Tracking Ex Oriole Thread

[TonySoprano]

Adam Jones article

Quote

He has just a .712 OPS in the second half and a .743 mark overall. Two weeks ago, the Diamondbacks cut his playing time in order to get a look at newly acquired prospect Josh Rojas.

Quote

“There’s still more I can do and still more I will do,” Jones said. “It’s just I’m not going to be playing 155 games a season anymore. That’s perfectly OK with me.”

Quote

Earlier this month, he barreled his first ball – that’s the Statcast definition of “barreled,” which means a ball hit at optimum exit velocity and launch angle – in more than two months. Through June 15, his barrel rate was 10.5 percent, third-best on the team among players with at least 100 balls put in play. Since, that mark has cratered to 0.8 percent, which is dead last.

Jones knows it’s not a sudden evaporation of his physical skills. He’s still hitting the ball roughly as hard on average, and still launching balls at roughly the same trajectory.  He’s just not doing both of those things at the same time.

	Launch angle,   balls hit 98 mph+	Exit velocity, balls   hit at launch angle of 26-30°
Through June 15	14.2°	93.7 mph
Since June 15	3.6°	80 mph

Quote

His average exit velocity has gone down since his peak years, as has his sprint speed. He knows he’s not the same guy. He’s not the only one. “My wife’s being honest with me, too,” Jones said. “She’s wearing me out. In a good way, but letting me know.” Plus, he doesn’t want to be that guy, the veteran who’s the last to know his time in the spotlight is over.

Quote

He has the Gold Gloves and the All-Star selections. He’s accumulated wealth that will last his family generations, almost $100 million so far. “And I’ve got a pension. And I’ve got a 401(k). All that,” he said. “That’s why I call it the white man’s game – you get all that shit.”

He thinks this season, even despite its recent downturn, proved that he can still play. He handled a new outfield position. He’s hitting .267 – and .279 even in his second-half slump – so he can still put the bat to the ball. He even logged a start in center field, the position so many thought he needed to vacate the past couple of years. “I played center one game and proved I’m still a center fielder,” he said. “That made me feel so good.”

He’ll be a free agent after this season, and he figures he can now afford to be picky. Maybe that means prioritizing which team is most likely to get him a World Series ring. Maybe it means a team close to his hometown of San Diego. (“Here would be a great place,” Jones said of Arizona.) He’s good around the clubhouse and willing to mentor young players and isn’t in his feelings about having to accept a reduced role. That, plus his ability to still play a little bit, has to mean something to some general manager somewhere.

 

 

[Il BuonO]

He’s accumulated wealth that will last his family generations, almost $100 million so far. “And I’ve got a pension. And I’ve got a 401(k). All that,” he said. “That’s why I call it the white man’s game – you get all that shit.”

I wish he’d stay away from this provocative rhetoric. He’s benefiting from the system while disparaging it. 

[jabba72]

37 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

He’s accumulated wealth that will last his family generations, almost $100 million so far. “And I’ve got a pension. And I’ve got a 401(k). All that,” he said. “That’s why I call it the white man’s game – you get all that.”

I wish he’d stay away from this provocative rhetoric. He’s benefiting from the system while disparaging it. 

Does the NFL or NBA not give pensions and 401k's? If so, I dont really understand Jones comments.

[ShaneDawg85]

52 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

Adam Jones article

 

 

World Series opportunity...as in the one he turned down for the sake of his sacred player rights/sticking it to the Orioles. 

[Il BuonO]

13 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Does the NFL or NBA not give pensions and 401k's? If so, I dont really understand Jones comments.

Baseball has the best pension by far.

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0710/top-pro-athlete-pension-plans.aspx

[TonySoprano]

12 minutes ago, ShaneDawg85 said:

World Series opportunity...as in the one he turned down for the sake of his sacred player rights/sticking it to the Orioles. 

The Phillies ended up 2 below .500, and Adam Jones wasn't going to change that.    Plus, I expect the return he would have drawn as a two-month rental would have been marginal, if that.   I don't have any sour grapes of how that turned out.

