Andruw Andruw

Andruw

If the cost is only 5mil for next year, I hope he gets a chance to bounce back playing in the Braves outfield. If we are not going to pursue Dunn, I would rather take my chances with Andruw then trade away prospects.

by gutisking on Jan 3, 2009 9:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm in total agreement

You either trade/pay for certain “sure” things like Peavy, Lowe, Manny, etc. and make a run or you take chances on cheap projects like Andruw and hope they pan out. There’s no use in trading prospects or paying big money for one or two guys when it’s obvious the Braves need more than that.

by Bobby Cocks on Jan 3, 2009 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ummm...

I wouldn’t take him for free, but I’m sure somebody will.

Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/

by ejruiz on Jan 3, 2009 10:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

This. He was remarkably bad for us in ‘07, even worse last year (amazingly), and has shown no indication of improvement or even a trend towards being anything close to league average. I wouldn’t want him in Atlanta at all. I loved him when he was here, but we need to move on.

by soup du jour on Jan 3, 2009 5:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You're right

No matter how much it hurts. We do need to move on.

by nick9314 on Jan 4, 2009 1:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Andruw

I don’t get why anyone would think that aj would be worth anything. Clearly yall didn’t watch him play his last year in Atlanta. I am tired of so called Braves fans thinking that Andruw will return to his form. Andruw is just a jerk in general he never got along with TP. He clearly thinks that he does not have to do a thing. Also, paying him more than a bag of jelly beans would be insane. The Dodgers would have to give us money to take him and deal with his crap. Andruw would play for Myrtle Beach this year if the Braves some how got him. Last, if Wren attempted to get Andruw back he should be fired.

N. Tyler Ayers

by TMAC85 on Jan 3, 2009 11:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

So now we’re “so called Braves fans”?
What would you have us do? It doesn’t look like Wren is interested in any of the big stick FAs. And I’m not up for trading away prospects for LF when we still have a glaring hole in the rotation. So either stick with what we have and continue to display teh suckage or sign some projects like Andruw. I’m ok with either option, but I don’t think it takes away from our fandom just b/c we think Andruw still has talent.

by Bobby Cocks on Jan 3, 2009 11:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what the hell constitutes a TRUE BRAVES FAN? oh do tell, i’m looking forward to this one.

and explain to me how signing someone to the league minimum to compete for a job in spring training is a fireable offense.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 3, 2009 12:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it's only the league minimum if LA releases him. I'm sure they would take whatever they can get in return.

IF………..and I truly mean a big IF:

Jones is playing in the braves outfield is he in LEFT or CENTER?

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 12:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

depends

if the braves feel schafer is ready Andruw would most likely play Left. If its blanco or anderson i could see the braves putting Andruw in Center… although a lot of this depends on Andruw and his ability to show up to camp in shape.

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 12:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Frency back on track, Jones back on track, schafer ahead of schedule????????

Outfield full of talent and a bunch of IF, IF, IF.

If were signing guys with potential for league minimums we should look into Freddy Garcia. He’s back from his 2007 shoulder surgery and is FA. Just a thought.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 1:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i didnt say it was gonna happen u asked a question i answered what i thought… i didnt say we should sign Andruw, i never said anythign about frenchy

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 1:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It was more of a statement or thought outloud that was meant to intrigue others to join in the conversation.

Without starting a fanpost. Your good. Calm down.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no damnit… i will not calm down… F u and the hrose u road in on

(laughs aloud to self)

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 6:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I hate saying this

But you’re right.

"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)

by FrankyWren on Jan 3, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Problem with Andruw is he's not a guy we can put between chipper and McCann anymore.

Plus if Andruw and Frenchy stink it up again next year we could be in a world of hurt. If you get Andrew for league minimum then great. He is an extremely low risk and has high upside but I think we still sign another bat.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 12:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

wow

This is insane I am sorry Andruw is exactly what the Braves don’t need. Why do we need a .220 hitter on a good year to hold up a spot when we have multiple outfielders that are better than he is aka Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco, Diaz is even better than Andruw. Bobby Cox does not like Andruw, TP does not like Andruw, JS does not like Andruw. Andruw would just plug up a hole sorry guys I am a realist we are in a rebuilding year this year LET THE KIDS PLAY. Not some fat slow outfielder that can’t even get a extra base hit in Winter Leagues. Andruw is the last thing we need on our team bringing back players from past years is not the answer. If you were a true fan you would know what is best for the team. Andruw is an asshole and is not a Brave or he would have taken less money to play for us. Please remember how horid it was to watch Andruw strike out with runners on oh only every time. So please get your heads out of your ass and see that Andruw is not the answer.

