MLB Notes: Baltimore’s Adam Jones calls small crowds ‘eerie,’ wants to see more support

Center fielder Adam Jones held his tongue as he watched Orioles attendance dwindle over the past 16 months, but he said Wednesday that it’s a sad situation and he’s not sure exactly how to explain it.

“We’re going out there busting our tails,” he said before Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. “The fans’ impact at Camden Yards is unbelievable. I think they know that. I think they understand that. The players understand that. Obviously, this week and this last homestand, this last 11 games, are arguably the most important games of the season. We’ve fought our tails off for 150 games to put ourselves into a unique situation in September. That’s what you say, you want to play important September baseball, and part of September baseball, especially if you’re in the East, is the fans.”

The Orioles have drawn fewer than 40,000 fans combined for the first two games of a series that already has had a big impact on the team’s postseason prospects – though not a positive impact. Jones said the situation is “not sad, just, like, eerie,” and wonders why the crowds aren’t bigger.

“Every place you go, the fans are going to be there,” he said. “You go to Detroit, they were there for them. Boston, which is one of the most desirable places to be at anyway, so they’re there. I know when we go on the road to Toronto, you know they’re going to be there. They’ve been there since the trade deadline last year.”

So why aren’t more fans here?

“I think there are many different sides of it,” he said. “It’s due to school starting, weather – which is understandable – and danger, which I don’t see. I understand but I don’t necessarily see that.”

“I’m not going to say I’m disappointed,” he added. “We grind and grind and grind. I understand. There’s a lot of factors to it. The tickets are a little higher, but you can bring in your own food and beverages. You take in the marketing, promotions, I’m sure they’re not the best. I get all that, but I’m saying, the city wanted a winner. The last five years we’ve gotten a winner. I don’t know if they’ve gotten complacent on us from winning. I hope they haven’t, because winning is fun every single year. Being in this race is very exciting every single year.”

Jones said he obviously isn’t criticizing the fans who are showing up every night to support the team.

“To the ones who have been coming every night, thank you with open arms,” Jones said. “We appreciate it because you don’t have to and we know what you have to go through to get here. Some people commute very far. Some people live downtown. Some people live in other cities. We do appreciate the support that has come through.”

The club can take solace in the fact that the club’s MASN ratings are strong, but obviously the TV audience doesn’t affect the atmosphere in the ballpark.

“I know 1/8the ratings 3/8 are really good,” he said, “but we can’t tell who’s watching the game on TV.”

Gomez, Kela deny allegations

Texas Rangers outfielder Carlos Gomez and reliever Keone Kela both denied allegations by Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia that they were intent on injuring his shortstop, Andrelton Simmons, on Tuesday night.

“Why do they make that comment when they don’t do the right stuff?” Gomez said on Wednesday.

Scioscia said Gomez was irritated at Simmons blocking him off second base on a tag play in the sixth and indicated there would be retaliation. In the seventh, Kela threw a high pitch to Simmons. Scioscia said the pitch nearly hit Simmons in the neck.

“I wasn’t trying to throw at his neck,” Kela said. “I’ve never been the type of individual who wants to harm an opposing player at any time. The ball slipped. I wasn’t trying to hit him in the ear, as you could tell from the pitches moving forward.

”If Mike Scioscia wanted to know how I felt, he could have come and asked me about it.“

Gomez acknowledged he was upset at how Simmons blocked the base because it created the risk of injury. Gomez said he never threatened that there would be a payback by the Rangers.

”I said “Hey, just play clean. That’s not necessary,’ ” Gomez said. “It’s not just about me. It’s about anybody. You can’t play that type of game.

Players hold post-anthem standoff

Colorado reliever Carlos Estevez and St. Louis outfielder Jose Martinez faced each other in an unusual way – a playful post-national anthem standoff.

With Wednesday’s game about to start, Estevez and Martinez stood near their dugouts – with their hand over their heart – and refused to back down until the other moved first. Martinez’s teammates offered support by bringing him water and a batting helmet. Estevez’s teammates countered by spraying him with sunscreen and giving him a catcher’s mask. The befuddled umpiring crew didn’t quite know what to do.

Apparently, Estevez relented first and made a winner of Martinez, who jumped up and down in celebration before retreating to the dugout.

The start of the game was delayed several minutes by the good-natured prank.

Clearing the bases

Braves reliever Jose Ramirez dropped the appeal of his three-game suspension for throwing a pitch near the head of Marlins ace Jose Fernandez. Ramirez began serving his penalty Wednesday. … CF Jacoby Ellsbury is back in the Yankees starting lineup after he missed two games with a bruised right knee. … Steven Matz is tentatively scheduled to return to the Mets’ rotation Friday night.