Los Angeles Dodgers: Where Have You Gone, Andruw Jones?

Andy Pettitte left a fastball over the plate that Andruw Jones turned on and drilled high over the left-field wall.

Brian Boehringer, who took over for Pettitte after two and one-third innings, hung a slider over the plate that Jones launched over Monument Park.

''You don't ever expect a 19-year-old to do this,'' Braves General Manager John Schuerholz said. ''This is spectacular and special.''

Jones not only became the youngest player to homer in a World Series, replacing Mickey Mantle, who hit his first when he was 20, but also became only the second player to homer in his first two times at bat in a World Series. Gene Tenace of the Oakland A's did it in 1972.

Andruw Jones, scouted at age 15, signed at 16, World Series hero at 19.  Two huge home runs in his first game at Yankee Stadium, a teenager the baseball world barely knew.

Fast forward to 2008. Andruw Jones has left the only team he has ever played for in the majors and goes Hollywood to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Andruw signed a two-year, $36.2 million contract with the Dodgers to add a Gold Glove to their outfield and a big bat into the heart of their lineup.

This past week, Andruw was moved to eighth in the lineup the first time in his career.

What happened?

Entering his 13th season in the majors, age could be catching up with the former Atlanta star.  Scott Boras managed to convince the Dodgers that the 31-year-old Andruw was the player they wanted in center this season.

However, with outfield sluggers like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Juan Pierre all struggling to get into the lineup, there can only be so much room for a veteran hitter who is in a decline.

What kind of decline has Andruw been in, lets take a look...

• AVG - .262 in 2006 to .222 in 2007
• OBP - .363 in 2006 to .311 in 2007
• HR - 51 in 2005 to 41 in 2006 to 26 in 2007
• SLG % - .531 in 2006 to .413 in 2007

These numbers are hard to look at for people who want to see Andruw come out of the funk he is in, especially Joe Torre, the new manager of the Dodgers.

In 1996, Joe Torre was on the opposite end of a lopsided Braves victory in Game 1 of the World Series against the Braves and their young star. Torre is one of the many supporters of Andruw Jones, but Jones is clearly not the same guy we have come to know in center field.

Despite his declining numbers, Andruw Jones is still one of the best defensive outfielders the game has seen in quite some time.  He is a 10-Time NL Gold Glove Award Winner (1998-2007).

Jones is also a powerful hitter. He led the majors in 2005 with 51 home runs, setting a team record for the Atlanta Braves.  He also won the Hank Aaron Award for best offensive player in the 2005 season.

So what happened, you ask?  While age could be a factor, there are plenty of players who are Andruw's age that still put up great numbers.  Not only that, Andruw has been a healthy and versatile player most of his career, so its hard to believe age is causing this slump.

I believe his big offensive year in 2005 has Andruw trying too hard.  He hasn't really shown any patience at the plate.  The way he swings, he almost comes out of his cleats, his lower leg and top of his foot are touching the ground. It just doesn't look natural.  

So far this season he has struck out 22 times in 77 at-bats and only hit the long ball once two weeks ago, in his return to Turner Field.  Showing up to spring training overweight didn't further his cause of turning things around.

I actually believe Andruw will improve.  Don Mattingly could be one of the main factors of the success of Jones this season.  Listening to some instructions from Mattingly, if he chooses to, or if Mattingly even gives him the time of day, could be crucial to the outcome of this season. 

Mattingly, however, isn't the hitting coach. That job belongs to Mike Easler.  Either way, the Dodgers have invested way too much money into Jones for him to ride the bench all season, so not starting him won't be an option.

While it's not 1996 anymore, if Andruw still has love for the game, he will dig down deep into those playing days to finish out his career the way he started it.