N. Tyler Ayers

by TMAC85 on Jan 3, 2009 1:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

u need a hug right now

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 1:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dude

For real. its about time someone got on here and said whats up. I mean, why are Braves fans so nostalgic? “Hey lets get Glavine back!” Yeah that was a great experiment. We should’ve told him to shove it and stay in NY with his money. Then everyone wanted Furcal. Lucky for us that didn’t work out, I don’t know why we needed an old middle infielder when we already have Yunel and KJ. And NOW everyone wants Andruw. Has anyone seen him swing a bat the past two years? He falls down like everytime. I am positive we can find someone else for cheaper if thats really what we want. So in closing, fuck you Andruw and fuck anyone who wants him back on the Braves. We need to look to the future, and Andruw is NOT that.

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

A fat slow outfielder dude where do u live or what do you watch because he is one of the best outfielders there is.

by That a boy on Jan 3, 2009 3:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Three or four years ago. Now he’s a fat slow outfielder.

by cbwilk on Jan 3, 2009 3:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He’s hardly fat and slow. Look at his pictures from the DWL, he’s lost alot of weight and he still was one of the best defensive CF in baseball while his bat sucked.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 3, 2009 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You’re more than entitled to your opinion, and personally I believe that in his heyday Andruw was the best defensive outfielder in the history of baseball. But for the last two to three years with the Braves he slowly ballooned and got slower and slower to the point where he simply wasn’t getting to balls that he used to. He added to that increasing lack of speed with a knee injury last year, so even when he was playing, and doing awfully at the plate, his defense was below average at best. The guy is not the same player he used to be.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 3:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

andruw jones 2007 UZR: 19.8

thats pretty good. second in the majors among outfelders, in fact.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 10:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No idea what exactly UZR is other than a defensive measurement and frankly we all know stats aren’t my friend. But, whatever the stats say, my eyes say the dude has gotten progressively worse, to the point that he’s a shadow of his former self, and I’d barely trust him in centerfield for a a few weeks, much less a season.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Misleading

C’mon Joe, you know better than that. UZR, and all other defensive metrics for that matter, are NOT good indicators when looking at a single seasons performance. While I like UZR the best it still boils down to someones opinion on whether a play was below/even/above average. Regardless, if you show his UZR in the context it was intended you can clearly see a trend:

2003 23.4
2004 22.5
2005 23.5
2006 19.5
2007 19.8
2008 3.7

Granted 2008 can be argued off as a small sample size, but it also wouldn’t be an outlandish argument that Andrew fell off a cliff defensively for whatever reason.

I’m sure you like Andruw, and I understand your point about taking him on as a project for league minimum, but there is no escaping the fact that Andruws defense is not what it once was. Worse, when you add in his offensive troubles it becomes easy to debate whether that league minimum salary isn’t better off being saved.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

UZR/150 is a better stat to look at if you’re going to go with a year-to-year analysis. Its basically UZR adjusted to 150 games played. In 2008 he obviously couldn’t save as many runs as he did in 2007, he didn’t have a similar amount of laying time.

2002: 18.6
2003: 26.0
2004: 25.4
2005: 28.6
2006: 19.5
2007: 20.5
2008: 12.4

As we see, he had a huge drop-off in 2008, because of the fac that he was playing on bum knees. Even on bum knees he was still a plus defender in CF. I’m not saying that he hasn’t declined, because he certainly has, I’m just saying that he’d still a plus defender.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 4, 2009 12:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

winnar

Dropping 5-8 runs on defense is HUGE. Basically Andruw went from the best CF EVER to just a really good CF while getting fat at the same time so people thought he stunk. I fell for that too at first. Stark’s book didn’t help either when he used putouts to say that Andruw had fallen off. Using putouts for measuring defense is about as accurate as using RBI to measure offensive production.

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Again

just to clarify my point, I didn’t say Andruw stunk. Just that the point I was responding to wasn’t a fair representation of his current ability.

One more point I would make, using ANYTHING to measure defense is inherently flawed. It simply isn’t possible to statistically quantify defense with 100% accuracy, though I’ll admit the newer metrics are far more accurate than their predecessors.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 5:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

regarding UZR/150 being a better indicator. Regardless, my point was to refute Bigjoe’s assumption that his 2007 UZR rating proved he’s still a good defender. Even Fangraphs will admit that using UZR as a basis for defining defensive ability over a single season is flawed, and it’s their stat.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 4:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

just because he’s not ANDRUW MO FAKKIN JONES, he’s not exactly adam dunn out there. he’s still quite good. instead of leading the league, he’s now in the top 5. i don’t see why thats some sort of massive strike against him

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

I dont understand why people say “he isnt as good as he used to be”.

Isnt that kind of like saying “5 Million dollars isnt what it used to be?”

Sure, it isnt, but it is still a hell of a lot of money!

Andruw may not be as good as he once was, but he is still one of the best in the game out in CF.

He aint as good as he once was, but he is as good once as he ever was…

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 4, 2009 2:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

W.T.F?

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 4:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

???

what dont you understand about that post? the analogy is pretty self explainatory.

and the last line is from a toby keith song.

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 4, 2009 6:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I dont understand why people say "he isnt as good as he used to be".

Isnt that kind of like saying "5 Million dollars isnt what it used to be?"

1. People say it because it is true
2. 5 Million dollars was more valuable 10 years ago than it is today. It’s called inflation!

