MacPhail on trade possibilities

[Remember The Alomar]

Honestly, it all comes down to Jones' attitude and the perception that he doesn't listen to the coaching staff. Whether that's fair or not, I don't know. But I certainly don't think it's "bizarre" that people rag on him for these things. It's quite easy to criticize Jones when he makes the same mistakes over and over.

Many of the issues concerning his attitude are manufactured. I make no bones about the fact that Adam Jones is my favorite player on the team largely due to his personality. I've had a couple run ins with the dude and he's both incredibly funny and nice. Perhaps I'm biased, but when some people (not saying any one in this thread) portray him as either lazy, arrogant, or a malcontent it annoys me. Claiming that Adam is trying to usurp Paul Blair for some reason is laughable.

Like Trea said above (who I think is spot on in this case)--I 100% guarantee that if Buck thought Adam was playing CF poorly, he'd do something about it. If Jones continues to play shallow, then I think it would be safer to say that Buck may be wrong rather then saying Adam doesn't listen.

[Lateralus]

Jonesie just happens to be the whipping boy right now because he keeps running his mouth to the press.

You make it sound like Jones is out there every day, ala Charlie Sheen, talking to and giving interviews to the press and going off. In reality he said something (which is based in alot of truth) and the media has regurgitated the same "talking point" over and over.

[scOtt]

Look at all the former Cubs on the Orioles.

And GMs do have pet players.

This is a non-issue. He was familiar with Chicago's system. More comfortable. What's the difference between Pie and some other potential young outfielder? AM KNEW Pie.

AM is FAR from the only GM to do this.

[Going Underground]

The question is not Jones attitude but Pie's. He did not do well the first time he was not playing full time. I know Scott got in his face and changed his attitude. I hope he has matured enough to be happy not playing full time.

Who knows maybe LaRoche might have been the better option. :laughlol:

[scOtt]

Honestly, it all comes down to Jones' attitude and the perception that he doesn't listen to the coaching staff. Whether that's fair or not, I don't know. But I certainly don't think it's "bizarre" that people rag on him for these things. It's quite easy to criticize Jones when he makes the same mistakes over and over.

It's a concern. It also may simply be a "comfort level" for Jonesey. He may just feel better playing shallow and drift back to that. Something that needs to be watched by the coaches.

I haven't seen one credible thing to question his commitment to being the best he can be. IMO.

[ChrisAF79]

What attitude? This stuff is all based on hearsay!

I have said it before and I will say it again, baseball is difficult. The fact that he swings at a lot of balls in the dirt doesn't show bad attitude, it probably just means he has difficulty reading that pitch, as do a lot of players. Do you think he likes doing that over and over? Do you think he doesn't want to change it?

It's not hearsay. There are actual quotes in black and white where Jones has said he has not listened to the coaching staff and will continue to do his own thing. That's why people rag on him.

And I'm not even referring to him swinging at balls low and away constantly. I understand that's a pitch recognition thing and he simply may not be able to correct that. I'm talking more about his propensity on playing shallow, thus allowing fly balls over his head to fall in needlessly. That's a positioning issue and a coaching issue, and he's been very stubborn in working on that. I believe the fact that he won a Gold Glove only cemented in his mind that HE knows best, rather than the coaching staff.

[Dipper9]

Many of the issues concerning his attitude are manufactured. I make no bones about the fact that Adam Jones is my favorite player on the team largely due to his personality. I've had a couple run ins with the dude and he's both incredibly funny and nice. Perhaps I'm biased, but when some people (not saying any one in this thread) portray him as either lazy, arrogant, or a malcontent it annoys me. Claiming that Adam is trying to usurp Paul Blair for some reason is laughable.

Like Trea said above (who I think is spot on in this case)--I 100% guarantee that if Buck thought Adam was playing CF poorly, he'd do something about it. If Jones continues to play shallow, then I think it would be safer to say that Buck may be wrong rather then saying Adam doesn't listen.

My wife and I met Jonesie last year at FanFest while he was walking through the building...away from the masses. He is in fact a very nice man and a true gentleman. I hope he is an Oriole for a long long time. That doesn't mean he's a pefect ballplayer exempt from criticism.

You make it sound like Jones is out there every day, ala Charlie Sheen, talking to and giving interviews to the press and going off. In reality he said something (which is based in alot of truth) and the media has regurgitated the same "talking point" over and over.

This is a good point which we have mentioned before. Every time a different news station or site mentions the quote though, they say it was "just said this morning" or "when I talked to Adam yesterday" type of thing. So who knows? It may have been one time and its getting blown out of proportion...or he may continue to say it. Its anybody's guess.

[Gurgi]

I personally dont care what Jones has said to the media. My problem with Jones is the fairly awful outfield play.

Nothing worse than seeing him get a bad jump on a ball, run toward it turn around and jump just to see the ball bounce ten feet away. This happened maybe 4 or 5 times that I can remember. Seeing such an ugly play once would leave a memory. Seeing it repeated several times is actually shocking.

[Lateralus]

It's not hearsay. There are actual quotes in black and white where Jones has said he has not listened to the coaching staff and will continue to do his own thing. That's why people rag on him.

