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Adam Jones Speaks, Baltimore Orioles Management Better Listen

By Nate Wardle

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Sep 19, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) hits a RBI single during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday, another dreary, wet and meaningless game for the Baltimore Orioles played out with the O’s beating the Toronto Blue Jays, thanks in large part to Manny Machado‘s two home runs, two stolen bases, and just Manny continuing to show how good he is.

But, what caught my attention were the remarks of Adam Jones, the face of the Orioles’ franchise.

Jones held what ended up being an impromptu news conference, talking about what the offseason could hold for the Orioles.

As the face of the franchise, in my opinion Adam’s thoughts should hold a lot of weight. Let’s not forget Jones’ frustration with the fact that Nelson Cruz and particularly Nick Markakis were not brought back to Baltimore.

Adam remarked that resigning Chris Davis needs to be the offseason’s top priority. Jones stated, as quoted in Roch Kubatko’s School of Roch blog:

"“Obviously, I love playing with him. He plays a hell of a first base. He plays the game, he games up every day no matter what. I’ve grown to admire the way he goes about his business and obviously, the production, that’s just icing on the cake. Because I get to see the guy inside here. To me, I think he’s probably the highest priority, but he’s earned himself a right to go and hear all 29 other offers.“Forty-five (home runs) and 120 (RBIs), that’s video game numbers. He’s earned his right to hear everybody out.”"

Adam went on to add that the team cannot replace 40 home runs, as proven by this year’s offense (a subtle and appropriate jab at management).

Kubatko reported that Adam plans on meeting with team owner Peter Angelos to push for more spending to keep the clubhouse intact.

A lot is made, and maybe overstated about chemistry and coaching in sports. Some people doubt what it means, while others say you can’t have success, no matter the ability of the individuals, without team chemistry.

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I have always believed that a team needs good chemistry to be successful. There are lots of teams made up of good players who are not successful. A look down I-95 at the Washington Nationals shows that.

The Orioles clearly have good coaching, some of the best in baseball. I think most players would say that the chemistry this year was not quite as good without Markakis and Cruz, along with the constant turnover of important pieces of the roster.

Both Adam and Buck Showalter have said they want to keep the clubhouse intact.  That would mean re-signing the key players, like Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, and Darren O’Day, who are all team leaders.

It remains to be seen if that will happen.

I will say, if the Orioles want to keep players like Jones, Machado, Jonathan Schoop and others, they must show a commitment to spending money, to getting good, starter-caliber talent (not a collection of spare parts like this year) and to keeping the clubhouse largely intact.

Whether or not that happens, at this point, is anyone’s guess, as not even the team’s beloved manager, or the team’s best player know what to expect.

Next: Listing the top 7 Orioles for September

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