I'm sure Ned's family is thinking the answer to that is a pretty adamant no.

Trading in the family Hybrids for Canyoneros isn't going to make them happy either...

I think Andruw is not nearly as over weight as people make him out to be.

Go save Maddux from the Padres, Ned!

I think Andruw is not nearly as over weight as people make him out to be.

I'm pretty sure if he was still hitting like Atlanta Andruw Jones (well, not 2007 Atlanta Andruw Jones, but you get the idea) there would be almost no talk of his weight. On the other hand, it was totally worth it for that line about Jones being one of the people shot from the neck down for fat person B-roll. That's classic.

I guess I'm weird, but I don't think signing Andruw at the time was a bad move. It only becomes awful with hindsight. And yeah, 36 million is a lot of money, but Ned wisely hedged himself by keeping the committment short. Schmidt and Pierre were bad ideas I won't defend, but Kemp is on the team and playing, Loney is on the team and playing, Kershaw is still a Dodger, LaRoche is still a Dodger and so on.

I haven't heard any Miguel Cabrera fat comments since he started hitting again either.

yeah, 36 millions is a lot of money, but Ned wisely hedged himself by keeping the committment short.

Except that there was no reason to give Andruw Jones $18M/year. At that money, I've got to think that Colletti was bidding against himself.

I am little tired of the comments to the effect that Andruw got fat over the offseason. Andruw got fat years ago. Why have these buffoons not paid any attention to him over the years until now?

Why have these buffoons not paid any attention to him over the years until now?

He wasn't fat by Atlanta standards, but by the strict standards of Hollywood, he's obese.

I hadn't realised just how bad Andruw had been, but bugger me he's hitting at a sub-neifi level! Is there a particular reason he's hitting so badly, has his swing suddenly become glacial?

Except that there was no reason to give Andruw Jones $18M/year. At that money, I've got to think that Colletti was bidding against himself.

It's possible Jones had offers for more years, but less annually. Usually, the shorter the committment, the more you have to pay per season. Compare Jones' contract to Gary Matthews Jr.'s. Which would you rather be on the hook for?

Compare Jones' contract to Gary Matthews Jr.'s. Which would you rather be on the hook for?

Neither one. The Dodgers were hardly hurting for outfielders - they didn't need to bring in Jones at all.

Andruw Jones was the kind of player that you bring in at a substantial discount to see if there's anything left (see Jermaine Dye's contract he signed prior to the 2005 season
). If he's not going to give you that discount, you walk away.

He wasn't fat by Atlanta standards, but by the strict standards of Hollywood, he's obese.

We have a winner. Y'all can go home now.

Gros Ventre: "Andruw's fatter than me!"

Yeah, i have to admit that I was one of the people who thought Andruw was worth the risk, too. 36m is a lot, but it's hardly breaking the bank. I mean it's hardly Barry Zito money...

Neither one. The Dodgers were hardly hurting for outfielders - they didn't need to bring in Jones at all.

The Dodgers were not hurting for outfielders (assuming you consider Pierre servicable), but they were and are hurting for a big bat in their linrup. A guy that gives the guys batting before him some better pitches to hit, generally makes life harder for the opposing pitcher, and has a positive knock-on effect on the rest of the lineup...
They felt that there was a reasonable chance that Andruw could find back to his pre-2007 form and be that guy. It didn't work out, too bad, but I still think it was worth finding out.

I agree that, at the time, taking a two-year flier on Andruw was not an awful idea but rather a risky idea for a franchise with the Dodgers' resources. Okay maybe LA could have gotten it done for $32M, but I'm not sure saving $2M a year would have made a big difference. It's only now that it's clear the Jones deal was bad: but really, did anyone here predict that Andruw would be struggling to hit better than Esteban Loiaza? On the other hand, the Pierre and Garciaparra contracts were awful ideas from the start.

Andruw got fat years ago. Why have these buffoons not paid any attention to him over the years until now?

its ned colletti for god's sake. btw, i've seen andruw a number of times this year, and the guy is fat. i honestly don't know how he fields his position. the reaction to him has been visceral. the average fan looks at his whiffing and then remembers his contract and it makes him nutty. it does me. i've lost any semblance of evenhandedness about the guy. and to make things worse, the word is that when pierre is back, he might takes jones' spot. great.

For those saying this was only a bad deal in hindsight, Dave Studeman has some antinews for you:

... Andruw has lost a lot of oomph on his outfield flies (despite hitting more of them), but his line drive production has also declined; in fact, it's declined each of the past four years. Add in lower production on his groundballs and more strikeouts, and you pretty much have a quadruple whammy.

A decline visible a mile away. The only good thing about it is the brevity of the contract.

A decline visible a mile away. The only good thing about it is the brevity of the contract.

How sure are we that Andruw is the age he says he is? He has the career arc of someone older. It's weird.

I don't think anyone expected he'd be this bad, but seems to me the informed opinion at the time was pretty unequivocally negative. I know for a fact that mine was.

I was looking at the Andruw Jones Transaction Oracle yesterday.

How sure are we that Andruw is the age he says he is?

Pretty sure. Curacao isn't a third world country (or territory, as the case may be) like the Dominican or Cuba. I don't think it'd be easy to fake your age there.

