Robert Andino, 2012 Topps Heritage #205

I don't know what's bothering Robert Andino in this picture, but he looks almost as forlorn as he does in his infamous headshot portrait.

Robert Andino, 2012 Topps Orioles Team Set #BALT12

Sorry to do a link dump, but Deadspin's Tom Scocca wrote a long, thoughtful, bittersweet, yet ultimately somewhat heartening article about what it means to be an Orioles fan. You can read it here, though you should be forewarned of salty language if that's one of your hang-ups. The framing device used is Robert Andino's game-winning hit last September 28, the one that ultimately cost the Red Sox a trip to the postseason. If you're a fan of some other major league team, you might have noticed that we O's fans are awfully proud of that one shining moment of spoilerdom at the end of our 15th straight losing season. That's kind of the point. We mattered. For one more night, everyone else's attention was focused on Baltimore, and our guys didn't embarrass themselves. I'd like to think it was a sign of things to come. But I won't dare allow myself to expect that.

Robert Andino, 2010 Upper Deck #81

Do you remember back in December, when I pooh-poohed Robert Andino's chances of making the major league roster this season? Yeah, don't forget that I'm an idiot. Though most of the powers that be in the Baltimore organization were fed up with the young shortstop last year, Buck Showalter wanted to see what 'Dino could do with his own eyes. And after spending the entire 2010 season at AAA Norfolk, he hit .295 with a pair of home runs in a September callup. Despite the fact that Buck and others in the O's organization have a man-crush on the aging and offense-deficient Cesar Izturis, Andino joined Cesar on the Baltimore bench to open this season. When J. J. Hardy went down with an oblique injury, I assumed the worst - that Izturis would get the lion's share of playing time at short. But Robert heated up at the right time and seized command of a starting role with three straight multi-hit games. He has gone on to play significant roles in back-to-back wins to open the current road series in Chicago, going 3-for-4 with a walk in last night's 10-4 victory and adding a home run, a single, and two runs scored in tonight's 6-2 win. He is now hitting .348 in a 16-game sample size, and has rendered Izzy virtually irrelevant. I'm still eager to see Hardy return, but it's nice to know in the interim that the #9 spot in the batting order is not an automatic out.

Robert Andino, 2010 Topps Heritage #71

I'm starting to get the idea that the Orioles really don't want Robert Andino around. Two years ago he was a surprise addition to the roster at the end of spring training, arriving via a trade that sent Hayden Penn to the Marlins. He spent all of 2009 as the O's utility infielder, and was...a pretty awful hitter: .222 AVG, .274 OBP, .288 SLG, 48 OPS+. It seems that last spring he turned off team officials with his lackadaisical approach to defense, so he began the season at Norfolk. Even though Brian Roberts was not healthy, the Birds decided that a decrepit Julio Lugo was preferable to Andino at second base. Instead, he got to play every day at AAA and didn't do anything special: .264/.302/.405, though he did flash enough power to hit 30 doubles and 13 homers. He committed 31 errors, which could mean that he got to a lot of balls, but it could also mean that he was sloppy. Anyway, he finally made it back to Baltimore in September and played better than expected, albeit in a small sample size: .295/.333/.459 in 16 games, with 4 doubles and 2 homers. Oh, and the home runs came in consecutive days against A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia. He played second base, third base, and shortstop, and made only one error. However, after trading for shortstop J.J. Hardy, the O's re-signed Cesar Izturis to be the utility infielder. At best, Andino can hope to compete with Brendan Harris (also acquired in the Hardy trade) and possibly Nick Green (who was rumored to be signing a minor league deal last week) for another bench spot. But considering Izturis' negligible offensive value and the likeliness of a 12-man pitching staff, it's unlikely that the team will carry two light-hitting backup infielders. Sorry, Robert.