Not only is your analogy not self explanatory (which by the way is the correct spelling), it’s about as far off as California is from New York.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 7:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what he was saying is even if 5M loses its value over 10 years… that doesnt mean 5M still isnt a lot of money.

which is true for Andruw as well, (presumably) even if his defense drops a bit then that doesnt mean he is a bad defender, he has merelt fallen down a level or two… which brings him from greatest CF ever to above average

this is a decent analogy and i think ur letting ur disagreement from other areas approach this situation.

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 4, 2009 7:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Glad you could decipher it

I isn’t quite as isn’t good at isn’t understanding sentences when isn’t there isn’t too many isn’t’s in it.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 7:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you really are a prick

you know that?

can you reword what i typed any better? I used punctuation, and complete sentences. What i wrote makes perfect sense, and you cant say you didnt understand it, bc you responded to it. remember when you typed this: I dont understand why people say “he isnt as good as he used to be”.

Isnt that kind of like saying “5 Million dollars isnt what it used to be?”
1. People say it because it is true
2. 5 Million dollars was more valuable 10 years ago than it is today. It’s called inflation!

Not only is your analogy not self explanatory (which by the way is the correct spelling), it’s about as far off as California is from New York."

now if you couldnt make out what i was trying to say b/c i used the third person tense of the verb “to be” in a negative sense, then why did you reply like you understood the post. you are just trying to find things wrong now and are doing a poor job of that. just admit you are being a dick, and move on.

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 4, 2009 7:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

spelling and grammar

you forgot to double space after your periods, which is the more accepted way of typing…dick.

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 4, 2009 7:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

neither did you…

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 7:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Intentionally

it is a freakin blog, not some term paper. I am not the one calling people out on spelling (as i have seen many times on this site) or grammar…i was making a point that if the D-bag is going to try to correct every mispelled word, he should probably make sure his own posts are grammatically correct.

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 4, 2009 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I gotta say Big Joe, I agree with you that, if he were released by the Dodgers, signing Andruw to a minor league deal and making him earn his spot on the roster would be a good move for the Braves. It’s full of huge IFs, but it would be cheap and you’d assume that a revitalized Andruw would be a great deal (including the return to amazing defense that would have to follow with him getting back in shape and working hard). I personally don’t think Andruw has it in him to rebound, for whatever reason, but it’d be nice.
My big question to you is, why are you so behind Andruw’s return, when you’re so against Francoeur? It wouldn’t take much argument to say that Francouer is decidedly better than Andruw and he’s still cheap.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 2:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

andruw fell off a cliff for one season based on injuries.

francoeur fell off a cliff for no reason whatsoever and hasn’t improved in 4 seasons what has been his problem.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 3:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wait, what? Andruw fell off the cliff after driving himself toward the edge in 2007, which was his worst year in a long time. It was acceptable in some respects, but was a huge dropoff from the previous two years.
Francoeur’s 07 was an improvement over 06 in pretty much every way. Then, yeah, he fell of the cliff in 08.
Francoeur is turning 25 this week and Andruw is turning 32 in April; who’s more likely to rebound?

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i’d take the player who’s had success in his career as opposed to the guy still living off hype from 4 years ago. some more food for thought: andruw’s 2007 BABIP was 30 points lower than francoeur’s 2008 BABIP. and he still walked more, had higher counting stats, had higher slash stats (except for the most useless of them all), and hell, even more runs scored.

with the exception of the past 2 seasons (which were plagued by injuries and a lack of luck), andruw jones has been a very good baseball player. over his entire career, jeff francoeur hasn’t been anything more than average.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 4:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn’t dispute that Andruw has been the better player. His best years are probably better than you could ever expect even a revitalized Francouer to produce. The guy was outstanding.

But, in concert with the decreasing numbers, is the increasing reality that Andruw’s conditioning is poor. You can’t argue that he has been in terrible shape, something that led directly to those injuries. Andruw is trending downward, even if we count 08 as an aberration. Francouer was trending slightly upward before 08, at worst creating a level of expectation (again, yes far lower than Andruw, no contest AJ is the better player in a holistic comparison). So if we count 08 as an aberration for both players, we’re left with one who’s older and trending down and one who’s younger and is at worst leveling off.

Like I said, I’m with you on taking a no risk, cheap flier on Andruw, I just don’t get your love for Andruw in the context of your distaste for Frenchy. If it’s personal preference, that’s cool, but I don’t think the trends bear it out.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 5:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe its because i’ve watched one real bad andruw season, and in that year, he at least provided bombs. i’ve watched 4 francoeur seasons right now, and haven’t been really thrilled since the first one.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 5:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

See, that I can get down with. I know where you’re coming from and you’re totally entitled to that opinion. I like Andruw and I’d love to see him rebound, and it’d be nice to see that happen with the Braves. It’d be even nicer to see he and Frenchy do it.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 5:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jesus H … are you serious? I’ll give you that AJ’s 2008 was marred with injuries but you can’t seriously be explaining away his 2007 as “lack of luck”. He fucking swung at EVERY PITCH, no matter the location. How was that bad luck? Of course his BABIP would be ridiculously low, he swung at stuff that even Vladdy himself couldn’t hit.

