Andruw Jones??? Wait for it...
I've yet to see or hear any official confirmation, but KCAL 9's Gary Miller just reported that the Dodgers signed Andruw Jones to a 2-year/36 million smackeroo deal. Wow. Again, gotta wait to see it in writing (or get a phone call from Ned Colletti, I guess) before we know for sure, but I wanted to keep y'all in the loop.
More details as they come in.
UPDATE: Looks like a done deal. Here's some writing, from the extremely reliable Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. More text, from our very own Dylan Hernandez.
-AK
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yah i just saw that , that is great but now we got to get perrier out of LA maybe we can make him the next UCLA football coach or send him down to 1a
Posted by: PK-IN-THE-MESA | December 05, 2007 at 10:04 PM
Here it is in writing. Pending a physical. All we lack is the official announcement.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071205&content_id=2319266&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 05, 2007 at 10:07 PM
When is Colletti gonna do something instead of sitting on his ass? What? He signed Jones? Never mind.
Posted by: DODGER 1955 | December 05, 2007 at 10:08 PM
Here's some more writing.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-spw-dodgers6dec06,1,4175119.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-mlb-dodger
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 05, 2007 at 10:12 PM
Dodger 1955,
Like your post.
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 05, 2007 at 10:14 PM
So Andruw Jones goes CF, Pierre to LF, and RF?
Ethier or Kemp? They are both way better than Pierre.
Juan Pierre is simply awful.
Colletti is an idiot.
He should dump Pierre but he can't, because he signed him to that ridiculous contract.
Now if he signs Scott Rolen, there will be no doubt in anyones mind he is a complete idiot.
Colletti came from the SF Giants! Look at them now.
Posted by: Wayne S. - Granada Hills | December 05, 2007 at 10:38 PM
Well - here's to hoping and praying our boy Andruw bounces back nicely from his big slide (in BA - power #'s were still decent) last season. Get that elbow back to 100% Druw and bring it BIGTIME in '08..........
Posted by: ALS | December 05, 2007 at 10:40 PM
Okay, if the season started today--and that would be weird cause it's December, here's the line-up.
Pierre
Furcal
Loney
Jones
Kent
Martin
Kemp
LaRoche
If we find a taker for Pierre and don't replace anyone else, here's our lineup
Furcal
Martin
Loney
Jones
Kent
Ethier
Kemp
LaRoche
The key to the offense is going to be the health of Furcal. If he's hitting his normal .300 15 homers 40 stolen bases--we'll score enough runs to win a lot of games. This spring when Repko plays, they should drive stakes into the ground and string bungee cords to them and Repko--only allowing him to go 60 feet in either direction. Then maybe we can keep Furcal healthy and strengthen Repko's bad quads and hammy's at the same time--a win, win.
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 05, 2007 at 10:44 PM
Great signing!
Posted by: dodgrdog88 | December 05, 2007 at 10:45 PM
You know what? I just realized how it will sound next season to hear Vin call all of Andruw's home runs next season. I think it will be music to all our ears!
It might even sound Kirk Gibson-esque in next October....
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 05, 2007 at 10:53 PM
Wayne--I've got one better than that to determine the sanity of Colletti. ESPN's rumor mill says he's talking to Pedro Feliz--If he really is going after him, I'll join you in saying he's an idiot.
Every available 3rd baseman out there is being linked to us, with good reason, we could use an upgrade from the production we got last year. Trouble is, every name Rolen, Feliz, Inge, Blalock, etc, etc, have all put up numbers that are not very impressive recently. Why would we trade for one of these guys or sign them to a lot of money when they aren't any better than Nomar or LaRoche (separately or together). If we are going to upgrade, then UPgrade, not SAMEgrade. Since Cabrera is gone and A-Rod is gone, there really aren't any options that would be an UPgrade. If we could bring Beltre back for a modest package (LaRoche, Young, Hendrickson type of deal) I'd do that because that would be an UPgrade. But, a .240 hitter with 15 home runs and 70 RBI's is not worth sitting Nomar/LaRoche for.
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 05, 2007 at 10:58 PM
Please, Ned... Please... Bench or dump Pierre. Replacing Jones with Pierre is a huge difference for the offense. If he replaces Kemp or Ethier, not so much...
Posted by: Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers | December 05, 2007 at 11:07 PM
DBB
Hate to mess up your dream, but I hope Vin doesn't call ALL of Jones' homers next year since Vin doesn't make many of the road trips anymore......
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 05, 2007 at 11:12 PM
D' Skip,
Touche'. Hopefully what I envisioned was an A.J. homer in October of '08 that will bring as much joy to Dodgerville as the Gibson blast of '88...
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 05, 2007 at 11:22 PM
A FEW THINGS YOU IDIOTS WHO DOWN THIS TRADE NEED TO KNOW, Jones is a 10-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All Star...Hello!!!