And I'm not even referring to him swinging at balls low and away constantly. I understand that's a pitch recognition thing and he simply may not be able to correct that. I'm talking more about his propensity on playing shallow, thus allowing fly balls over his head to fall in needlessly. That's a positioning issue and a coaching issue, and he's been very stubborn in working on that. I believe the fact that he won a Gold Glove only cemented in his mind that HE knows best, rather than the coaching staff.

Has he said he knows better this spring or are you talking about his quotes from last year? Because if it's the latter I dunno how much anyone listened to Trembley, Samuel, or any of the other coaches before Buck got to town. And I really wouldn't blame them.

[wildcard]

If anyone heard his interview last night on MASN you heard him discussing the jam in the outfield and that "unfortunately Pie is out of options". He was talking about Reimold and Pie duking it out for the final spot. He then went on to say something like- but you never know who might have needs in their outfield later on in spring training.

I am not usually one to jump on quotes but he sounded pretty interested in finding a suitor for Pie so that he could keep Reimold on the roster. He didn't mention needing that 4th OF to be able to handle CF.

If anyone else heard it or has a transcript of it, that would be great.

I have always thought that Markakis would suffice as a backup CF if it came to keeping a revitalized Reimold or a struggling Pie. Of course if Pie suddenly finds himself and Reimold doesn't (not likely in my opinion) then all bets are off.

I heard MacPhail's comments. They seem kind of soft and undefined as GM talk often is. I don't know if it was motivation or a real roster management comment.

I don't really see the O's trading Pie, Reimold or Scott. I expect a comment that says that O's management need to see Pie and/or Reimold put a healthy year together and sight the Pie was on the DL for months last year while Reimold completely fell apart. They both have alot to prove. I seem to remember Scott going on the DL and Jones not being able to run at full speed because he ran into a wall or hurt himself diving.

There is room on this roster for Pie and Reimold and if they both have decent springs that is what I think will happen.

[Lateralus]

I personally dont care what Jones has said to the media. My problem with Jones is the fairly awful outfield play.

Nothing worse than seeing him get a bad jump on a ball, run toward it turn around and jump just to see the ball bounce ten feet away. This happened maybe 4 or 5 times that I can remember. Seeing such an ugly play once would leave a memory. Seeing it repeated several times is actually shocking.

4-5 times? Oh the horror. Though I do recall every other outfielder in MLB not having balls hit over their head once, let alone 4-5 times.

[bird watcher]

I see him being open (always) to entertaining offers. Not "shopping" Pie. Semantics maybe... but AM is already covered by Reimold's option. He's not forced into anything at this point.

I think that is my point. This didn't sound like the normal "we are always open to making moves if that is what is best for the ball club". He specifically called it unfortunate that Pie didn't have options. That tells me he prefers to not have him make the team. The very next statement was- but you never know who might have a need in the coming weeks. That isn't a broad sweeping team wide comment. It really sounded like he would like to trade Pie if possible.

This is significant in that it tells me he and Buck feel like they have other internal options to back up CF. -which has been a debate around here for sure.

[ChrisAF79]

It's a concern. It also may simply be a "comfort level" for Jonesey. He may just feel better playing shallow and drift back to that. Something that needs to be watched by the coaches.

I haven't seen one credible thing to question his commitment to being the best he can be. IMO.

I agree with this. Jones has stated that he feels more comfortable playing shallow, and I can understand that to a certain degree. But he may need to learn to be more comfortable playing a bit deeper, for the betterment of the team. I honestly can't recall many balls at all falling in front of Jones, but can think of plenty that just barely went over his head.

Now ask yourself this, what's more damaging to the team? A single that falls in front of Jones, or a ball over his head that would lead to doubles and triples? This is pretty simple really. Jones needs to do everything in his power to keep that ball from getting beyond him, and positioning himself deeper would no doubt achieve that.

[webbrick2010]

and I hope he continues to do so.

As an outfielder who played ball during the Paul Blair era, we all tried to play shallow. Playing shallow cuts down alot more line drive singles than the occasional ball that gets over your head for a double. Modern OF'ers all play too deep, seems they all are afraid of looking bad on the ESPN highlight shows.

I'm glad Jones plays shallow, he should continue to. It shows guts and courage.

[scOtt]

Let me just make this clear.

I Like Adam Jones. I think he is a solid player, a sometimes All-Star, and a possible team leader. I like that he speaks his mind and keeps his fans informed. I think and hope he will be a valuable addition to the Baltimore Orioles for years to come.

That said, he continues to swing at the low and away pitch that no one (with the possible exception of Vlad's craziness) can hit. He continues to play shallow and allow too many balls to fall over his head. And he has on about 4 occassions recently spoken out about his Manager receiving too much credit. One time would have been fine, but continuing to do it every time he has a microphone in front of him gives off the perception that he is rebellious. Whether that is the case or not, that's the perception he is giving off.

Finally, just because we are crtitical of a player's weaknesses does not mean we "hate" the player. We are a message board community that discusses damn near everything about this organization. Jonesie just happens to be the whipping boy right now because he keeps running his mouth to the press.

This thread is moving faster than I can keep up...

I think the bolded is VERY unfair. I think Buck would be the first to agree with Adam! He gets asked that same question (literally) 100 times during the offseason... like the players all had nothing to do with it. I'd have some attitude too!

I don't disagree that that perception arises... I just think it's unfounded. And a mountain out of a molehill.