Andruw Jones reminds me of milk. Yes, milk.
He was really good for most of the time, got a little spoiled and ultimately became flat out bad.
That bad part is happening now.
Jones is in his 13th major league season, a number that represents bad luck. And Jones has that.
Despite his home run total dropping from 51 in 2005 to 41 in 2006 to just 26 last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to pay him just over $36 million for two seasons. His signing bonus was just over $12 million.
I realize the Dodgers have been searching for a big bat to place in the middle of their lineup, but has the Dodgers' front office and scouts not paid attention to his decline?
Heck, Jones' slugging percentage last season was .413. Not exactly a sexy number.
He batted .222 in his last season with the Braves as well. Yuck!
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So far this season, Jones is batting a whopping .162 and slugging .248.
Through 32 games, Jones has struck out 36 times in 105 at-bats.
OK, well that's enough of the cellar-dweller stats. Let's get to why those stats are what they are.
I have one reason that can branch off into other reasons--work ethic. In my near decade of watching Jones smash home runs and rob others of home runs, I realized Jones' work ethic seems apathetic.
He has always gone about his game nonchalantly. He's always seen with a sarcastic grin, even when striking out. This is just my personal opinion, so correct me if I'm wrong.
His work ethic (or lack thereof) also led to him showing up to Dodgers training camp at nearly 250 pounds. He must have been training with Miguel Cabrera in the offseason.
Lastly, his overall mechanics at the plate are off. Terry Pendleton worked with Jones extensively in Atlanta at trying to improve his stance. Jones thinks of himself as strictly a pull hitter, so convincing him to attempt to hit toward the opposite field is out of the question. Joe Torre and Don Mattingly have been trying in Los Angeles, but it hasn't worked yet.
Jones is getting older, but had he taken part in any workout regimen in the offseason, I believe his results would at least be a little better. He should be in the prime of his career, but instead, he's in the decline.
I've never met the guy, but it seems he's content just collecting that large paycheck.
His work ethic is nonexistent, and in turn, so is his impact on the game.
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3 months ago
I remember in Andruw Jones' early years Bobby Cox took him out of a game after lazily playing a catchable line drive off a bounce. After that game, Jones played the best center field in all of baseball. Like you said, that work ethic seems to be far from what it used to be. Maybe Joe Torre needs to give him some tough love in L.A.?
As far as Jones strictly being a pull hitter, I know that was one of the main things Pendelton tried to improve about Jones' swing the past couple years in Atlanta. When he took those away pitches oppo, he was a great hitter. Unfortunately, most of the time he would still try to pull the ball to left field.
Regarding the Dodger's front office approach to the acquisition of Andruw, I'm sure they were hoping that the 2007 season was just a fluke, and that he would turn it around this year, but that's a pretty expensive risk.
I enjoyed Andruw's years in Atlanta and I hope for his sake he pulls a U-Turn on his recent play, otherwise he won't be very attractive to the free agent market. Good article.
3 months ago
I'd love to see Jones succeed, but I've got a problem. Watch a Dodgers game on TV and you'll see it. When Jones makes a mistake and a rain of boos cascades down on him, he gets a look on his face- a nice big smirk.
That's not going to win him any more fans. We'd much rather see him frustrated with his play, rather than laughing off the fans who are frustrated with his sub-Mendoza line start.
from 3 months ago
That's how Andruw is though, it's not necessarily a smirk saying "I'm happy I suck right now", it's the same smirk he wore in Atlanta his whole career. I believe it's more along the lines of a disappointed smirk.
3 months ago
The Dodgers paid $36 million for a seriously 'fading' star? How could they not see what many fans like myself saw last year? It was obvious to me that Andruw was lost at the plate most of the time.
3 months ago
Another nice article on a former Braves star. I saw Andruw come into his own in 1996. The Atlanta papers had him down as possibly the next Willie Mays. He hit hard, hit often and was supposed to be the best CF since Mays roamed the Polo Grounds. His two HRs at Yankee stadium during the WS validated his whirlwind tour through the majors.
Andruw has incredibly raw talent. But that talent was never really honed in the minors- he wasn't there long enough. Work ethic, discipline, taking correction from coaches, patience at the plate, etc. were never really impressed upon him as I think they should have in the minor league school of hard knocks. He was always had the natural talent to clock a fastball, middle in. His age, a solid scouting report on his swing, and lack of discipline seems to have caught up to his talent last year here in Atlanta.
It seems like last year, the NL pitchers wised up. Andruw got a steady diet of breaking pitches away- with an occasional fastball. Terry Pendleton spent untold hours with him in BP sessions- trying to help him take them to the opposite field. He did make efforts to do so early last season, but then subbornly reverted back to pulling everything. The word spread like wildfire- throw Andruw slow breaking stuff away. His stats last year speak for themselves. I think maybe that Pendleton's coaching may have messed up his natural stroke; one thing is for sure is that it is Torre's problem now.
As for his work ethic, he did need to be sat down in the middle of an inning by Cox after playing a soft liner on a hop. I am glad another person remembered that because it was so out of character for Cox to discipline someone that immediate and that drastically. Bobby didn't even wait until the end of the game.
Andruw has had it much easier than he may think; now it has caught up with him. As big of a superstar he was here in Atlanta, he may need some rehab work on the farm to learn how to hit a curve- or anything else for that matter. It is sad to see such talent be negated by what I deem to be some immaturity- growth I think he should have undergone in the minors years ago.
3 months ago
i have never seen anybody go form that good to garbage so fast. good article
3 months ago
Kemp, Pierre, and Ethier are all lighting it up right now. There's your starting outfield. Jones should be on the bench, he is killing the middle of the lineup. If Torre benched him for a week or two at the least, he might wake up and start trying. It sure worked with Pierre. I'm tired of watching Jones swing at 3-0 pitches that are up and out of the zone, while at other times half-heartedly waving at 1-2 fastballs down the middle. He's had more than enough time to work out of this, meaning it's no mere slump. He was a bum last year and he's staggeringly worse this year. He seems like a nice guy, but that and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee.
3 months ago
Some of you are reading too much into Andruw's grin. It's just a grin he's always worn, through good times and bad. Baseball is a game, and he recognizes that. You're really nit picking when you harp on his grin.
As for his work ethic, I agree, and I think it is because he got up to the bigs at such a young age, there was never a chance for things of that nature to really be instilled upon him. It's not necessarily his fault. However, he's let himself get out of shape, and that should be disconcerting to Dodgers fans.
Andruw is not your typical 30 or so year old baseball player either. He's been in the lineup pretty much every day since he was 20 years old, and he's played a balls to the wall style of defense in center field. That sort of thing can wear on a body, see Ken Griffey Jr. I think Andruw's struggles are the combination of never being a real cerebral hitter, never having to hone that part of his game, never having a great work ethic instilled upon him, small minor injuries, physical wear and tear, and age have all culminated in what is a fading star. It is a fading star though that should still crash down in Cooperstown.
from 28 days ago
Dude, I'm a life-long Dodger fan. I went to last Saturday's game vs. the Nationals. And in my 25 years of bleeding Dodger Blue, I have NEVER HEARD A DODGER STADIUM CROWD BOOOOOOOO!!! like they did Andruw Jones. For f*cks sake, Paris Hilton works harder for 36 million! So, no Sir, it's not just a game. It's his professional. You'd think he'd give a flying f*ck.
27 days ago
Baseball is a game, period.
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