If you have been following my twitter feed, you have noticed that I love the Adam Jones deal. I retweeted Roch's tweet following the Jones signing that broke the news. Not only that, but I disputed the ignorant piece that was put up by Cliff Corcoran over at SI. I will go deeper into my piece here. You can read Corcoran's piece here. Don't forget to follow me on twitter @norob55, I recommend following @SimplyAJ10 and @masnRoch as well. Corcoran starts off talking about how great a year Jones is having and how he would have him 4th in MVP voting. I don't know who he has 2 and 3, but that is for him to say I guess. No way anyone besides Hamilton deserves the MVP more than Jones right now. Just kidding, as I wrote this I decided to look, it was Paul Konerko and Austin Jackson. That should tell you all you need to know about this guy's dislike of Jones, but he goes further.
His first dig says that Andrew McCutchen is a better player that is further from free agency. He says that the Orioles don't a steal like that deal. Look, I like McCutchen, but let's not go overboard here. McCutchen is fantastic and a year younger than Jones. McCutchen is .004 BA points better over his career, but he also plays in the National League Central. Who has better pitching, the AL East or NL Central? How can you even compare that. Jones also has 30 more career home runs in the AL East. This season McCutchen has a higher average, but Jones crushes him in every other category. How can you make an absurd claim like that.Corcoran then goes on to throw out all these insane stats to try to support his argument and say that it is not age related. Well then what do you make of his McCutchen argument? Andrew McCutchen is a career .282 hitter that is hitting .339 this year. How is he excused from his production bump, but not Jones? Adam Jones learned patience, is working hard, and now has protection in the lineup. Why can't that be here to stay? He is only 26. Ya McCuthen is 25, but if you factor in age for him, than you also have to do it with Adam Jones. Also Adam Jones is the better player. BY FAR.
-Noland
About Adam Jones--as you may know, I returned to Baltimore during the two summers when I was in the process of getting my Master's @ FSU. I also tended bar there the winter before I came to Tallahassee. The place I worked (on Fort Avenue--right near Fort McHenry) was located close to the building where Adam Jones lives (it's called Silo Point). Long story short, Adam Jones frequented two places in the neighborhood--a bar called Rafters in Locust Point, and a restaurant in Federal Hill called The Abbey Burger Bistro. I got to be friends with the bartender at Rafter's but never went in (he also worked at a place across the street that became one of my favorite spots--Captain Larry's). The funny thing is, Rafters (it's now closed and reopened as something else) was a real rough place--favored by dockworkers, longshoremen, and merchant marines. All of whom were white and ready to fight (Locust Point is the neighborhood featured in Season Two of "The Wire"). But everyone loved him there--he never had any problems at all. And then, when Showalter came onboard, I was talking to the head bartender at The Abbey and he said, "Yeah, Adam Jones used to come in here and do shots with us after games, stay real late, but since Buck got here, he just orders a fruit juice or a soda and a burger, and then goes home." A couple of times I just missed him at The Abbey, but I know that one day, I'll see him there, and shake his hand, and tell him that I'm a huge fan...
ReplyDeleteWow that is a crazy story bro. I have grown to really like the guy.
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