Jones as good as gold
I heard some rumblings earlier today about Orioles center fielder Adam Jones winning a Gold Glove, with the official announcement coming in another week or so. His brother apparently spilled the beans on his MySpace page.
My first thought: People still use MySpace?
My second thought: He ought to know.
I'm told that it's true, which means Jones will be only the second Orioles outfielder to take home the award. Paul Blair won eight of them.
Somehow, Jeff Stone kept getting snubbed.
Ichiro, Torii Hunter and Grady Sizemore usually have a strangehold on the award, but at least one of them has been kicked to the curb.
Meanwhile, Brandon Snyder is 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout in the AFL's Rising Stars game. Josh Bell, a late selection, has a walk and RBI for the East team.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
http://camdencrazies.com/2009/11/07/breaking-news-adam-jones-wins-gold-glove
According to FanGraphs, while Jones' fielding numbers were good last year at +9.9 UZR they were below average this year at -4.7 UZR (ranked 5th out of 7 qualifying AL center-fielders). The Fan Scouting Report has him as having good speed and acceleration, but not great reactions or instincts. His arm is rated as strong (and he did have a +7.3 arm component of UZR), but not that accurate. No idea how much blowing a bubble while making a catch is worth, but Jones may have led the league in that category.
He's probably a plus out there with the glove, but not amongst the premier defenders in the league. I'd rank Franklin Gutierrez and BJ Upton well ahead of him, and then there's Ichiro and Carl Crawford in the corners. I'm happy for Adam personally, but he wasn't deserving in my opinion. That doesn't mean he won't rightly add to that hardware in the future though.
Wow!!! didnt see this coming. national writers actually picking a under-the-radear rising star on a non-playoff team??? i wouldve thought melky cabrera had a better shot to win than AJ! *sarcasm*
but regardless, i still think jones is the 2nd best defensive OF on this team behind markakis.
You heard some rumblings? You can't give the local orioles blog community credit for finding this, Roch? I love you man, but come on.
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What local Orioles blog community would that be? And careful what you're accusing me of, love or no love. I heard it from someone earlier today but didn't have confirmation beyond a MySpace page. And no, a posting on McSpace isn't confirmation. Are you telling me only a "local Orioles blog" is privy to this??? - Roch
Roch, Man I didn't think you'd have another post today, but I thought I would check anyways. It's always good to read your blog anytime of the day.
While it would be nice to see Adam Jones awarded a Gold Glove, I think Nick Markakis is also deserving.
Hey Roch-
I think Jones had a pretty good season, although those injuries kind of hurt him.
If jones can stay healthy for 155 or 162 games, do you see Jones possibly getting 30 + homeruns one day?
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I definitely think he can be a 30-30 guy one day. He has the skills. - Roch
There are only two reasons that Jones won this over Markakis.
1. National exposure via the All-Star Game
2. He robs home runs, while Nick throws people.
I've said it many times. They award it to the player that makes the most spectacular plays, not the best fielder.
Of the three perennial Gold Glove winners whom you mentioned, Sizemore probably won't win it because he was injured for most of the year and the injuries affected his overall play. Plus, he was on the DL for more than a month.
Nick, once again, deserves both the Gold Glove and the Gold Arm.
I don't believe it and if anyone from the Orioles should win a GG, it should be Nick.
Man, Jones is going to command a pretty hefty contract extension. You might want to move negotiations up your priority list Andrew, before the market inflates even more (hint hint hint!.
I posted it on OH yesterday 5 minutes after his big brother posted it ;)
Roch-
It is a real shame they don't let Corner Outfielders win them.
Or we might have 2.
I mean, as I watched the Series, and saw how many TERRIBLE attempts to throw runners out at home, one run scored on a sac fly, that could NOT have been more then about 35 feet from the dirt, directly to RF and Werth couldn't throw out Aroid.
Markakis would have thrown him out RIGHTHANDED.
I watch tons of baseball. I play fantasy and have for like 10 years, I know who every player is, and who is up and coming etc.
