Jones Bases Loaded Drop

[webbrick2010]

I never saw (and I don't believe it ever happened) Paul Blair drop such a routine fly ball.

His gold gloves are real. I have no idea how Adam got his.

[MDK02]

Jones will man up and take the the deserved heat for that play, but you can't be doing that stuff. I know it's only one game, but Buck says that "one game in April is just as important as one in September".

I'd rather have him not a say word about it and just play the game hard and show it on the field.. he talks too much and its getting cheap.

[Il BuonO]

He needs to start using two hands to make catches. He always leaves his right hand down at this side.

Question for anyone looking at this great pic. (Thx Tina) Does he ever lose sight of the ball by going after it in this way as opposed to finding the fence and getting behind the ball?

The answer is yes. And even GG a OF will lose sight of the ball for a split second trying to make a back handed catch as opposed to setting up behind the ball. Two hands would help, too.

Finally, watch nothing else but his stride. If you think this is Adam Jones at full speed you haven't watched him run very much. He had plenty of time to be in better position.

[section18]

When you watch the replays on TV's postgame show he blows the bubble and he looks away and drops the ball. No x?c!>.. excuses. If he blows any more bubbles catching a ball he should be fined. Come on! If it's so cool why doesn't everybody blow bubbles and look like an 8 year old. He's making millions and should show better judgment. He did it in game 3 of the playoffs last year and dropped the ball. If anyone really thinks its okay then I guess we view the game differently. What a way to lose a game and then the triple play. I believe they said every NY run tonight that scored was on base by a walk or hit batsman. I guess it wasn't meant to be.....I'm surprised at the AJ apologists on the radio who are bending over making excuses tonight. The 105.7 guys are covering for him big time. I guess we know why........to make the phone ring. They should know better. They would get calls regardless if they said he should stop blowing when he's almost ready to make the catch. Sometimes blowing a bubble it will pop when you don't expect it and it's a distraction. It was smart of MASN not interviewing AJ on TV after the game.

[Blizzard1090]

He blew the play,plain and simple and he'll own up to it. Better now then in the postseason like last year.

[ExileAngelos]

1. Jones has always played like this. It drives fundamental coaches crazy. I've heard little league coaches say "don't catch like Adam Jones" (like they used to say about Brady Anderson btw). Jones will handle routine fly balls by casually backhanding it. Brady used to bring his glove down almost to his waist and catch most fly balls at his side (instead of settling right under it). The drop tonight was a fluke drop, but it's made to look a lot uglier because of the poor outfield fundamentals.

2. I believe that the bubble gum has absolutely nothing to do with it. It's not intentional, it's completely instinctual. There are thousands of people from Michael Jordan to my kid brother that stick out their tongue at the exact instant of a difficult play. They don't think about - most don't even know they are doing it - it just happens naturally. For Adam, it's blowing gum. For people to say "it was all because of that gum" or "he blew that gum on purpose right as he was making the catch" is assuming a lot without a proper understanding of human idiosyncrasies. Like the poor fundamentals, it just makes the play look worse, it doesn't mean that the bubble gum influenced the catch in anyway.

3. The real issue with the drop were the two walks and hit batter before it. If this error is committed with less than two outs and only a runner on first, there isn't nearly the impact or subsequent uproar. It was Jones' fault he made the error but it wasn't Jones's fault he cost them the game with that that play. On a cold day with the ball having no pop to it, the last thing pitchers should have done was awarded free passes. Sabathia understood that, the Orioles' pitchers couldn't control it. Gonzalez's 5 walks impacted the game far more than that dropped ball.

Excellent post indeed. As frustrated as I am with Adam what you are saying is spot on.

[isestrex]

He blew the play,plain and simple and he'll own up to it. Better now then in the postseason like last year.

I agree that he'll own up to it. He's already established that he's prepared to the blame and put the team on his shoulders.

The question I'm wondering: will he catch balls differently because of this? Or will nothing change?

[Gurgi]

We just have to take it I guess. No one has the nerve or power to tell the kid to stop.

[Frobby]

He should have caught it, and almost always does, but I don't think that catch was quite as routine as is bring portrayed here. The wind was swirling and the ball kind of tailed in on him at the last moment. The ALDS play made me much madder.

Bubbles are unrelated to any other issue.

[waroriole]

Don't care about the gum, don't think he "hot dogged" it, but he did blow the play.

This.......life goes on.