Granted, I see your point regarding Francoeur vs. AJ. The difference in my mind is that Francoeur is still young and has some potential left. AJ is done offensively.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 5:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He actually didn’t swing at many more pitches than his career average.

2005: 49.4%
2006: 44.3%
2007: 48.1%

It’s completely possible that nothing more than sheer luck and injuries hurt his numbers in 2007/2008.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 4, 2009 7:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Better stat is O-swing%

I’m assuming you know the stat, if not Fangraphs (my third plug today) is a good resource. Basically it’s the percentage of strikes outside the zone that a player swings at

2005 21.6%
2006 27.3%
2007 28.4%

Doesn’t matter how many pitches you swing at really, though that may be an over simplified statement, it’s how many hittable pitches you’re swinging at. The spike from 05 to 06 is huge and clearly shows that Andruw was flailing away at unacceptable offerings.

Another stat I like is O-contact%. If I understand it correctly it’s the number of pitches put into play that were thrown outside the strike zone.

2005 40.6%
2006 54.4%
2007 47.7%

Again, the major spike from 05 to 06 is a clear indicator that AJ’s plate discipline got thrown out the window.

Neither of these are attributable to luck or injury.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 7:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, I’m familiar with all of those and I can’t argue with that.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 4, 2009 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was fairly astounded by it as well. How can someone so good fall so far in a single year?

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 8:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

so if im reading this right he is hitting more balls that are out of the strike zone, or is that just attributable to him swinging at more balls out of the strike zone

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 4, 2009 8:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Both, I think

The O-swing% is an indicator of how many pitches outside the zone he swings at and misses. The O-contact% is an indicator of how many pitches outside the zone he makes contact with. Either way it’s gives a clear picture as to why his production fell off the cliff.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 10:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ok but did he get better at hitting pitches we shouldnt be swingin at or not?

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 5, 2009 5:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think I've changed my mind

First, let me correct an error I made in the above post. I had the years listed wrong, so the correct numbers for O-swing% are:

2006 21.6%
2007 27.3%
2008 28.4%

And the correct numbers for O-contact% are:

2006 40.6%
2007 54.4%
2008 47.7%

Now that’s out of the way, I wanted to look into this more closely. First, let’s dismiss this 2008 numbers since we’re sure they were a result of existing issues and injuries – the real question is what happened between 2006 and 2007? I posted these numbers to show that Andruw is in serious decline, which I believe it does. The part that I became curious about is what is the cause of his decline? So let’s look at his overall numbers for those years:

2006 .262/.363.531/.894
2007 .222/.311/.413/.724

Can the steep decline from 2006 to 2007 be explained by the significant increases in O-swing% and O-contact. My theory is it does. Here’s where I do a little speculating, please someone correct me if I’m wrong. Andruws IFFB (in-field fly ball percentage) dropped almost 5 full percentage points in 07 and his IFH% (in-field hit percentage) jumped 3.6 percentage points. What would cause this? I’m guessing it was the lack of fastballs up and the excessive quantity of breaking balls down and away. In my mind, and drawing from watching Andruw quite a bit over his career, most of his in-field fly balls come from fast balls up that he swings late on and the opposite of that are the squibbers he usually hits on the down and away sliders/curves that he tried incessantly to pull. The part that troubles me about this theory is that his GB% and FB% remained relatively unchanged. I’m wondering if this can explain the drop in hits and power, meaning he made weaker contact that turned into outs instead of hits due to his swinging at pitches out of the zone. Anyone care to touch on this? I don’t know but this smells of Nicole and Boras getting into Andruw’s head and telling him he needs a big season to earn that big time contract. Hey, I prefaced this by saying I’m speculating here…

Anyway, the reason I have changed my mind about Andruw, meaning I now think it is a good idea for the Braves to take a chance on him at league minimum, is because I believe his troubles ARE NOT age or injury related. Further, I believe they are correctable. Everything i’m seeing here tells me that Andruw’s problems are rooted in his pitch selection, which very clearly deteriorated quickly. What could cause this deterioration? Well, in my mind an age or injury issue is going to cause the player to be late on pitches or become susceptible to certain pitches that they were formerly good at hitting. In my mind this would result in higher strikeout totals, less power and less hits which is exactly what we saw from 06 to 07, BUT it doesn’t explain the significant increases in pitches swung at and contact made on pitches outside the zone. Those two stats will only change, in Andruw’s case downward, by a change in plate discipline.

So, I say send him a message to hit the gym HARD and start working on pitch recognition drills right now. When the Dodgers release him in ST sign him to the minimum and send him to work on these two facets of his game exclusively for the first several weeks of ST. Bring him into camp late and give him a shot to see some major league pitching but once camp breaks send him to the minors to continue these drills. If he can show improvement then you give him a chance in Atlanta. Bigjoe is right, there is NO HARM in taking this chance – especially since I now believe he has something left in the tank.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 7, 2009 2:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Hells yeah!!!

