Orioles head athletic trainer Richie Bancells tends to Adam Jones, who sprained his left ankle attempting to get back to first base Tuesday against the Yankees. (Baltimore Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr. / September 1, 2009) |
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Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones will miss two to three weeks and could be done for the remainder of the season after severely spraining his left ankle Tuesday night.
"We've got five weeks left; of course I want to be there on the field with my teammates. There's nothing I'd rather do," Jones said. "But at the same time, you've got to be smart. Is it smart enough to come back for the last couple of weeks, or is it smart enough to just let it heal all the way and come back next year?"
Jones, the club's lone All-Star, has hit .277 with 19 homers and 70 RBIs in 119 games this season. He has struggled in the second half, however, batting just .222 after hitting .303 in the first half.
"It's frustrating on that level. I haven't been swinging the bat as well as I was earlier in the year," Jones said. "I just wanted to have a strong finish and this I wouldn't say eliminates that, but it hurts my chances for me coming back for the rest of the year."
In the sixth inning of Tuesday's 9-6 loss to the New York Yankees, Jones hit a grounder to third and reached first base safely when Mark Teixeira (Mount St. Joseph) failed to catch the throw. Jones turned toward second and then attempted to get back to first, landing awkwardly on the bag and collapsing. He wanted to stay in the game but was removed during a Yankees pitching change.
X-rays were negative Tuesday night, and the swelling had subsided some by Wednesday, but Jones hobbled into an afternoon news conference on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his left foot. He tossed the crutches to the side before taking the podium.
"You know me: If I could play through it, I would," Jones said. "I can't even stand on it, so it would be pointless for me to even attempt it."
Orioles manager Dave Trembley said Felix Pie would get the majority of the time in center field with newly recalled outfielder Jeff Fiorentino assuming an expanded role. Luke Scott, who has been attempting to learn first base, also could play some left field.
Regardless, it will be a challenge to replace Jones' all-around contributions.
"It's not a pleasant feeling to lose a guy the caliber of Jones," Trembley said. "When you lose a guy like that in the middle of the lineup, the middle of the diamond, the middle of your clubhouse, that's a major blow."
"I just kind of got back to trying to relax, just slowing the game down and making pitches," Albers said. "I really didn't have too much to work on except for that. Obviously, the Triple-A setting and the atmosphere, you just don't feel as much pressure. I thought I threw the ball pretty well down there and got a few things straightened out.
Albers made a successful return to the big leagues by throwing two scoreless and hitless innings in the Orioles' loss Tuesday.
It was a significant improvement over his last stint with the club. Albers had been scored on in six of his seven outings in August, allowing 16 earned runs, 18 hits and six walks in six innings. His ERA jumped from 3.50 to 5.85 during that span.
"I obviously got sent out once early, but the season was going pretty good," Albers said. "Then, I had a rough couple of weeks. I kind of let a bad outing keep multiplying. Other than that, I've been pretty happy with the season. Obviously, this is a great opportunity to kind of end on a good note."
"He got some medication from Dr. [John] Wilckens and was told to have two full days off from throwing, and I believe he has thrown just one time in the last seven days," Trembley said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.
"We've got five weeks left; of course I want to be there on the field with my teammates. There's nothing I'd rather do," Jones said. "But at the same time, you've got to be smart. Is it smart enough to come back for the last couple of weeks, or is it smart enough to just let it heal all the way and come back next year?"
Jones, the club's lone All-Star, has hit .277 with 19 homers and 70 RBIs in 119 games this season. He has struggled in the second half, however, batting just .222 after hitting .303 in the first half.
"It's frustrating on that level. I haven't been swinging the bat as well as I was earlier in the year," Jones said. "I just wanted to have a strong finish and this I wouldn't say eliminates that, but it hurts my chances for me coming back for the rest of the year."