How sure are we that Andruw is the age he says he is? He has the career arc of someone older. It's weird.

I think it's more the career arc of someone who played 154+ games a year for 10 straight years regardless of his day-to-day health.

Add Andruw to the list of Guys Who Would Have Been HoFers If They Just Gave a ####.

I think it's more the career arc of someone who played 154+ games a year for 10 straight years regardless of his day-to-day health.

And

Add Andruw to the list of Guys Who Would Have Been HoFers If They Just Gave a ####.

You guys are confusing me!

Shooty, I think Andruw was really committed to playing baseball (and/or Bobby Cox was really committed to running him out there every day) and not committed at all to off-season conditioning.

Shooty, I think Andruw was really committed to playing baseball (and/or Bobby Cox was really committed to running him out there every day) and not committed at all to off-season conditioning.

I see. He's only 31, though. I can where he'd lose the ability to play CF, but he should still be able to hit. And I don't mean hit a lot, I mean just hit at replacement level or close to it. He's like the 1973 version of Willie Mays.

He's only 31, though. I can where he'd lose the ability to play CF, but he should still be able to hit. And I don't mean hit a lot, I mean just hit at replacement level or close to it. He's like the 1973 version of Willie Mays.

I don't know... yeah, he's only 31, but he's a fatass, suffered some injuries lately, has a reputation for not working on his game (even fat guys can maintain their skills), plus he's really not all that good a hitter to begin with. A career 111 OPS+ heavily based on power is nothing special.

I don't know... yeah, he's only 31, but he's a fatass, suffered some injuries lately, has a reputation for not working on his game (even fat guys can maintain their skills), plus he's really not all that good a hitter to begin with. A career 111 OPS+ heavily based on power is nothing special.


Jones probably isn't much bigger than he was in 2006. He lost weight in 2007 and I think he blamed the weight loss for his struggles.

He has the career arc of someone older

It's not so much an arc as a level flight that turned into a nosedive. Usually when that happens (Glenn Davis, Nick Esasky) there are serious health problems to blame. Even Cecil Fielder or Dale Murphy had a little more gradual descent to their careers.

I dunno, Andruw's descent looks like Dale Murphy to me. Lots of years of GG defence in center without missing games ( and in Andruw's case, ton of postseason games too ).

As for his weight, he has been fat for a while. His reasoning being that he loses 15-20 lbs over the season playing everyday. Defence aint his problem. He needs to fix his hitting woes, and I have no idea how he cratered so suddenly.

As for his weight, he has been fat for a while. His reasoning being that he loses 15-20 lbs over the season playing everyday. Defence aint his problem. He needs to fix his hitting woes, and I have no idea how he cratered so suddenly.

Well, like I said before, he's really not that good a hitter, so it wouldn't too surprising to see a 110 OPS+ guy decline to a 90 OPS+ guy in his thirties. Especially if he's a fat guy who supposedly has a poor work ethic. That doesn't explain his 2008 numbers though... makes me think he's either injured, or lost a substantial amount of ability to a recent injury even though he's now healthy.

I am not usually right on these kinds of thingd, but I hated the Andruw Jones signing. A lot of folks were trotting it out as a good thing due to the brevity of the deal, and as evidence that old Neddie had learned his lesson after the Pierre signing. But dude's making 18 mil a year. That's a lot of money, no matter how short the contract is. And signing another overpriced veteran to block the young players you tried to block by signing an over-priced veteran isn't a sign of learning. Why not just take advantage of the 25-game suspension and sign Mike Cameron for one year, ten-million, or even two years @ 8 mil? That could've probably been done, might've shown evidence of learning, and then the Dodgers would've actually gotten the player that they hoped Andruw could morph back into, and for a hell of a lot less $$$.

Jones' career is a weird one. He is on all kinds of lists for "fastest player to _____," was an elite fielder during his decade-long run, and popped a good deal of homers. He also had some brilliant post season moments. I think he and Edmonds are going to present really really interesting dilemmas to voters for the HOF. One player peaked early and seems done at 31, the other peaked a bit later, and is still hanging on. Both have solid cases for enshrinement, but both fall short in eye-popping stats. I could see Andruw making it, though I think Edmonds is a better choice.

He is on all kinds of lists for "fastest player to _____,"

Including fastest player to crater completely. You have to think he is still suffering from the results of an injury.

fastest player to crater completely

Oh, I don't know about that - there's been a lot of baseball history, after all. I was just looking at the records of Adolfo Phillips. Phillips only had three good years - but those years (after neutralization to the same offensive environment) wouldn't look out of place as part of Jones's career.

There are still six days left until the trade deadline. Colletti has plenty of time time make another big mistake.

...to make things worse, the word is that when pierre is back, he might takes jones' spot. great.

Why would it be worse to replace a guy with a OPS+ of 36 with a 69, not even considering the value of a SB?

Not to worry, Torre is starting both Jones and Pierre tonight and benching Ethier.

Jones's contract is so bad, and yet so short, that if MLB had the NBA's salary cap/trade rules he'd probably be the most valuable trade commodity in the sport.

This may be the main reason I find it impossible to follow an NBA team.