[BaltimoreO's]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Very frustrating costing my team the game wit that flyball. Then makin 6 outs in 4 abs. What a day. Oh yea there is tomorrow <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23StayHungry">#StayHungry</a></p>— Adam Jones (@SimplyAJ10) <a href="

">April 13, 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[LookitsPuck]

Agreed with an earlier posted, it was a fluke drop.

Here's exactly how I think Adam Jones played it, and I can blame him for doing so.

It's a 2-0 count with the bases loaded. You know he's going to get a fastball in a bases loaded situation. Adam was playing about medium to slightly deep center field. He's known for playing shallow.

It's cold. It's rainy. The wind is blowing in as evidenced by Steve Pearce's warning track hit (on a non windy night or a warm night that ball is a 2 run homer).

So, what kind of hit was it off Vernon Wells bat? I think Adam heard it, knew it was a 2-0 count, and thought a hard hit/line drive all the way. You can tell the ball was hit very hard by ending up in the deepest part of the stadium on the warning track. After it was hit, he immediately broke back and had a good route and break to the ball. I believe the ball probably got caught up a bit in the wind and killed the arc on it causing Jones to close his glove earlier than he should have.

Long story short, Jones broke to it with the proper route and reached up as if it was a line drive to deep center...but it ended up being a bit lazy of a fly ball at the end of it due to the wind and the conditions (cold, rainy) which tripped him up at the end. It was in his glove, but only came out because he closed too early thinking it was coming down harder than it really was.

[isestrex]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Very frustrating costing my team the game wit that flyball. Then makin 6 outs in 4 abs. What a day. Oh yea there is tomorrow <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23StayHungry">#StayHungry</a></p>— Adam Jones (@SimplyAJ10) <a href="

">April 13' date=' 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/quote']

Right approach, as always.

He's already put it behind him and is concentrated on tomorrow. Seeing our star player making sloppy plays can be frustrating but it could be worse... he could be an ***hole with no character.

[Gurgi]

I have been watching Jones for his whole career. I didnt believe the gum was a problem his first couple of years when others thought it was. But after years of this stuff POPPING up I really do think it is distracting him.

You guys all saw the whole "Put a Bird on it" stuff last year. You know Jones loves showboating and hotdogging. To say he doesnt is just being intentionally blind. Which is okay, you can close your eyes to whatever you want. But when it happens again. And it will. Look closely.

[tntoriole]

1. Jones has always played like this. It drives fundamental coaches crazy. I've heard little league coaches say "don't catch like Adam Jones" (like they used to say about Brady Anderson btw). Jones will handle routine fly balls by casually backhanding it. Brady used to bring his glove down almost to his waist and catch most fly balls at his side (instead of settling right under it). The drop tonight was a fluke drop, but it's made to look a lot uglier because of the poor outfield fundamentals.

2. I believe that the bubble gum has absolutely nothing to do with it. It's not intentional, it's completely instinctual. There are thousands of people from Michael Jordan to my kid brother that stick out their tongue at the exact instant of a difficult play. They don't think about - most don't even know they are doing it - it just happens naturally. For Adam, it's blowing gum. For people to say "it was all because of that gum" or "he blew that gum on purpose right as he was making the catch" is assuming a lot without a proper understanding of human idiosyncrasies. Like the poor fundamentals, it just makes the play look worse, it doesn't mean that the bubble gum influenced the catch in anyway.

3. The real issue with the drop were the two walks and hit batter before it. If this error is committed with less than two outs and only a runner on first, there isn't nearly the impact or subsequent uproar. It was Jones' fault he made the error but it wasn't Jones's fault he cost them the game with that that play. On a cold day with the ball having no pop to it, the last thing pitchers should have done was awarded free passes. Sabathia understood that, the Orioles' pitchers couldn't control it. Gonzalez's 5 walks impacted the game far more than that dropped ball.

1. I agree his fundamentals are terrible.

2. Blowing the bubble is a habit, however i cannot say that it doesn't distract someone for just a split second - maybe the tactile sensation of the bubble feels a little different as it forms or maybe he has to blow a little harder in the cold. i do feel that it is a completely unnecessary risk factor no matter how minor it might seem.

3. Jones knew the bases were loaded, 7th inning, Yankee Stadium, AL East rivals. All the more reason that his error was even more costly is that he knew the situation and the consequences. If he had jumped over the fence and caught a certain homer, we would say he saved the game and, in this situation, unfortunately, he lost the game.