Adam Jones really looks lost at the plate.

[DJHJR86]

You can't bench your best defensive outfielder.

But you sure as hell can move him down in the lineup when he's slumping.

[jjnono]

Damn, it appeared the whole team was slumping in the Astros series (well, maybe not Kim). Singling out Jones seems a bit harsh.

[SeaBird]

It's going to be okay. Jones' new bat arrived in Cleveland this morning.

[Phantom]

Please stop overreacting to small samples.

Adam Jones has gotten unlucky. His batted balls are of significantly higher quality this year over last year, you would expect his in game performance to have gone up. It hasn’t. It hasn’t at all. Somehow, he has managed to put up pretty atrocious numbers through the first quarter of the season, but this isn’t going to last. His average exit velocity is up from 89 to 92mph, value hit rate up from 7.7 to 10.6%. That boils down to a .366 xOBA and .303 xBABIP. His batted balls, you’d expect, should result in surging power numbers with a relatively constant batting average. He put up numbers like this back in 2012, when he bat .287/.334/.505 with .361 wOBA, perhaps the best season of his career to date. Those are the sorts of number you’d expect from his current batted ball production. Adam Jones has had some bad luck, but he has played very well. Don’t give up on him, he is going to turn it around and you might see some career numbers at the end of the season.

Expected: .280/.333/.516

To date: .227/.283/.364

Career: .277/.318/.459

[weams]

But you sure as hell can move him down in the lineup when he's slumping.

But as many have shown us, It does not really effect the outcome, so why bother?

[Ruzious]

Damn, it appeared the whole team was slumping in the Astros series (well, maybe not Kim). Singling out Jones seems a bit harsh.

I don't agree. Aside from about a week or so, he's been terrible all season. Either bat him at the bottom of the order or bench him for a week or so. Batting him 3rd/4th has been a disaster that we can't just assume will reverse itself.

[TouchemAll]

With do respect to the OP.

Wasted thread Buck is NOT going to sit Jones unless he's hurt. JMHO.

[srock]

Maybe Matusz was the leader. Guy gets traded and the offense falls of a cliff. What was his secret?

Of course, correlation does not equal causation!

[Redskins Rick]

I think he was just wondering about the player who is generally seen as the greatest of all time.

Not taking anything away from the Babe.

Personally, in my book of all time greatest players in Baseball. The name that I have there, is Willie Mays.

[pastorfan]

Damn, it appeared the whole team was slumping in the Astros series (well, maybe not Kim). Singling out Jones seems a bit harsh.

Yeah, I think Jones sticks out for two reasons: He is swinging at balls way out of the zone, and runners seemed to be on base every time he is up. I would definitely pitch around Manny, Davis or whomever to get to Jones. At this point if Jones went to the plate saying, "I will not swing until I get two strikes," he would walk quite a bit, because guys are not going to throw him strikes until he proves he wont chase.

[pastorfan]

When did I say he was?

Indeed, you did not. I must have exported that answer, Art:)

[brianod]

It's not the K's that bother me, it's the swinging at balls. The single most important thing in hitting is getting a good pitch to hit. When you constantly swing at pitchers pitches, you don't get hits and you don't score runs and you don't win. You can score runs and strike out a lot but you can't succeed swinging at balls

[Ori-Al]

It's not the K's that bother me, it's the swinging at balls. The single most important thing in hitting is getting a good pitch to hit. When you constantly swing at pitchers pitches, you don't get hits and you don't score runs and you don't win. You can score runs and strike out a lot but you can't succeed swinging at balls

Exactly. Make the pitcher throw strikes to get you out. You still might strike out sometimes.

Yesterday's top of the fifth inning epitomized the offenses' problem. Janish led off with a walk. Rickard swung down at a first pitch curve below the strike zone. Two pitches later, he struck out (on an actual strike, a rarity for this team.) Manny walked. Davis swung down at a curve below the zone, and whiffed on the same pitch two pitches later. Jones walked (!) in his only good AB of the night. Wieters swung toward the ground on a first curve below the zone, and eventually whiffed on a similar pitch. IMO, there is no excuse for that stupid approach that constantly puts our hitters behind in the count, which we've seen since the Angels series. There is no reason to expand the strike zone on the first pitch (or on 2-0, but I digress.) Go to the plate with a plan to make the pitcher bring the ball up. We've seen no plan from most of the hitters not named Kim (who had three more quality ABs), just swinging away at whatever and wherever the pitch was. Still managed seven free baserunners (six walks and an error) in five innings, but scored none due to all the whiffs.

[Tx Oriole]

I'm sick and tired of him swinging at pitches three feet off the plate and hitting into double plays. I have not seen a player in this much of a funk in a long time. He is an automatic out every time he approaches the plate. Sit him down for an extended period of time. I don't want to hear how we will miss him on defense. Believe me it's overrated, he misplays fly balls and for every runner he throws out at the play, he bobbles five that he could have made a throw on or its a terrible throw

It want help AJ if Buck were to bench him. If AJ defense is so bad then how did he

get Gold Glove before? I think Buck believes that for AJ to get out of his funk then

he needs to play.

[Can_of_corn]

Not taking anything away from the Babe.

Personally, in my book of all time greatest players in Baseball. The name that I have there, is Willie Mays.

That would be why I said "generally seen". Evidently a lot of the folks that saw them play thought Cobb was better.