In the sixth inning of Tuesday's 9-6 loss to the New York Yankees, Jones hit a grounder to third and reached first base safely when Mark Teixeira (Mount St. Joseph) failed to catch the throw. Jones turned toward second and then attempted to get back to first, landing awkwardly on the bag and collapsing. He wanted to stay in the game but was removed during a Yankees pitching change.
X-rays were negative Tuesday night, and the swelling had subsided some by Wednesday, but Jones hobbled into an afternoon news conference on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his left foot. He tossed the crutches to the side before taking the podium.
"You know me: If I could play through it, I would," Jones said. "I can't even stand on it, so it would be pointless for me to even attempt it."
Orioles manager Dave Trembley said Felix Pie would get the majority of the time in center field with newly recalled outfielder Jeff Fiorentino assuming an expanded role. Luke Scott, who has been attempting to learn first base, also could play some left field.
Regardless, it will be a challenge to replace Jones' all-around contributions.
"It's not a pleasant feeling to lose a guy the caliber of Jones," Trembley said. "When you lose a guy like that in the middle of the lineup, the middle of the diamond, the middle of your clubhouse, that's a major blow."
Working on mental approach
When he was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk for a third time this season Aug. 18, reliever Matt Albers' focus was more on his mind-set than his mechanics."I just kind of got back to trying to relax, just slowing the game down and making pitches," Albers said. "I really didn't have too much to work on except for that. Obviously, the Triple-A setting and the atmosphere, you just don't feel as much pressure. I thought I threw the ball pretty well down there and got a few things straightened out.
Albers made a successful return to the big leagues by throwing two scoreless and hitless innings in the Orioles' loss Tuesday.
It was a significant improvement over his last stint with the club. Albers had been scored on in six of his seven outings in August, allowing 16 earned runs, 18 hits and six walks in six innings. His ERA jumped from 3.50 to 5.85 during that span.
"I obviously got sent out once early, but the season was going pretty good," Albers said. "Then, I had a rough couple of weeks. I kind of let a bad outing keep multiplying. Other than that, I've been pretty happy with the season. Obviously, this is a great opportunity to kind of end on a good note."
Mickolio dealing with fatigue
Trembley said rookie reliever Kam Mickolio has been dealing with fatigue in his right biceps and was not available for the past four days. It's why he didn't enter Tuesday's close game, but he pitched Wednesday, giving up two earned runs on two hits and two walks in one-third of an inning."He got some medication from Dr. [John] Wilckens and was told to have two full days off from throwing, and I believe he has thrown just one time in the last seven days," Trembley said.
Around the horn
The Orioles named Single-A Frederick corner infielder Brandon Waring and Double-A Bowie closer Luis Lebron the organization's Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for August. Waring hit .286 with nine homers, eight doubles, 25 RBIs and a .619 slugging percentage in 27 games for the Keys. Lebron allowed just two hits and no runs in 14 innings while striking out 20 batters and converting all four of his save opportunities. ... The Carolina League named Frederick's Zach Britton its Pitcher of the Year and Waring its Player of the Year. Britton went 9-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 25 games for the Keys, including 24 starts. He struck out 131 and walked 55 in 140 innings. ... With three days off in the next week, the Orioles will not skip any starters' turns, but instead will give everyone extra rest. ... Nick Markakis was honored before the game for being the Orioles' Roberto Clemente Award nominee. ... Scott's homer onto Eutaw Street on Tuesday night was the fourth of his career, putting him one behind Rafael Palmeiro for most home runs hit onto the street behind the right-field scoreboard.Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.
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What happened probably was unavoidable. However, does Adam Jones have to be making injury causing catches when we are behind by a large score anyway? The injuries and time off arent worth the effort. Its not like it is a World Series game or something like that. We probably arent going out of last place anyway by the second half and I would say to be more careful. By this I dont mean to not try. When the team has a chance for the playoffs, etc. then that is different, and maybe that, for us at least, means early in the season. This is the manager's responsibility.
John_11 (09/03/2009, 8:09 AM )