Markakis has the best throwing arm I have EVER SEEN in my 30 years.
When you put accuracy, range, and velocity together, NO ONE comes close.
Some may throw harder, like jones, some may be more accurate, but putting the 2 together and NO ONE beats him.
Its good to see Jones get some props though.
Roch-
1 more thing.
We have said that the O's lack that clubhouse leader. They don't have the Jeter, or Varitek etc.
We have said it would be better if Nick was not so quiet. Maybe as he grows older.
But, people have pointed out the Jones is assuming that role, more and more.
Do you think Jones being more vocal has helped as far as the Gold Glove, and the All Star game? That it actually may be the reason he wins the Gold Glove?
That HE is turning into the face of the O's more-so than Nick?
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I don't think that's it. Jones isn't that vocal in the clubhouse yet. He wants to be, and I think he will be, but he was too young this season to assume that leadership role. - Roch
Jonsey was pretty good, the catch he made leaping to his right was one of the best all year in baseball. I would like to see better communication though, several times I recall Pie' having camped under a ball and Jones ran him off, its an accident waiting to happen and it looks bad too. Saw Josh Bell for the first time, his discerning eye at the plate makes him a better option than Wigginton right now, but I can wait for him to get a few ab's in Norfolk.
Roch,
Did Markakis make fun of the voters mothers or something? His annual snubbing of this award is ridiculous.
Every since Raphael Palmero won a gold glove at 1st base even though he spent almost all of the year as DH I have questioned the objectivity the gold glove voters.
Oh GOD,Jones let it go to his head being called an all star.What will being falsely being accused of being a gold glover do to him?
"The local orioles blog community!?"
There's got to be a joke in there somewhere.
Are the players notified that they are going to win before the official announcement is made?
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Yes. I believe the club informed him last week. - Roch
I'm glad to see Adam getting some attention but this award is a joke. There is no way Jones was better than Markakis. Unfortunately Nick isn't a centerfielder. He could have 50 assists and still not get a gold glove because he doesn't play centerfield. MLB needs to change this so that awards are separated by centerfielders and corner outfielders. They are different animals and should be recognized as such. There aren't 4 shortstops getting gold gloves for the infield so why should 3 centerfielders get the award in the outfield?
Damn. An Oriole won a Gold Glove and there's nothing but negativity on here.
CONGRATS to AJ.
Good for AJ, he deserves it. The guy saved plenty of runs over the fence this year and took away shallow base hits too. As far as running Pie off...the CF catches what he gets to, LF has to get out of the way.
Ryan,
As much as I like Markakis, Ichiro is the barometer outfield arms are judged on. He has the best outfield arm in the majors accuracy and strength.
If it's true, good for AJ! Now his name will be out there and someone will have to pry it away from him. (Your days are numbered Ichiro!)
Poor Nicky, if only he could... actually, I have NO idea what more that boy needs to do to prove he deserves one!
Nick Markakis has a very good arm and average-ish range in right-field. He's a pretty good RFer but as an overall outfielder he'd be below average (put him in center and it wouldn't work out too well). I didn't think AJ deserved his, but Nick would have been a much worse selection.
They are both still very good players. That doesn't mean we need to think of them as better than they are.
Ryan,
Ichiro IS a corner fielder. He was a right fielder before he had to pick up the slack in center field (parts of 2006 & 2008, all of 2007). He is just that good!
see http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4570&context=fielding
He moved back to RF in 2009. Also, Safeco Field, AND with Ichiro's hops, provides many more opportunities to steal home runs, while Markakis is limited in this regard at Camden Yards. He'll have to wait about 5 years for Ichiro to retire (after he gets his 3,000th hit).
Keep in mind that the OF GG winners are not picked by position. As for Jones, he does not deserve it compared to others such as Hunter, Wells, Gomez, DeJesus, Bay, Cruz, etc. Also keeping in mind that they have totally reduced the GG award to BS, he just may have won it although I wouldn't bet Schm@cks next Taco supreme on it.
