A day after Adam Jones twice let Oakland Athletics base runners go from first to third base on singles up the middle, Orioles interim manager Juan Samuel and third base and outfield coach John Shelby met with the center fielder and urged him to concentrate more on his defense.
A big part of the message was telling Jones, who usually positions himself shallower than most center fielders, to play a little deeper in an effort to cut down on the number of hits going over his head.
"[We're] not singling him out -- it's a team," Samuel said. "Those are the things we can control, those mistakes, and we just need to concentrate and maybe have him play a little bit deeper. Last year, he took back a lot of home runs. It's like I told him, 'If you play a little bit deeper and the ball falls in front of [you], we still got a double play set up.' Those balls in the gap, they end up being doubles and triples, so hopefully we start seeing some of that and get better."
Former manager Dave Trembley also met with Jones this spring and asked him to consider playing a little deeper. Jones experimented with it but said he didn't feel comfortable and felt too far from the action.
Jones' defense has been under the microscope a season after he became the first Orioles outfielder since Paul Blair in 1975 to win a Gold Glove.
The center fielder has made five errors this year, and Samuel said after Thursday's game that both Jones and left fielder Corey Patterson are much better defensively than they have played. While Patterson misplayed a routine Cliff Pennington fly ball into a two-run double in the second inning Thursday, Jones twice appeared to have a play on a runner heading to third base. On one of the occasions, he double-clutched and then unleashed a high and wide throw, and on the other, he didn't make a throw at all.
Jones was on the field about four hours before the scheduled first pitch Friday working with Samuel and Shelby and fielding ground balls and fly balls.
"We're trying to get him to charge the ball and not assume that guys are not going to take the extra base on him," Samuel said. "We're trying to have him get behind fly balls and not assume that guys aren't going to tag up. We also made him aware that, 'Hey, we can go into a slump at home plate, but we cannot afford to go in a slump on defense.'"
Britton getting closer
Rick Kranitz has seen left-handed prospect Zach Britton pitch once during the season at Double-A Bowie, when the pitching coach went to watch rehabilitating reliever Koji Uehara. But what Kranitz saw, coupled with what he has heard from other team officials, is enough for him to conclude that Britton is getting close to making his big league debut.
The 22-year-old pitched six shutout innings in his Triple-A debut Thursday night, allowing three hits, striking out four and not walking a batter. In his past eight minor league starts (the previous seven came for Double-A Bowie), Britton is 5-0 with an 0.85 ERA.
"It seems like he's right on target," Kranitz said. "I would assume that he's got to be close. ÃÂÃÂ He's dominated his league, so you need to look at him. Now he's pitched a good game in Triple-A. Let's see what he does a few more times and let him get accustomed to that. Hopefully, he won't let us keep him away from the big leagues."
After seeing him pitch at Bowie earlier this year, Kranitz urged Britton to use his secondary pitches more, and the recent scouting reports say he's been doing just that.
"From what I know of him, he has an extremely good sinker with velocity, gets a lot of ground balls and he has the secondary stuff, he just hasn't used it as much," Kranitz said. "I actually talked to him after I saw him pitch, and I talked to him about pitching more, using his slider a little bit more in different counts. I hear that he's doing that a lot better with his changeup as well. I think he's really increased his changeup. He's going to have to have that pitch up here."
Wigginton switches agents
Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton has left agent Dan Lozano and hired the New York-based Levinson Brothers as his new representation.
Wigginton made the decision after Lozano broke away from the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Around the horn
In his first rehab appearance for Double-A Bowie, reliever Michael Gonzalez allowed a solo homer in one inning of work against Akron on Friday. ... Reliever Jim Johnson (right elbow inflammation) is expected to throw a bullpen session today after being shut down for a couple of days with elbow discomfort. ... Rookie Josh Bell was in the lineup for a second straight night, this time at designated hitter ... When he was promoted Thursday, Bell became the 17th player to appear in games for both the Triple-A Norfolk Tides and the Orioles this season. Twelve of the players currently on the Orioles' 25-man roster have spent time in Norfolk the past two years. ... Outfielder Felix Pie experienced leg tightness Thursday night while playing for Double-A Bowie, but it wasn't serious and he was back in the Baysox's lineup Friday night.