How many steps has Andruw lost to age?  Shouldn't be any since he just turned 30.

How many steps has Andruw lost from "adding on the pounds?"  Quite a few.

Andruw has fallen in love with the long ball and it shows.  He has packed on the pounds in the past 5 years and he swings for the fences no matter the score, men on base, situation, or count.

All he wants to do is hit homers and his approach at the plate reveals that.  I would bet that his constant "all-or-nothing" wild violent off-balance swings harm his back more than the occasional diving catch.

Oh yeah, and telling opposing pitchers that he is "just a pull hitter and will always be a pull hitter" was just genius.  Nothing like telling every pitcher to throw everything outside.

I hate to see him go but If I were Schuerholz, I would think long and hard about committing over $100 million to Andruw for the next 6 or more years.

I've never wanted to reach through the computer screen and strangle someone more than after I read this article.  Stark piles on some heavy criticsm and all he has to back it up are a couple of statistics and an agreement from some unnamed "scout".

Zone rating is one of the most over-rated stats in all of baseball.  Who is it that is deciding the zone of each individual player?  B/c Andruw made a diving catch in the alley last year, does that now construct part of his zone?  And if it doesn't what value is placed on the catches that AJ outside of his zone?  None.  Which is the same thing that happens when Frenchy or Langy would make a catch inside of AJ's zone...Andruw would be penalized b/c he did not make the put out.

And as far as the put outs are concerned, I'm a firm believer that he has not had to cover as much ground the past few years b/c Francoeur and Langershans are some of the best corner outfielders in the game, and could probably have played CF if Andruw wasn't there (as is happening right now with Langerhans).

He is so critical in the "decline" of Andruw, yet does nothing to compare him to other CFers and their own personnal decline.  True, Andruw does not make as many highlight reel catches as he used to, but that is only b/c he has developed the best first step in the game.  He makes routine catches out of something that a guy like Jim Edmonds (who actually is the most-overrated CF) would have to lay out for.

I won't touch on his offense, because that has never lived up to his true potential (which is real scary if you think about it), but you can't knock the guys defense.  He is only 30, but he has been in the league since before he was 20 so he does have more mileage than we might think.

That's all I'm going to say for now, other than the fact that Stark said he almost robbed Pujols of the MVP in '05 when any baseball fan with the smallest shred of intelligence could see that Andruw threw that team on his back all the way to the playoffs.  If anyone was robbed that year, it was AJ.

As 'dave' said above, in this day and age, thirty-years old should be near-peak prime for a guy like AJ.  It is NOT hard to remain in shape at thirty, and it is NOT hard - when you're in a contract year - to at least pretend you're trying as hard as you can, and trying to make adjustments.  In his mind, AJ thinks he'll magically end up with roughly the same numbers he usually ends up with.  Well, that's Strawberry mentality, frankly, and we're getting close to June.  He has a hundred million dollars on the line and he could've shown up in March looking like Apollo Creed instead of Ice Cube.  I thought he'd be kicking ass by now, and I thought he could give us a lift - even though it would be mostly self-serving of him.  He's hurting the Braves but hurting himself much worse.  

I have to be in the middle here.  Andruw may be over-rated but that's only because everyone has had such massive expectations of him from Day One.  

I agree he seemed to lose a step after 2001.  It's not just Zone Rating.  It's BP, which shows him going from legendary to average in 2001.  And it's my own eyes which see hits dropping that he caught in his prime.

His hitting is a bit one-dimensional. But it's not exactly Dave Kingman we're talking about here. The most similar players to him, according to Baseball-Reference.com are Frank Robins, Eddie Matthews, Jonny Bench, Ken Griffey, Ruben Sierra, Al Kaline, Ron Santo, Hank Aaron, Juna Gonzalez and Darryl Strawberry.  That's a pretty elite bunch.

As for his weak 51-homer season, the reason his season was the worst was because 51 homers is elite territory.  He's being compared to some the all-time great seasons.  So he's not babe Ruth or even Albert Pujols.  I would still rate his 2005 better than Vaugn's '98 or Fielder's '90.  And if you drop the criterion just a little bit to 48 of 49 homers, you get Andre Dawson's MVP year of '87, a couple years out of Killebrew; a large number of years that I would put behind Andruw in the list of great seasons.

