Jones Toes Company Line

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Orioles have had a “quiet” offseason. We have other words for it, but we’ll go with “quiet.” The national baseball media has been hammering the Orioles for their failures to improve upon a solid core, as their window for competition arguably closes. As we noted this past week, Chris Davis has been talking from both sides of his mouth about the offseason – he’s confident in the guys we have, but wants the team to go out and get more starting pitching.

Recently, Adam Jones was asked for his thoughts on the offseason.  That’s right – Adam Jones, the brash, mouthy clubhouse leader. Reporters leaned in and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, he disappointed them by starving them for content.

I’m not concerned about who we haven’t added…. I’m concerned about the mindset of the guys already on the team, and the guys that are going to be on that team March 31.

…

Let [the Yankees and Red Sox] spend their money. It just creates bigger disappointments if things go bad.

…

I like the idea of the in-house thing. They know our organization. They know the personnel. And they have tremendous talent.

 

Source: USA Today

After trashing the organization for the past couple of months, I find it refreshing to hear this kind of thing. Even if he’s just toeing the company line, Adam Jones’ quotes serve as a reminder that the game is played on grass, rather than on paper, and that sometimes crazy things like 2012 happen. Jones maybe be blowing smoke at reporters who were looking for something juicy. Or, he may simply be determined to overcome the shortcomings of his own squad as much as he is determined to overcome the competition of the AL East.

Whatever the case, I can’t wait to see Jones take that attitude to the field. Come March 31st, I’ll be cheering like crazy for whatever personnel the front office has put together. Bring on the Spring. Jones seems antsy.

So am I.