Adam Jones on the frustration of the Orioles' latest loss and more

It was another night where the Orioles lost and outfielder Adam Jones was pretty much a spokesman for the clubhouse, trying to provide insight into why the Orioles are struggling so badly right now and explain what they will try to do to reverse the trend.

Jones was asked if he could pinpoint the issue.

"Nothing to pinpoint," he said. "If you pinpoint something, that means you are blaming somebody. If you are blaming somebody, you need to blame yourself. Anytime you blame somebody, you need to look in the mirror and see if you are doing everything that you can be doing.

"There ain't no blame games here. We're all playing like crap. All of us. No matter if someone is hitting .400 over the last stretch, it is a team game. And, right now, our team isn't playing that well. So, fix it. That is the only thing we can do. Come out tomorrow and bring that effort and play the game the right way.

"It hasn't been hard, it's been frustrating. Frustrating is going out there every night and giving your all and not coming away with the result you want. But it's a sport, and we need to bring it. We need to bring it ASAP. It's getting frustrating in here. Players feel it. Our coaches feel it. You can hear it in the stands, they feel the frustration also."

Jones-Watches-Dugout-Rail-Sidebar.jpgWhen a reporter mentioned to Jones that players might not have ever been through such a tough stretch of losing, he said many of the players had in his opinion.

"I think we have," he said. "I think we've been through something like this. Before in other organizations, we've all been in situations like this. Now how do you get out of it? How do you get out of this funk?

"I think the only way you do it is collectively come together and go out there and beat the crap out of somebody else instead of getting your tails handed to us. Oh, this is a test. This is a test that you didn't get to study for. That is what baseball is. Just go out there and figure it out. Your athletic ability only going to take you so far. It's between the ears that is going to get us over the hump."

The Orioles have now lost six in a row and 12 of 13 games to fall to 63-69. Since July 1, when they were six games over .500, the Orioles are 21-33.

"There is no blame game. Just have to figure out a way. I can say whatever I want, do this, do that, blah, blah, blah. We have to figure out a way to score some runs," Jones said. "Score early and let our pitching staff breathe a little bit so they don't have to feel they need to be perfect. Just get back to a team game."

Chris Tillman gave up seven runs to take tonight's loss against Tampa Bay. He was asked about the current mood and mindset of the team.

"This is a game we all live to play in. That is what we have to do, get back to that," Tillman said. "All the stuff that is going on, we have to fight through it. We can't give in. No one else will feel bad for you. Keep working and get better, and we will."

He does not buy the theory that the lack of runs has put added pressure on the pitching staff.

"That is not an excuse," he said. "It's our job to get deep in the game no matter what. Whatever the circumstances are, it's our job to get deep in the game and keep your team in it. It's not fun, it's frustrating. But we have another game tomorrow. No one is giving in here. Other teams might want us to, but we are not going to. I think I know this team pretty well, and we're going to get through this.

"This is tough and will show you what your teammates are made of. I haven't seen a lack of effort. You have to pull for your teammates. It is a test. Got to get back to playing the baseball we know we can."




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