He does remind me a bit of Ruben Sierra, who had tools out the wazoo and didn't live up to them.  But he's a much better player than Sierra ever was.  The Strawberry comparison is reasonable, but he's a better player than Strawberry and has yet to screw up his life with drugs.  He actually reminds me a bit of Andre Dawson, only with healthy knees and less personality.

Accept Andruw for what he is.  A good-fielding slugger who's going to put 15-20 good-but-not-great years and get into the HOF.  What's wrong with that?  So he's not Willie Mays.  The fact that people can even begin to make the comparison tells you how good he really is.

PS - saying someone had the worst 51-homer season in baseball history is like saying some woman is the ugliest model in the Victoria's Secret Catalog.  I'll still take it.

let me start of by saying that Andruw Jones has been my favorite player ever since he hit two out in the World Series.

ok now with this new article. Its obvious that SABERMETRICS loves to put a number to every single aspect of baseball. they come up with the most random stats that no one even thought existed. It seems to me that the reason SABERMETRICS is around is simply to take out the intangibles of baseball.
of course this looks bad for Andruw. He is certianly not going to head over to the A's anytime soon, but the intangible aspects he brings to the game is harnessed by few players on the braves and even fewer center fielders in the MLB. according to random zone stats, ya he may not get to every ball, but he brings something different to the field than computerized stats. when he is in the game, there is an aura of a great player. that can greatly affect the game. whether it is pitching around him or a runner not running home from second on a line drive to center. Andruw may be having a bad year (at the plate, because ive seen him make some great catches this year) but when he is at bat, everyone knows that there is always a chance that he can take a pitch 430+ feet over the left field wall.

that being said, i do think this is what old JS should do. If Matt Diaz continues with his hot bat and willie harris shows no signs of declining it may be time to move willie to center, matt to right, and trade Andruw for a front rotation starter that can really be the catalyst the braves need to win a WS. I know it will be hard to say good bye but the braves do have OF prospects and it is time to face the facts and look at what is best for the team.

He also says this:

"For the record, I like Andruw. He could play for my team any time. And he's one of the best center fielders I've ever laid eyeballs on. But the idea behind this project is to point out the difference between how we perceive a player and how he's actually playing. And Andruw is not the same player he used to be."

I can't entirely disagree with that.

Stark is right and his objective facts prove that Andruw is just ok.  Superstar, no! not even close.  He is getting pretty close to being elected to the all ego team however. Stupid comments about "I am just a pull hitter" and constantly swinging for the fences to show off, who needs that.  He is hurting our team and Bobby and everyone else in the braves world that cares about this team knows it.  Gondeee is a good "homer", cares and loves this team, so do I but he has been blinded by Andruw and the hype.  
When he is gone next year and his 140+ strikeouts and his ridiculous contract, we may get someone who will put the team in front of his own stats, very refreshing.  By the way, when I hear that stupid Public address announcer call aj's name when he comes to the plate, Annndruw  Jones like he is gladiator coming in to slay lions, he is just a .200 hitter, I want to throw the #@&* up. He doesn't desire that intro. How about Andruw Jones center fielder and he is sorry for disappointing all the fans and his fellow playes.
Much better!  

Comparison I made really has little to do with numbers or off-field problems - which Andruw doesn't seem to have any of.  It really comes down to the fact that here are two gloriously gifted ballplayers who settled.  I hate to see Andruw do this.  We've all worked hard at SOMETHING in our lives and can probably reference a time when we really put it all out there.  Strawberry made a clear decision "I'd prefer to hit 36 HRS and hit 115 RBIs and work a little bit then hit 50 HRS and hit 140 RBIs and work my ass off for my entire career and be a legend.  That man was unbelievably talented, but ultimately seemed satisfied with mediocrity rather then kick it up a notch.  I feel Andruw is doing the same. It's a choice to lose a step as a centerfielder at age thirty, not a given.   Andruw, get in shape, get it together, and make everyone proud, wherever you go.