Orioles outfielder fielder Adam Jones didn’t have a lot to say about the passive-aggressive way baseball operations chief Dan Duquette hinted that he should play deeper in center field, but it’s pretty obvious that he wasn’t happy about it.
“We’re all entitled to an opinion, correct?" he said during his first extended interview with reporters of spring training.
Duquette was actually responding to comments by Jones at Orioles FanFest that questioned whether the front office had done enough over the winter to address the team’s defensive limitations at the corner outfield positions. Instead of questioning Jones directly, Duquette quoted retired outfielder and ESPN analyst Doug Glanville, who believes the O’s would be better off if Jones didn’t play so shallow in center.
So, one of the first questions Jones was asked on Saturday morning was whether he was going to do anything differently during the upcoming season.
“We shall see,” he said. "I might be up in that center field section up there having a few pops during the game if that’s where they want me to play, but at the end of the day I’m going to do what I do and that’s just how it works.”
Pitchers and catchers reported for duty on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. The Orioles begin the 2017 season at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3.
Jones also bristled at a question about whether he might have been a little too honest in his assessment of the effort the team made to upgrade the outfield defense over the winter.
“No. What’s too honest, telling the truth?" he said. "I think that shows that I care. I’m here for one reason. I’m not here to be friends with anybody. I’m here to win, and at the end of the day I think that’s what we’re all here for.
"From myself to PR people to general manager, everybody that scouts, I think we’re all in the same mission is to win a championship for Baltimore. If they want to have friends, I’ve got my own friends. I don’t need any more friends. I’m here for one reason and that’s to win.”
“We shall see,” Orioles’ Adam Jones said. "I might be up in that center field section up there having a few pops during the game if that’s where they want me to play, but at the end of the day I’m going to do what I do and that’s just how it works.” (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun video)
“We shall see,” Orioles’ Adam Jones said. “I might be up in that center field section up there having a few pops during the game if that’s where they want me to play, but at the end of the day I’m going to do what I do and that’s just how it works.” (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun video)
Orioles’ Manny Machado talks about the team’s future. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun video)
Orioles’ Manny Machado talks about the team’s future. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun video)
Still, Jones appeared to have some fun with the minor controversy during Friday’s first full-squad workout. When the outfield drills began on the field that mirrors the dimensions at Camden Yards, Jones jogged all the way out to the 410 sign and stood on the warning track while the other players assembled in medium center field.
Jones deflected questions about a possible contract extension, saying that his long-term future with the team is "not up to me."
"Do you want me to go to Peter and say, ‘Excuse me Mr. Angelos, can I have some more money?’ ” he said. "That’s not going to happen. If you go out and handle your things between the lines, everything will handle itself.”
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