+100

best defensive shortstop in baseball hahahahahahahahahah (omar visquel)

by mvandonsel on Jan 7, 2009 4:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Let 'em play

I gotta agree with tmac85. Andruw showed so much promise when he debuted in his early 20’s. A middle-aged bum that can’t hit for his weight in batting average (.158 last year vs. 240 lbs.) no longer qualifies as a “prospect”, “project”, or someone with “potential”. He has 3 (THREE!!!!) singles in Winter League. The ceiling on this guy is .260, 25 HRs and 70 RBI. We’ve got a half-dozen true prospects that can give us that NOW. And I mean this is a comeback-player-of-the-century scenario. This guy is through.
Bobby Cox is one of the greatest minds in baseball history. He never liked Andruw. We were so excited to have this “five-tool” prospect, but he refused to get help from Bobby Cox, Terry Pendleton, and now, Joe Torre. Read some of his quotes from the LA Times archives. This guy just doesn’t care. He will never comeback because he’s got his money and nobody and nothing are going to make him WORK (work, you know, how things are actually ACCOMPLISHED in this world).
Andruw Jones is over……..

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 1:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 2:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i'd like a hug too

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 1:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

…you know what, its not worth it. you guys are fucking morons. as horrible as andruw was, he had more homers than blanco, and had twice as many walks as anderson has in his career.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 3, 2009 2:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

for less than million or Matt Diaz salary he is not a bad pickup.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

please compare Matt Diaz numbers with Andruw.

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 2:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i did

matt hit over .330 in both of his full MLB seasons. He has more HR/AB and hit 100 points higher than Andruw in each of the past two seasons. Oh, and HE’s NOT A CANCER TO THE CLUBHOUSE

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 2:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If we needed a DH then Diaz would be a great fit. Please don't defend Diaz for a starting nod in LF.

Diaz is only going to play to create value for himself in a trade as a filler. That’s it.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Is he even gonna be healthy enough to play this year?

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 2:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

hopefully not.

But I think he will be.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Numbers lie

3 home runs does not make him a power hitter. Blanco was NEVER considered for his power. Anderson his nearly .300. when you hit like that, we don’t need walks. Actually, plate discipline is good for some players. With players like Anderson and Man-ram, it’s awesome that they can get hits on bad pitches-just something that most people can’t do. you’re comparing apples and oranges. with your logic, we’re hoping that when we send the guy to the plate, he either draws a walk (not gonna happen with ATL lineup) or his FAT-ASS’ gravity draws the ball into him.

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 2:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

but manram has great plate discpline…?

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 6:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hitting nearly .300 means you don’t need walks? Are you related to Jeff Francoeur?

Man Ram is pretty well known for his excellent plate discipline. It’s why it’s so good at such an old age.

Walks don’t happen with the ATL lineup? Atlanta was 5th in all of baseball in walks last season.

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 1:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

contradiction

ok, i’m not an english major. The point that i was trying to communicate was a CONTRADICTION between players like Frank Thomas, who are known for great plate discipline, therefore drawing a lot of walks against hitters that make contact on pitches out of the strike zone. There are a few hitters out there (Manny) that do not have great plate discipline, but get a lot of hits.
This is a discussion where we have to WATCH baseball, not just throw out numbers from the internet machine. Manny (and Josh Anderson) get a lot of hits on pitches that should be balls.
Look, keep throwing numbers out there and this conversation will continue to stall. What Josh Anderson gives us is the ability to get a hit in any situation, even if the other team isn’t going to show him anything to hit. I believe this will be most valuable if we ever get to the playoffs.

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 4, 2009 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Manny has great plate discipline. A career 13.7BB% along with a 21.9O-Swing% and a 79.8Contact% shows that not only does he draw walks, but he knows what he can and can not hit, and puts wood on balls outside of the strike zone that he knows he can hit. Saying that he doesn’t have great plate dicipline because he gets alot of hits is just idiotic.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 4, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

English wasn't my first language

I don’t understand why you’re complaining about numbers when the first number I used was .300, a number you brought up. The second number I used 5th. Are you telling me your eyes don’t tell you that the Braves walked a lot last season?

I used 0 (sorry that’s a number) numbers when I said Manny Ramirez had excellent plate discipline. Just from watching him you can tell that he doesn’t swing at bad pitches. He’s very good at taking those borderline pitches and drawing a walk out of it or absolutely hammering a mistake pitch. Vlad Guerrero is the only example of a batter that I can think of that hits a lot of out of zone pitches very well, but he still has solid discipline. He swings at pitches he can hit and some of those just happen to be out of the strike zone.

If Josh Anderson is swinging at pitches that aren’t really hittable then he’s going to be a crappy hitter.