Roch, This almost has the feel of one of those "make up" calls you see an umpire make in favor of a team after earlier having missing a call that went against that team. I say almost because a Gold Glove is an award for players, not teams, so a vote for Jonesy doesn't make up for previous snubs of Nick Markakis.
In any case, it's good to see an Oriole finally get some recognition for good glove work. Besides Markakis, in the past two decades I can think of at least two O's fielders very deserving of Gold Gloves who didn't get them: Cal Ripken and Mike Bordick.
In 1990 Cal set major league single season records for the highest fielding percentage (.996) and fewest errors (3) by a shortstop, yet in one of the greatest injustices ever by Gold Glove voters the award went to the White Sox's Ozzie Guillen, whose stats paled in comparison at .977 and 17 errors. (Just as ridiculously, Guillen received 17 MVP votes that year--fortunately, no first place votes-- despite batting only .279, 1, 58, with a mere 61 runs scored and a poor 13 SB in 30 attempts.) Cal did win the Gold Glove in 1991 and 1992 (those were perhaps "make ups" for the '90 snub) and at least on one other occasion (the year eludes me) he was beaten out by perennial winner Omar Vizquel, who openly said Ripken deserved to win it.
In 2002 (also playing at shortstop) Bordick set the all-time major league records at his position for consecutive games (110, bettering the previous mark of 95 games jointly held by Cal and Vizquel) and chances without error (the former mark). He actually bettered Cal's '90 marks by fielding at a .998 FP and committing only a single error. These don't constitute records, however, because Mike only started 115 games at short, while Cal started...well, you know (actually, while he played them all, it was only 161 games that season--apparently a rainout wasn't rescheduled because the team was out of the pennant race). But in 1998 and 1999 Bordick played 150 or more innings a season and had Gold Glove caliber years, going .900 with seven errors and .989 with nine errors, respectively.
I think that being an incumbent Gold Glove at a position definitely helps a player; just as in All-Star selection, all the player needs to do is maintain close to the level of previous excellence to fend off all others, save remarkable performers. This is what makes Adam's pick so interesting, because he had to leap-frog over someone (surely not Torii Hunter).
I agree to a degree with some who have commented that Jones, while clearly talented enough to win, didn't deserve it for his body of work in 2009 because he allowed too many extra basehits over his head due to his insistance to play shallow. (Eight-time Orioles' Gold Glove center fielder Paul Blair made note of this problem during the season and said he thinks Adam will straighten that out as he gets to know hitters better.)
Of course, playing shallow may have contributed to Jonesy getting the award, because it required him to make many spectacular plays on balls that may have been, if not routine, much easier to track down. Gold Glove voters seem to love fielders--especially outfielders--who pull off a lot of Web Gems-type plays (see, for example, Hunter, Ichiro Suzuki, Jim Edmonds and Andruw [sic] Jones).
Pet peeve (along with legal misspelling of common names, such as Jhonny Peralta): I really dislike the idea of picking generic outfielders as opposed to one each for left, right and center. Those are three entirely different positions and the skill set for one is not the same as for the other two, despite the obvious similarities. A center fielder has more ground to cover, a right fielder needs a stronger arm to throw out runners at third and a left fielder tends to get more chances than his counterpart in right and needs to back up the third baseman on throws from right or on steal attempts. Just as wrong to lump them all together as it would be to do the same with infielders. It makes no sense at all.
To those who say that Markakis "only" throws people out while Jones robs home runs, you're overlooking a big factor. Markakis has a 25 foot wall/scoreboard behind him in RF. It's a little difficult to scale a 25 foot wall to rob someone of a home run, wouldn't you say? Personally, I think both players are more than qualified to win Gold Gloves.
Hey Roch,
Where do you see Jones batting next season? Will he still be batting second?
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That'll be determined in spring training (and once we know who's on the roster), but I know they project him more as a No. 5 hitter at some point in his career. Just not sure if we're there yet. - Roch