The Adam Jones Extension Press Conference

The Orioles are busily maintaining the fiction that someone will be surprised that the 11:30am "major announcement" they've been talking about since yesterday will be the Adam Jones contract extension's official unveiling.

I assume there will be a little press conference where Dan Duquette talks about what a qualified and dependable player Jones has been for the ballclub, and Jones will talk about how the most important thing to do in Baltimore is win, that he wants to win and he wouldn't have agreed to extend his contract here if he didn't believe the team was finally turning the corner.

The extension has been reported to be a six-year contract (kicks in next year, the 2013 season) for $85.5 million, with some no-trade protection and potential escalators that could increase the value to $91.5 million. Not bad for a guy whose professional baseball career began when he got a call in his high school government class that he'd been drafted.

The press conference will be live at 11:30am on MASN, Orioles.com, and apparently also on MLB Network. Tune in for yourself if you like. If you can't get to either of those, I will be doing my best to dutifully transcribe tidbits as the thing is on the air.