16 January 2018

Orioles Offseason Update: Adam Jones Is Arguing With Fans

There's not a whole lot going on in Birdland. The Orioles will probably sign at least one starting pitcher eventually, but for now, things are still quiet. So far, the team's biggest move is trading for outfielder Jaycob Brugman, who has 162 career plate appearances, and their most notable free agent signing is Michael Kelly, who has yet to appear in the major leagues. Making moves just to make moves is not the key to success, but hopefully it's revealed soon that Dan Duquette has something up his sleeve.

Yesterday, something not transaction related caught fans' attention. And that something would be Adam Jones jumping into the Twitter replies of a MASN article about him and responding to fans who were criticizing him.





Jones has never been one to bite his tongue, so it's not surprising to see him defend himself. It's also not the first time he's gotten into it with fans. Some people might not like it or find it awkward or pointless; I find it entertaining.

Some interesting comments by Jones have popped up this offseason. He hasn't shied away from talking about 2018 being the last year on his deal, and he's also been, let's say, questioning of the team's direction. Maybe he is simply frustrated with this offseason. Maybe he knows he won't be offered an extension to his liking and that he'll be leaving Baltimore soon. Maybe he's bored. Or maybe all of the above. Who knows for sure?

Jones isn't the same player as earlier in his career, but how could he be? Still, it would be nice if the O's could figure out a way to keep him around by shifting him to a corner outfield spot. There's a lot of factors at play, and perhaps Jones hopes to cash in one more time for a big payday. If that's the case, he probably won't be with the O's in 2019.

If you think things were sentimental when J.J. Hardy left, just wait for the potential Jones departure.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love AJ. He is entertaining on and off the field. And he is a credit to the org and the city.

Unknown said...

Adam is a good men. Hope he and O's can find a way to make him a career Oriole with a WS ring.

Pip said...

when a player like Adam Jones expresses public pleas that the organization do specific things that are very obviously necessary, and the organization blatantly ignores both the pleas and the need, it is easy for that player to be frustrated.
I am completely in Jones' camp. He has every reason to be frustrated. I honestly cannot understand why Dan has never shown that he has any kind of long-term plan, or short-term plan for that matter.
And Jones is very frustrated, and so are most fans, because so much of this current mess could have been avoided.

Jon Shepherd said...

You are literally commenting on a player who was part of a long term plan.

Unknown said...

But not on Dan's watch. It was McPhail who made that trade, if I'm not mistaken.

Jon Shepherd said...

Duquette made the decision to give Jones the largest contract extension in club history.

What is frustrating is the absolutism people show against Duquette. I have noted for years deficiencies in how he operates. This is the first year I have come to the conclusion he is better than the fielding. It is not a ringing endorsement, but it is an endorsement because his mixed record has come in a difficult context. If people have trouble accepting his successes, then hyperbolic proclamations about his failures sounds tired and not very engaging. It is not difficult to find negative aspects of his tenure, but to make a superficial conclusion is less than what I accept.

There are good reasons to let him go, but there is nuance.

Unknown said...

It's not the fact he hasn't had success here, it's the fact that he never seems to see the same glaring holes as we do.

Jon Shepherd said...

Look at this analytically, he sees the same holes. Makes decisions to fill them given what he has to work with. Had a lot of early success fixing those holes. More mixed lately.