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 2:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good points

VictorW, you bring up some good points. Let me clarify where I’m coming from.
I don’t believe statistics are totally useless. My point was that Bigjoe was using some stats to compare Andruw with Josh Anderson. I felt that his argument was flawed b/c he only used the numbers convenient to make his point.
The following is from my personal observations, not really from numbers, so I could be wrong:
Josh Anderson is a completely different type of hitter. He makes contact a lot and occasionally on pitches outside the strikezone. He’s just the type of guy that can go to the plate and deliver a hit or at least put the ball in play (sacrifices) 1/3 of the time.
Good job to you for bringing up Vlad. He is probably a much better example of a superstar that also does this. Of course, Josh Anderson will never hit with the power of Manny or Vlad. Living on the east coast, I’ve seen a lot more of Manny. I saw him hit in front of Ortiz and not get anything to hit. It was just unbelievable how many times Manny could fight off good pitches that nobody should be able to hit.
YOU’RE RIGHT about plate discipline. I should not have used the phrase “plate discipline” in this argument. Honestly, i feel that Manny has great plate discipline. He knows what he’s doing. I don’t know if I’d say that about Anderson or Vlad, but at least they seem to be successful when they swing at these pitches.
Back to the original argument, Andruw is desperately flailing at pitches at the plate. He’s also fat and out of shape and he’s probably burned some bridges in ATL. We just don’t need him back b/c the experiment is going to be a waste of time.

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 5, 2009 10:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Andruw

He couldn’t make our minor league teams HE IS A CANCER IN THE CLUBHOUSE. Yall keep overlooking all of this ur the moron this is insane you really believe that andruw is a quality pickup I would rather have any of our minor league outfielders because they would play with heart Andruw has no passion to play. He could care less about the Braves and the Braves fans. Andruw has said before that he doesn’t care about the fans why would you want a guy like that a guy who acts like he is the greatest and can’t hit his weight. This is insane that you think he is a good pick up why don’t we go ahead and trade for barry zito and give andruw give Frenchy a lifetime contract worth $500 million please shut up big joe and become a real braves fan

N. Tyler Ayers

by TMAC85 on Jan 3, 2009 2:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

don't hate on frenchy. i'd give him a lifetime contract.

by Lee-Roy Jenkins on Jan 3, 2009 2:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jones is worth a 400k minimum contract if he's released.

Have a little faith in Frenchy. Jones will be playing for his professional career and his legacy as a player. If he still has the ability to play he will bring it this year. If your on your way out are you going to be a problem in the clubhouse? Especially if your playing for a team that TOOK YOU BACK WHILE YOU WERE CRAWLING ON YOUR KNEES. Your blowing Andruw way out of proportion. Calm down take a breath and remember that the Braves would not just pick up Jones and say, “alright we got our power bat”, there will be other moves.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't realize you spent so much time in the Braves' Clubhouse

How in the world can you call him a clubhouse cancer. He was bullheaded like Francouer when it came to hitting advice, but that doesn’t make him a cancer. His health is declining from the way he threw his body all over the outfield making plays. Sure he is not the same player, but I do not think his career is over. I’ll leave it to the stat guys to throw out projections for what a turnaround year would look like. At the very least he wants to play in Atlanta which no one else seems to want to do now, so if the price is right then you give him a chance. If he has a bad year then we are no worse off because he comes off the books after the season and we haven’t blocked our young outfielders. I have followed the Braves pretty closely for a long time and I cannot recall Andruw saying that he doesn’t care about braves fans and his teammates, so I would love to see evidence of that statement. I’m sure this will be easy to find since you are so familiar with the inner workings of the braves’ clubhouse.

by gutisking on Jan 3, 2009 8:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

here are some things to chew on about andruw’s 2008 season…

his BABIP was insanely low (.231)
his K-rate was unsustainably high (36.4)
his walk rate was actually above his career total (11.4)
his GB rate rose substantially, while his FB & LD rates fell
his swing percentages were way out of wack

i REALLY think it was a mental thing. there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with giving him the league minimum and letting him compete for an outfield job in the spring. if things don’t work out, we’ll go into the spring with the OUTFIELD OF SHIT, not as if it matters since we’re not going to win much of anything…if things DO work out, we got a middle of the order bat for the league minimum.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 3, 2009 8:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

demons are skating and pigs have wings...

i agree completely! :)

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 3, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not to mention...

…his elbow injury in 2006 and his knee injury in 2007. He got plenty of time off to recover from his injuried last year and has even lost weight. There’s no harm in giving him the league minimum to SEE if he can still give it a go.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 3, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How do you know he lost weight? The reason I ask is I am unable to find ANY article that mentions Jones and weight loss. We can all see the picture and though I can see someone speculating he’s lost weight it’s hardly proof.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 3, 2009 9:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well when you look at his pictures from the DWL and from his 2008 campaign its pretty obvious he lost weight. Unless he was just wearing a fat suit with the Dodgers just to fuck with all of us.

by bravesfan91 on Jan 3, 2009 10:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i sense Ashton Kutcher is behind this

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 11:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pictures can lie

From Buster Olney quoting scouts and other sources:

Jones looked awful last season, generating the kind of numbers that would earn most player an immediate ticket out of baseball — he struck out 76 times in 209 at-bats, with a .158 batting average. He had many more strikeouts, in fact, than he had hits and walks combined (60). Scouts believe his defense is in serious regression, largely because … well, he’s gotten large. “He’s just too heavy to play at the level he used to play at in the outfield,” one scout said on Saturday.

