Adam Jones is Golden and So is JC

Since most DC fans have stopped caring about baseball since, oh 1997, just thought I would break the news that Oriole CF Adam Jones was officialy awarded his first Gold Glove today. Although he isn't deserving, he had a good season in the field and deserves it more than Derek Jeter or Torii Hunter. This is also the type of award that once you win, you will keep winning, so get ready for a string of these if Jones can stay healthy. Also remember that the Orioles lost 98 games last year and that a string of gold gloves will only make Jones more costly for the O's to keep. My stomach hurts...


The other good news for DC fans today is that Aaron Schatz, the founder and head of Football Outsiders, stated on the 11/9 BS Report with Bill Simmons of espn.com that his surprising fact of the season is that, "Jason Campbell is, at worst, a league-average quarterback." JC has obviously caught tons of flack for this season's shit show, currently sits at #26 in the FO QB rankings, and FO's metrics have trouble separating QBs from the teams they play on (with an example being the performance of Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler after switching places), so what gives?
Schatz notes that JC has clearly been the victim of an awful offensive line and is still setting career highs in completion percentage and yards-per-pass. Schatz also notes that even JC's worst season has been better than replacement level. Considering everything that JC has gone through, it is frustrating to think about what he could have become had he been in a decent and consistent sytem with NFL-caliber linemen for the entirety of his career. The bad news? As Schatz says, "...he will go somewhere in free agency, and if he goes somewhere that has an actual offensive line and some pieces around him, he will probably shock people.....that guy has been put through the ringer." Amen brother.

(Images courtesy of balorioles.mlblogs.com and tailgate365.com)