If you watched yesterday's Orioles win over the Red Sox, one thing you could not help but notice is that the Orioles outfield was having some problems, defensively. Although Mark Trumbo was placed in left field because it was deemed the less demanding task due to the Green Monster requiring less range, this did not work out in practice.
What actually happened was that pop flies were duffed and caroms off the Monster were misplayed, with neither Trumbo nor center fielder Joey Rickard seeming sure of what to do about them.
Who the Orioles really needed out there was Adam Jones, who knows his stuff, and for one inning at least, they got him, with Jones entering in the ninth inning to make extra sure they could seal a victory and not have any shenanigans occur.
They will not be getting Jones in today's game, or at least not in the starting lineup. For the fifth consecutive game, he's not in the lineup. And today the story on Jones is the same that it has been all along:
Jones said yesterday swinging was the only time he felt discomfort. Must still be an issue- though both he & Buck said weather isn't helping
— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) April 12, 2016
Of course, since he played in Monday's game, now if they do place him on the disabled list later, they won't be able to back-date the DL trip in order to get him back sooner. With the O's having a 6-0 record, you can't really say they've been hurting in his absence.
Still, Jones is one of the best O's players, and if they're going places this year he'll likely have to be a key contributor. So to see him not playing is frustrating, though surely not as frustrating as it is for Jones himself not to play.
The starting nine behind Mike Wright, who will at last be making his first O's start in the 2016 campaign:
1. Joey Rickard - CF
2. Manny Machado - 3B
3. Chris Davis - 1B
4. Mark Trumbo - RF
5. Matt Wieters - C
6. Pedro Alvarez - DH
7. J.J. Hardy - SS
8. Jonathan Schoop - 2B
9. Ryan Flaherty - LF
As you see, Trumbo shifts over to right field, which is probably OK. I mean, anything to not have him out there trying to handle the Monster like he did yesterday.
And drawing the task of dealing with the Monster is... Flaherty? Well, he can't do any worse than Trumbo did. He also has decent career numbers against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, as well as in Fenway Park in general. At least that's something.