“He’s fat,” said another.

There is not a lot of confidence in the minds of evaluators that Jones is a candidate for a body transformation, because as great as he was in the outfield, he has never been known as a workout freak. Jones is playing in winter ball, but he has looked bad in winter ball this year, reports one highly ranked executive.

The Dodgers will probably end up releasing him before spring training, and somebody will give him a chance — and he needs to show something, in a hurry, because there is a perception within the industry that he might be finished, despite his age, despite the fact that he slammed 41 homers in 2006.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 11:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is what I was talking about a little higher up this post. Felt a little vindicated when I read Onley’s blog this morning. Thanks for posting this.

by cbwilk on Jan 4, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

buster olney is a hack. SEE: new fanpost.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 12:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Olney knows exactly jackshit, but the statements in the quote above are from Scouts and MLB execs not Olney.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 5:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

those lines are most likely from 6 months ago. i’d like to see some up to date stuff, after the supposed weight loss

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 6:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Supposed weight loss?

What supposed weight loss? Sorry, Joe, but I haven’t been able to find anyone saying AJ has lost weight. If i’m wrong I’ll apologize, but until then I ain’t buy the bullshit. Jones has always been an admitted couch potato in the offseason and i’ve not read anything that would contradict that.

"Debated ya right not one person agreed with me" by ATLsportsfrk on Dec 27, 2008 6:31 PM EST

by scstrato on Jan 4, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

welll he is playing baseball this winter… albeit he isnt playing well, he is playing… i dont know if he has always done this but, i dont remember it… so that says something… not saying it says definitively that he lost weight, but

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 4, 2009 7:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think...

if I hang around you, I won’t miss drinking alcohol that much after all!

by Lizziebeth on Jan 4, 2009 8:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

thanks… i think

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 4, 2009 8:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

BABIP

AJ’s LD% last year was 13.4%, making a BABIP of .231 quite expected.

If his LD% comes back up, so will his expected BA, but this is not simply a case of bad luck. The guy made very weak contact in 2008.

Formerly Uncle Charlie of Minor League Ball

by Yakker on Jan 5, 2009 3:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Also

Andruw Jones is a racist. Think about that white people.

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 2:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Who cares if he's racist. Everyone is racist in some way, shape, or form.

Could be race, gender, age, culture, philosophy, religion, political, lifestyle, sexual orientation, whatever. Everyone has a group of people that they could live without.

by Charmin519 on Jan 3, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Know what you are talking about

rac·ism (rszm)
n.
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

N. Tyler Ayers

by TMAC85 on Jan 3, 2009 3:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I know John Rocker has thought a lot about it

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 1:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Andruw Jones used to live at John Rocker's parent's house.

by Euruproktos on Jan 4, 2009 3:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rocker

in the words of Sir John Rocker he is a “Fat Monkey”

N. Tyler Ayers

by TMAC85 on Jan 3, 2009 2:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

/classy

"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)

by FrankyWren on Jan 3, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I understand now he is a FatAss

Or a “Fat Monkey” haha. But he was great for us for many years so you have to give him some respect. (Not at all saying I want him back because I don’t, I don’t want anyone to misinterpret this that way.)

"The only time the Mets win is in the offseason"

by Falconzfan284 on Jan 3, 2009 2:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He showed us no respect when he left us for more money, so now I am showing him no respect.

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh come on

We didn’t want him. And it’s not like his loss hurt us. Sheesh! Dude has to feed his family.

"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)

by FrankyWren on Jan 3, 2009 2:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Braves did not offer him a contract

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 1:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

TY for the clarifying comment (in parentheses)

I count on your opinions.

"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)

by FrankyWren on Jan 3, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What will it take for him to get back to that monster year he had just so few years ago.

a miracle.

the braves made a great move in not resigning him. the dodgers made a terrible one. no need to revisit this.

by son.of.sourman on Jan 3, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

this is fucking tremendous

everyone getting their panties in a bunch over andruw being given the league minimum to compete for a starting job

meanwhile, we’re paying matt diaz over 1.5 million to be a platoon player with no power or eye, matt desalvo gets a little more than the league minimum to put up a 4 digit ERA, elmer dessens gets a little more than the league minimum to do the same thing, anthony lerew gets that much to rehab…

any of you starting to see why you’re fucking insane?

