713 replies to this topic

[hallas]

He has 9 BB to go with 27 K's...a pretty significant improvement from last year. He's never going to walk a ton but is on pace for about 40 BB this season.

Obviously he seems bound to regress some, but he's having an MVP-caliber season so far and deserves to be commended for that.

He has shown that he can be a 40-60 walk guy...he needs to get back to that.

Fangraphs thinks that if he keeps smashing the ball, then he'll end up with many more walks. He is slightly more selective this year versus last. It's just not translating to walks.

http://www.fangraphs...ng-a-matt-kemp/

If he gets 20 walks with his .950 OPS and .406 wOBA over the course of the season then I couldn't care less about his walk rate, but I suspect it will spike soon.

[BSLChrisStoner]

3 hits, including his 14th HR, and 2 rbi for Mr. Jones tonight.

[bnickle]

This guy is well on his way to making himself a lot of money, whether it is the O's or someone else paying him. Just a tremendous first two months of the season.

[Mike B]

Jones has been the best player in the AL not named Josh Hamilton. I think people need to stop worrying about the few things he does not do great and enjoy watching him play. Stats are important, but studying them to find flaws in a guy that is becoming a great player is being too harsh IMO.
AJ hs been terrific. Let's hope we are seeing an emerging star.

[BSLChrisStoner]

WarehouseWorthy: The Curious Case of Adam Jones
http://warehousewort...adam-jones.html

[BSLChrisStoner]

SI: MVP Race
http://sportsillustr...er.2/index.html

4. If Jones, who finally seems to have made the leap at age 26, is for real, the Orioles will need to work out an extension to keep him, as he's due to become a free agent after the 2013 season. Like the catchers on my NL list above, the big change in Jones's game this season has been his power. Jones' ISO in his first four seasons with the Orioles was .164. This year it's a staggering .289. Nearly one in of every four of his fly balls has left the park, which seems unsustainable.

[BSLChrisStoner]

This thread is just to discuss Jones' performance this year.

Without discussing the contract extension, my question is do you agree with the many reporters (locally and Nationally) that have been saying the growth of Jones' game is one one the main catalysts for the O's improvement so far this year?

Jones had a .980 OPS in April, and has a .938 OPS in May so far. As awesome as this has been, Jones has had very strong months before:

May 2011: .853
June 2011: .858
July 2011: .876
June 2010: .952
August 2010: .850
April 2009: 1.062
May 2009: .960

[Mackus]

He's the best offensive player on the team so far (by far).

The main reason for the success though has been the pitching staff. If Jones was just playing as expected, we'd probably still have 25 or so wins. If the pitching staff (rotation and pen) was playing as expected (even with Jones' explostion) we'd be under .500.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Baseball Analytics: Adam Jones pulls in a Big Pay Day
http://www.baseballa...ig-pay-day.html

[BSLChrisStoner]

It is exciting to no longer wonder what is going to happen with Jones as far as a potential extension or trade; and just be able to enjoy the year he is having.

[SportsGuy]

It is exciting to no longer wonder what is going to happen with Jones as far as a potential extension or trade; and just be able to enjoy the year he is having.

It's exciting but the team now has to do a lot more to justify the deal.

I was one who was opposed to the BRob extension. I did feel he would be worth if he stayed healthy. He didn't but even beyond that, the Orioles didn't come close to justifying the extension because they did such a poor job building a team and more importantly, organization.

Well, the same can be said for Jones....he may justify the contract but if PA and DD dont make the right moves and increase the payroll, this extension will be a mistake based on what his trade value likely would have been.

[Adam Wolff]

Hit streak up to 18 now.

With the two other hit streaks of at least 10 games (not sure if either got beyond 10 or not), that means AJ has hit in at least 38 of the first 48 games. I'd imagine there might be a few other game sprinkled in there that he got a hit in, which really speaks to how consistent he's been this year. Some periods have had a bit more power than others, but he's given us solid production day in and day out to this point.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Crasnick just wrote a nice piece on the Jones extension - http://espn.go.com/m... ... es-history

"You see a lot of different guys go to free agency and switch teams,'' Jones said. "I fit here in this city. I fit here on this team. I fit in Camden Yards. I really don't see myself wearing another white uniform that doesn't have 'Orioles' across the chest.

"If we win here, this is my championship. This is our championship. I'm not part of someone else's championship. Putting all that in perspective, that makes me even hungrier to win. As a competitor, that's ultimately what I want. We can beat the odds here. I want to be a part of that.''

In short, Jones knows this proud franchise has suffered and its fans are downtrodden. He's seen the dynamic first-hand, so it would mean infinitely more to him to win in Baltimore than wait for free agency and jump on the bandwagon in another market. There's something very un-LeBron James-like about that sentiment.

Love that part.

[Oriole85]

It is exciting to no longer wonder what is going to happen with Jones as far as a potential extension or trade; and just be able to enjoy the year he is having.

It's exciting but the team now has to do a lot more to justify the deal.

I was one who was opposed to the BRob extension. I did feel he would be worth if he stayed healthy. He didn't but even beyond that, the Orioles didn't come close to justifying the extension because they did such a poor job building a team and more importantly, organization.

Well, the same can be said for Jones....he may justify the contract but if PA and DD dont make the right moves and increase the payroll, this extension will be a mistake based on what his trade value likely would have been.

I think in terms of B-Rob (and Markakis), they expected them continue and in the latter case increase his production. Didn't happen, along with the cavalry completely underwhelming. No real contingency plan in 2011 if it failed and we were forced to start the likes of Mitch Atkins, Chris Jakabutkus, Alfredo Simon, etc. Yes, a very poor job by the organization.

From the sound of it with Jones questioning them as well, I think the team assured him moves would be made. Whether they follow through or not is a different matter. I totally agree with you, we need a lot more pieces than are currently on the 25-man to become a consistent contending team.

[SportsGuy]

UZR has Jones at 4.5....BBR has him -.2.

They are saying he has improved this year...do you see a difference in his defense?

[BSLChrisStoner]

UZR has Jones at 4.5....BBR has him -.2.

They are saying he has improved this year...do you see a difference in his defense?

I think he plays deeper most consistently then he did a couple of years ago, and has been a bit better laterally. But no, overall, I don't see a tremendous difference in his play.

I wonder if the defensive splits for Jones and Markakis are again profoundly different at home vs. away?

[SportsGuy]

http://msn.foxsports... ... ise-052812

[BSLChrisStoner]

5/29: 3 for 3, 2 hr's, 3 rbi, 2 walks
Season: .986 OPS, 16 hr's, 10 doubles, 12 bb's, 37 k's, 8 steals, 4 cs

April OPS: .980
May OPS: .992

As pointed out in the Game thread and Game review... after coming in on the ball, and seemingly making a nice running catch; he dropped the ball last night for his 3rd error.

[Chris B]

Good news:

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi

Well, Adam Jones says no need for x-rays, maintains there is no doubt he will be in lineup Friday. So that's that.

[Coker]

Well, it looks like Jones will stay in Florida to get an MRI on his wrist (not the same as the HBP wrist) - the reason he came out today.

Brittany Ghiroli
Jones has been bothered by right wrist soreness for wks -not left wrist which was HBP-will stay in Fla to get MRI Mon: bit.ly/Lr3Gl9

Orioles are already without Reimold & Markakis in the OF. An injury to Jones wrist --which he said didn't feel right-- would be a huge blow