Jones could be done for the year
Though the swelling in Adam Jones' left ankle has been reduced, it's still possible that he's played his last game in 2009.
Jones suffered a bad sprain while scrambling back to first base last night. He's projected to miss two-to-three weeks, but it could be longer.
"Jones is going to be out indefinitely," manager Dave Trembley said. "I couldn't tell you when or if he'll come back.
"It's not a pleasant feeling to lose a player the caliber of Jones going down the stretch. There's no one who's made as much improvement from one year to the next as Jones. I think everybody can attest to that. And you lose a guy like that in the middle of your lineup and the middle of your diamond and the middle of your clubhouse, that's a major blow. Major."
Jones is on crutches and will continue to spend significant time in the trainers room.
"He's better today than he was last night, simply because the size of his ankle...the swelling has gone down," Trembley said. "He's in better spirits today than he was last night. He wasn't ready last night to be all smiles and giggles. It was terrible."
Jones lobbied to stay in the game while the Yankees made a pitching change, but head athletic trainer Richie Bancells wanted him off the field immediately to receive treatments.
"Richie said, 'Let's go right now. We'll get you out and we'll go ice it.' And Jones said, 'No, after the last out is made, you can just wrap it and I'll be OK.' This kid, he's pretty good, he's a pretty special kid," Trembley said.
"They made the pitching change, and I think he saw his ankle, the size of it coming out of his shoe. He realized he was done."
Felix Pie will make the bulk of the starts in center. Jeff Fiorentino can play all three outfield positions, and Luke Scott will assist in left field so Nolan Reimold can serve as the designated hitter while dealing with a sore Achilles.
The Orioles have no immediate plans to add another outfielder to their expanded roster.
Jones is meeting with the media at 4:30 p.m. and I'll pass along his comments.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
More at bats for Pie. No big deal. Jones hasn't been playing that well since May. Hopefully he'll use this rest to reflect on all the work he needs to do on his game this off-season. Perhaps get on the Felix Pie hitting program.
Wow, that's a tough blow. It would have been nice for Jones to use the last month to turn things back around following his long slump. If it's three weeks before he's physically able to play, it will be difficult to get game-ready without any way to do rehab with the minors done for the year. Still, he seems like a gamer so he'll probably be clamoring to get back on the field even before he's ready. Though I am more concerned about having him ready for next year, it would be nice to see him back for the last week of the season at least.
While it is nice to see Pie doing well, going from dump this bum to he's our future is a bit extreme, on both sides. He's had a whopping 189 abs of which about half were horrible and half were excellent (stat wise). Make him earn his playing time and if he maintains this level then it is a pleasant problem to have.
Same with Jones, even with his slump, his numbers have greatly improved over 2008 in just about the same number of ABs (470ish). More than doubled his HRs (9-19), more walks, less strikeouts, better avg, better onbase avg, better slug %. Throw in the fact that he has just turned 24 and he most likely has a bright future ahead.
Geez, even as bad as DT is, I hate to imagine what this team would look like with some of these fans running it. Probably have gone through a few hundred players.
Roch,
Early in Jones' career he has drawn favorable baseball skill comparisons to Eric Davis. Now it appears the comparison to Davis may be also be apt as both are/were injury prone. With the litany of muscle pulls and sprains Jones as gone through in his two years here, is it fair to call him injury prone, or is it bad luck?
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Probably need more than two seasons to hang the injury prone tag on him. Certainly, last night's injury was bad luck. Bad baserunning, too, which started the whole process, but his cleat caught the edge of the bag and his ankle turned. - Roch
You never want to see someone like Jones come down with an injury but with the O's well out of contention it will be good to get Pie ABs on an everyday basis.
Probably could have used Gathright, but who knew this would happen. Jones will most likely go on the DL. He's (Gathright) basically a defensive OF with pinch running abilities, and would be that for the O's in this situation. Hindsight is 20/20 however.
Did he have a great year? He had a great 6 weeks at the beginning of the season. He's been well below average offensively ever since. Can I do my job well for 3 months out of every 12 (being sub-par the rest of the time) and be considered good, great or "improved"?
If Jones had a good 6 weeks at the end of his season instead of the beginning, he would have been batting .234 going into the All-Star break. How is that improved? Improvement is generally made during the season and he got a lot worse. See my post on the last thread with both his and Pie's stats after June 1st. Pie is improved. You see him getting better. I saw Jones acting like Casey at the bat after a great April. You can't be awful for 3 1/2 months after every good month and a half. It doesn't work.
Jones needs to keep his head out of the clouds next year when he gets on a good stretch and stop thinking he is A-Rod and can mash balls out at will. He needs to shorten his swing and show more discipline. That's what we said about Pie in April and that's what we should be saying about Jones now.
Now don't everyone get all huffy, but - Jones missing the rest of the season I see as a PLUS!!! For one, he was on a huge doward spiral at the bat and getting worse every game. WAY crazy overswinging (does Trembley/Crow/anybody/somebody not mention this to him??????) yes he once in a blue moon gets lucky and hits one out, but 90% of the time entire 2nd half, grounds out to third or swings at dirt worms for strike 3. It's obvious the opposing pitchers know it - Jones, not so much. He will either get past this problem, get FIXED by a new coach or a grow a new head/brainapproach - or become a bust/liability instead of a star. Right now he could go either way! It can't go on as is for long! He is a totaly different hitter or NONhitter than he was first 1/3 of season. It's almost like he swapped brains at the bat, with Pie! Speaking of Pie - his continued upswing/developement is the other reason Jones sitting down rest of the season is good. Pie will now get a full month to see if he is just on a fluke good spurt or now a new/better reborn bonified hitter and player! Wouldn't that be nice!! Trade Jones in off season - would neverr have even considered it first 1/2 of this season, but now..... HMMMM which Jones is in the future the Good gonna be a super star or the UH OH one of recent 50 games??
honestly what does he need to come back and play this year for?
i'm sorry but right now i simply dont get it. tremblay talks about jones as if losing him to yet another injury is some sort of death blow.come on dave this isnt frank robinson here. far from it. this is one player where the hype is way out of line and hes way overated.
i'm sorry but right now i simply dont get it. tremblay talks about jones as if losing him to yet another injury is some sort of death blow.come on dave this isnt frank robinson here. far from it. this is one player where the hype is way out of line and hes way overated.
Yea I wish Adam was like all those other 24 year old's in their 2nd full MLB season who hit 35 home runs with 110 rbi's and a .320 average. Not to mention all those 24 year old's who do that and play premium defensive positions on the field. I just wish Adam Jones could be like all those other guys. Oh wait... who are they again?
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