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 3, 2009 3:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I am not insane because I did not advocate signing Matt Desalvo or Elmer Dessens.

by jjcollins on Jan 3, 2009 3:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

the difference is

no one is making fanposts advocating the resigning of people like desalvo, diaz or dessens. if they did, i would also trash it.

if you are going to be a curmudgeon, at least be a sensible one.

by son.of.sourman on Jan 3, 2009 4:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Psht

I am not fucking insane. That’s some other poor girl’s job now.

by Lizziebeth on Jan 3, 2009 5:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by heap16 on Jan 3, 2009 7:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

jjcolins if you were offered the money Andruw was offered for two years I am pretty sure you would leave to. And a racist that is just ignorance man. Andruw was never a cancer in the club house EVER. Bobby loved the way Andruw roamed in center. How was he a cancer please tell me. If we get Andruw for league minimum it will be the best offseason pick up we get so far.

by That a boy on Jan 3, 2009 3:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

to answer your question

i think there a very obvious explanation: steroids.

the guy is a 30 home run a year guy and then suddenly busts out with 51? that just doesn’t happen very often, unless your name is barry bonds. and then when steroids become cracked down on more and more, he has to stop, his power drops off and lo and behold, he has forgotten how to hit without the luxury the extra power. his mechanics are gone, and i’m sure the roids took a toll on his body. to me, especially given what we know was going on in the league over the past several years, that’s the most probable explanation.

by son.of.sourman on Jan 3, 2009 4:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

this is what i hate about the steroids era… poeple make these accusations just because a player hit a bunch of HR one year. Look at his numbers and remember that Andruw reworked his stance and hitting approach. He modeled himself after Pujols (the baseball player not the diety). His HR/FB rate increased but it wasnt an abnormal increase. Also, he was lifting the ball more signifantly than ever, as evidenced by an increased FB%. any of these were more likely the cause of his increased HR totals.

I wanted to at least stand up for Andruw a little. I see no changes in his body throughout the years (except the expanding waist, which generally isnt associated with steroids), so i see reason to presume he took steroids or PEDs (except doughnuts). its unfair to assume everyone who had a Hr spike took steroids, HR spikes occurred before the steroid era and they will also occur. Its irresponsible to throw allegations around, even if no one will ever read them (except the 3,000 new members of talking chop who assuredly will begin spouting off about this like they know soemthing).

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 6:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

fuck it.

andruw jones 2005 season: strikeouts dropped drastically from 2004. BABIP was RIDICULOUSLY unlucky (.243) which accounts for the low BA. LD% stayed constant. FB% went way up. GB% went way down.

in summary? he hit more balls in the air, and more of them went out.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 3, 2009 6:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I like you bigjoe

by Bobby Cocks on Jan 3, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i am often confused when u respond to me… are u arguing are u argreeing… but

FUck it

"We win today, that's two in a row... if we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before..."

by Swo12bv on Jan 3, 2009 11:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agreeing, in this case.

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 4, 2009 10:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

winnar

Plus he was in his athletic prime.

by VictorW on Jan 4, 2009 1:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Swo...if that is your real name

what’s up dude?

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Sir Winston Churchill -

by justincredubil02 on Jan 3, 2009 7:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How was he a cancer in the clubhouse?

best defensive shortstop in baseball hahahahahahahahahah (omar visquel)

by mvandonsel on Jan 3, 2009 7:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Andruw is a bird.

by Land-Man on Jan 3, 2009 7:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What does that mean?

by Euruproktos on Jan 4, 2009 3:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just Throwing This Out There

The biggest posts (by a large margin) on this site are about non-braves.

"The only time the Mets win is in the offseason"

by Falconzfan284 on Jan 4, 2009 11:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

its the offseason and we still have holes more gaping than a couple of my ex-girlfriends, we need something to discuss

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 5, 2009 4:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

found ON THE NET

Hi rob, happy new year, just a few lines to let you know that andruw jones left his team for good, and is not coming back, the reason is that his wife is sick, but the real reason for me is that the team asked him to leave.

He was struggling here, only a .148 ave, slow in defense, the team was desperate and they did not release him just because furcal recomended him and did not want to upset rafael, jones replacement hit a 3 run hr and aguilas won just the second game of the semi finals.

i don’t give a shit. this is the team that gave a COMPLETELY washed up raul mondesi a chance to replace GARY SHEFFIELD in right field. whats the harm in giving andruw jones 400K to do the same thing at a position where we’re getting next to nothing from?

BIG JOE SUCK ONE

by bigjoe on Jan 5, 2009 10:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

im with you sign him to 400k give him a chance his picture looks like he lost wait, i read he’s down 230 boras said that

by Brandonba on Jan 5, 2009 11:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

AJ

Since you’re suggesting a guaranteed major league contract for $400k (as opposed to an NRI) then I believe he has to go on the 25- and 40-man rosters, no? So make sure you ID who he’ll be bumping off.

There’s certainly some dregs on there that could be parted with, but it’s not exactly costless.

Formerly Uncle Charlie of Minor League Ball

by Yakker on Jan 6, 2009 1:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just because we made that mistake in the past doesn’t mean we should make it again. I don’t want to see them give a completely washed up Andruw Jones 150 at bats like they did for Mondesi, even if it is for the league minimum.

by soup du jour on Jan 6, 2009 11:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs