Interview with Andruw Jones

I had a chance to speak with Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones this past Saturday in the Braves clubhouse before the game. He was much more forthcoming than I thought he would be, and I actually appreciated his answers a bit more than the Atlanta press has let on the last few weeks. I hope you will also see a bit of a different side of Andurw. (And he only says something is "no big deal" once.)

Martin Gandy: How happy have you been with the team's performance this year?

Andruw Jones: We're doing good.

MG: What do you think about the level of play of the other teams in the division?

AJ: They're all professional baseball teams, they're all going to go out there and play and try and win games just like we do. So , the competition is the same.

MG: The Braves seem to be winning against good teams, but not playing well against bad teams, can you attribute that to any particular thing?

AJ: I don't know, they just play better than we do. When we don't hit, or we don't pitcher, we're not going to win. We get up for every game - we're professionals.

MG: What players on this team have surprised you this year?

AJ: No surprises. We all know the ability that everybody's got on the team.

MG: Did you think that Kelly Johnson would be as good as he's been?

AJ: Yeah. Well, the adjustment to second base, yes. He worked hard on it and has proven it. But he has the ability. He was an infielder before, he got drafted as an infielder, and he made a good adjustment to play second base.

MG: A lot of people have asked you about your performance. How do you handle those questions on a day to day basis?

AJ: I don't know. We're winning and we're playing good baseball, and that's what the key is. As far as me, it's a long season, so, it really doesn't matter what kind of number you put up there - you play to win, you don't play for yourself. Whatever numbers you've got are the numbers you've got - there's always next year.

MG: When you're not going well as a player like you have been here recently, do you lean on anyone, do you rely on anyone for advice or support?

AJ: No, not really. When you're down, you're down. It's you, it's nobody else. You just have to keep playing and you'll come out of it. I've been playing this game in the big leagues for 11 years and I've been struggling for whole months before.

MG: So you're pretty confident you'll come out of it?

AJ: You always have to be confident. This is the game, it's a mental game. If you're not mentally prepared for this game, you're not going to be successful. I've been successful for years before, so I really don't see me struggling as a big deal.