returned from surgery. In 70 games beginning July 1, he hit .296 with a .367 on-base percentage.

"He's a great fit for the way we plan to score runs," Bochy said. "We'll play a lot of tight ballgames in our division when we'll need to get a late run across, and that's where Dave's value is. If you can't get that run with power, you'd better have some speed."

Roberts has played in enough one-run games over his career. The '05 Padres had a .391 slugging percentage - second worst in the National League. The '06 version wasn't much better, ranking 14th in the 16-team N.L. with a .416 slugging percentage.

But Roberts' leanest team by far was the '03 Dodgers, who had one of the most futile offenses in history. Their .671 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is the lowest of any N.L. team since the expansion Florida Marlins in 1993.

As the lineup foundered, players became frustrated. Batters tried in vain to make something happen because they didn't have faith in the guys hitting behind them.

"When people talk about chemistry, that's it right there," Roberts said. "It's trusting the guy behind you or in front of you to do the job. The coaches are preaching that to us this spring, and hopefully we get everybody to buy into it."
If it doesn't stick, Roberts knows what could happen. A bunch of talented Giants pitchers could go unrewarded - just as the '03 Dodgers did.

That club had brilliant pitching, which by one measure ranked as the most dominant in a century. The team ERA of 3.16 blew away the rest of the league - the Giants were second at 3.73 - and the gap of 0.57 between first and second was the largest in the N.L. since a 1907 Chicago Cubs staff led by Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and Orval Overall.

Yet that Dodgers staff, including Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne, didn't get a chance to shine in the playoffs.

Many believe the Giants are headed for a similar fate, but Roberts is optimistic.

"Because I see a lot of guys who will sacrifice at-bats and themselves for the good of the team," he said. "This is a lineup that can and will score runs."