[jabba72]

8 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

Baseball has the best pension by far.

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0710/top-pro-athlete-pension-plans.aspx

thanks

 

6 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

The Phillies ended up 2 below .500, and Adam Jones wasn't going to change that.    Plus, I expect the return he would have drawn as a two-month rental would have been marginal, if that.   I don't have any sour grapes of how that turned out.

Agree. I respected his decision to stick it out on a bad team for his family's comfort. 

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

He’s accumulated wealth that will last his family generations, almost $100 million so far. “And I’ve got a pension. And I’ve got a 401(k). All that,” he said. “That’s why I call it the white man’s game – you get all that shit.”

I wish he’d stay away from this provocative rhetoric. He’s benefiting from the system while disparaging it. 

Also, has he looked into how NBA players do financially?

[Babypowder]

1 hour ago, TonySoprano said:

The Phillies ended up 2 below .500, and Adam Jones wasn't going to change that.    Plus, I expect the return he would have drawn as a two-month rental would have been marginal, if that.   I don't have any sour grapes of how that turned out.

They also only wanted him to be a 4th outfielder. The O's weren't getting anything back for him.

[DrungoHazewood]

3 hours ago, TonySoprano said:

He’ll be a free agent after this season, and he figures he can now afford to be picky. Maybe that means prioritizing which team is most likely to get him a World Series ring. Maybe it means a team close to his hometown of San Diego. (“Here would be a great place,” Jones said of Arizona.) He’s good around the clubhouse and willing to mentor young players and isn’t in his feelings about having to accept a reduced role. That, plus his ability to still play a little bit, has to mean something to some general manager somewhere.

I like Adam Jones a lot, but it looks like he didn't learn the lessons of last offseason: if you are a replacement-level player, which he is, you can't be picky.  If he wants to keep playing it'll be on a one-year deal for a few $million, and maybe not where he wants to play.

[Redskins Rick]

4 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I like Adam Jones a lot, but it looks like he didn't learn the lessons of last offseason: if you are a replacement-level player, which he is, you can't be picky.  If he wants to keep playing it'll be on a one-year deal for a few $million, and maybe not where he wants to play.

Having the ability to decide where I dont want to work, is relatively nice position to be in, and something, I couldnt have done a few years ago.

So, when they came calling and said, would you like to work in Northern VA and commute, it was an easy No TY.

So, I can relate to AJ to some degrees.

[Darkhawk]

2 hours ago, TonySoprano said:

The Phillies ended up 2 below .500, and Adam Jones wasn't going to change that.    Plus, I expect the return he would have drawn as a two-month rental would have been marginal, if that.   I don't have any sour grapes of how that turned out.

 

59 minutes ago, Babypowder said:

They also only wanted him to be a 4th outfielder. The O's weren't getting anything back for him.

When the O's were in Seattle earlier this year, Palmer insinuated multiple times that J.P Crawford was who the O's were getting. I was surprised that Palmer would have had that level of info, so most likely it was conjecture on his part but interesting nonetheless.

[Il BuonO]

7 hours ago, Darkhawk said:

When the O's were in Seattle earlier this year, Palmer insinuated multiple times that J.P Crawford was who the O's were getting. I was surprised that Palmer would have had that level of info, so most likely it was conjecture on his part but interesting nonetheless.

It’s possible. The Phillies had soured on him, but it still seems like an overpay.

[Il BuonO]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Also, has he looked into how NBA players do financially?

I’m guessing no.

[DrungoHazewood]

8 minutes ago, Darkhawk said:

When the O's were in Seattle earlier this year, Palmer insinuated multiple times that J.P Crawford was who the O's were getting. I was surprised that Palmer would have had that level of info, so most likely it was conjecture on his part but interesting nonetheless.

It seems fantastically ridiculous that the O's could land a guy ranked somewhere between #14 and #37 in all of MLB on the pre-2018 prospect lists for a 2-3 month rental of a replacement-level 32-year-old CFer making $17M a year. Crawford wasn't having a good 2018, but even if he'd fallen 50 spots that seems like a huge steal.