Adam Jones staying positive throughout dreadful season

The Orioles have lost a lot of baseball games this season. If you’ve lost count, they’ve dropped 111 be exact. To fans, this season has dragged on. September brought some brief excitement with prospects making their way to the show, but everyone is just about done here.

For the players, the guys paid money by the Angelos family to show up, I can only imagine the grind that this season has been. Playing for a team that was out of contention by May, they’ve still consistently played the game the right way. On top of that, they’ve conducted themselves with an attitude worthy of the Orioles logo.

This is hardly something to find solace in, fans want the team to win. But imagine having a bad day at work, 111 bad days of work to be exact, and then having to talk to a slew of reporters about why people at your place of work failed today. Keep in mind, it may not have even been your fault.

Again, I’m not suggesting the players deserve a hearty pat on the back. It’s their job to talk to the press. But we’re running out of things to talk about here, and Adam Jones knows it.

Jones played left field for a portion of Monday’s 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Jones hasn’t played much in left, so his place on the lineup card sparked the attention of just about everyone. The Orioles haven’t had the highest standard for defense in the corners this year, so a capable outfielder playing left isn’t much of a story. But again, there’s no playoff push to focus on.

When asked about his night in left, Jones was candid in his response.

“There’s nothing to write about, so you’re just trying to find something to write about,” Jones said. “I get it.”

Jones, like everyone else surrounding the team, is just trying to do his job in a season marred with a plethora of negative story lines.

“There’s nothing to talk about... We lost again.” “You’re trying to find something happy to write about, but every day you’re in the big leagues is a happy environment.”

Jones went on to talk about what a privilege it is to play the game of baseball. He referred to his time in Baltimore, was not shy about discussing his future, and spoke in a practical, down-to-earth form.

“I know this is not the year,” he said. And I know a lot of guys want this to be over with.”

Everyone be relieved when the 2018 season finally ends, but few are smiling at the idea of Jones’s time in Baltimore coming to a close.

If Sunday afternoon is Jones’s final game as a Bird, he won’t slam the door on his way out of the locker room. I don’t have to tell you all what Adam Jones has meant to this organization or the person that he’s been off the field. If you’re taking the time to read about this team in September, you already know.

Searching for one of the few remaining positives of this season, Jones resulted to the stereotypical at least I have my health.

“I feel ten times better at this point of the season than I did at all last year,” Jones said. “It’s good to feel good.”

He closed with a realistic approach on his future.

“It’s coming to an end here,” Jones said. “The season is, my contract is. But I’m an optimistic person.”

We know you are Adam, and we all appreciate it.