Adam Jones not quite ready to talk about any celebrations yet
It is so close now. The Orioles could be celebrating a division title as soon as tomorrow.
But it should come as no surprise that players in the O's clubhouse who have been so focused on taking the season day by day are not quite ready to talk much about that yet. Even with the magic number to clinch the American League East for the first time since 1997 at three.
Adam Jones was asked today what it will be like to clinch in front of the home fans if and when that happens. He's not ready to go there yet.
"We don't know. We don't know what it feels like to celebrate with the home fans. We have 13 games and we need to handle our business," he said.
Yes, but surely you can sense it now, right?
"That is all you guys. Man, we have a game to play against the Blue Jays," Jones said. "We have to think about (Marcus) Stroman. If you think about all this magic number stuff, Stroman will shove it. We need to pay attention to the task at hand, not the possibility of something."
Last night's walk-off win was the second by the Orioles in the series against the Yankees and their 10th of the year. That ties them for fourth-best in the majors behind San Diego, Miami and Cleveland, who have 11 each.
The walk-off wins have come against seven different teams on hits produced by nine different Orioles.
Jones was asked about the O's ability to pull out these games with comeback wins.
"There are 27 outs and until that last out and one team is celebrating, you can impact something," Jones said. "There is fight in this team. And the Yankees have a tough bullpen with (Shawn) Kelley, (Dellin) Betances and (David) Robertson. That is no easy task. But we find a way. That is the way this team is. We find a way amid not having the big-game superstars."
So tonight, Jones said the Orioles will take the field with their same 2014 mindset of not looking even one day down the road, but focusing on the one game they are going to play.
"Baseball is day to day," Jones said. "If you get too far ahead of yourself, you might not get to that point. You have to maintain and stay with the mindset of the current. Our best strength is we know how to handle the current and not get too far ahead of ourselves.
"This team is selfless. A lot of guys, the individual numbers don't really matter. If you play and perform on a regular basis, your numbers will add up to what they need to be."
Adam Jones was asked today what it will be like to clinch in front of the home fans if and when that happens. He's not ready to go there yet.
"We don't know. We don't know what it feels like to celebrate with the home fans. We have 13 games and we need to handle our business," he said.
Yes, but surely you can sense it now, right?
"That is all you guys. Man, we have a game to play against the Blue Jays," Jones said. "We have to think about (Marcus) Stroman. If you think about all this magic number stuff, Stroman will shove it. We need to pay attention to the task at hand, not the possibility of something."
Last night's walk-off win was the second by the Orioles in the series against the Yankees and their 10th of the year. That ties them for fourth-best in the majors behind San Diego, Miami and Cleveland, who have 11 each.
The walk-off wins have come against seven different teams on hits produced by nine different Orioles.
Jones was asked about the O's ability to pull out these games with comeback wins.
"There are 27 outs and until that last out and one team is celebrating, you can impact something," Jones said. "There is fight in this team. And the Yankees have a tough bullpen with (Shawn) Kelley, (Dellin) Betances and (David) Robertson. That is no easy task. But we find a way. That is the way this team is. We find a way amid not having the big-game superstars."
So tonight, Jones said the Orioles will take the field with their same 2014 mindset of not looking even one day down the road, but focusing on the one game they are going to play.
"Baseball is day to day," Jones said. "If you get too far ahead of yourself, you might not get to that point. You have to maintain and stay with the mindset of the current. Our best strength is we know how to handle the current and not get too far ahead of ourselves.
"This team is selfless. A lot of guys, the individual numbers don't really matter. If you play and perform on a regular basis, your numbers will add up to what they need to be."
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