AND HE IS GOOD FOR 25 TO 30 HR's, 90+ RBI & RUNS, maybe 10+ steals, plays great defense (please see 10 Gold Gloves above), and you don't have to give up anyone on of your younger players!!!
Not mention he is still only 30 yrs. old!!!!...and oh yes, he's playing for a big contract/payout, per the articles I read, that's why he agreed to a shorter contract...last year was an aberation...he was hurt, take a look at his body of work...this is a GREAT signing...wake up people!! Good job Mr GM!!!!
Posted by: adrian | December 05, 2007 at 11:25 PM
I like Andruw Jones, but really, lets face it, he is on the declining side of his career. He hit .222 with 26 HR's in a hitters ballpark, he struck-out 138 times. Why do you think no other team offered him a better deal? Major-league scouts are calling him an "old" 30.
I hope Andruw is 2008 Comeback Player of the Year, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
There's more, Esteban 'can-o-gasoline' Loaiza. Colletti traded for him and is on the hook for this contract for this year. Which means Joe Torre has got to trot him out there every 5th day. Can you imagine an entire season of Loiaza!? Get the bull-pen up boys.
Plus we still got Nomar, where is he gonna play? Jason Schmidt? Have you seen his contract? Look it up.
The best thing Colletti has going for him is the great young talent in the Dodger farm system, but he inherited that from Depodesta and others.
Without the kids, we do look a lot like the SF Giants.
Posted by: Wayne S. - Granada Hills | December 05, 2007 at 11:32 PM
I don't like the Andruw Jones signing unless there's something else up Ned's sleeve, as in trading one of the outfielders (Oh please oh please let it be Pierre) for pitching help or a third baseman. If Scott Rolen can be had cheap, get him.
how many years in a row is Ned going to sign overrpiced centerfielders? The only good thing about this signing is it makes Pierre look like a freaking bargain. His OBP is actually higher than Jones, and a discount at half the price.!
What was so bad about letting Matt Kemp play two days in a row? The guy is a young Andruw Jones waiting to happen; he just needs a full season in the majors to show what he can do. Nobody hits .340 over most of a season by accident.
Posted by: SaMo | December 05, 2007 at 11:39 PM
I really like the Andrew Jones signing. It cost a lot of money BUT it's only for 2 years! If only Pierre's was for only two years. I know people are saying AJ is starting his decline and fast, but it was only one bad year. A lot of players have dips in some years and then explode back to their young form. AJ is still relatively young. He's body at 30 is at his prime. I think he has 5 good years left in him.... in any case it's worth the gamble. If AJ does what he has done in the past, the Dodgers finally got that middle HR hitter they desperately needed... if not, it only cost 2 years and 37 million. Frank will make that amount up in parking lot fee increases this year... no problem.
Posted by: Rob | December 05, 2007 at 11:45 PM
Adrian
I agree this is great news. We didn't lose anyone and we still have all the players on our roster that every other team out there has been trying to get. If Jones can regain 40 points on his batting average (hopefully more) and just equal the homers and rbi's from last year, it'll be a great load of pressure off the rest of the lineup--which should cause them to produce more also. In fact, Jones cost us a quarter of a BILLION dollars less than A-Rod would have. Obviously, he's not the same player, but a quarter of a BILLION will buy you every player on the Florida Marlins 25 times!!! As I was saying yesterday, we need smart moves, not just moves for moves sake. Signing Jones to 5 years and 90 million would probably not have been a smart move. But, 2 years, we really don't have anything to lose (except McCourt's money).
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 05, 2007 at 11:48 PM
Guys, given what was out there on the Free Agent market, this was about as good a deal as Ned could make. If Jones was indeed hurt last year, we might see 40 homers and a 130 rbi's out of him and then be crying because we didn't sign him to a longer term deal. If last year wasn't a fluke, then we'll still see A LOT better defense in center and 20 something homers and 90 rbi's out of him and that is still an UPgrade from last year (especially if Pierre is the one being replaced). This was smart.
If Ned can land Kuroda (again, this won't cost us any players just cash) to solidify the rotation, we're better than last year. If he can swing a deal for Beltre (a lot more of a sure thing than Rolen is SaMo) without giving up too much, then we are A LOT LOT LOT better than last year--we'd have 20 homer power from 2 through 8 in the lineup and be better defensively with Pierre and Nomar and Gonzo not playing. I also like the thought of Nomar being on this team as the new Killer Tomato (at least the Tomato of 2 years ago--maybe we can call him the Nomato). Nomar can play basically every infield posistion if someone gets hurt or needs a day off, but would basically be our late-inning pinch hitter. Nomar has always been a clutch hitter and I think he'd thrive in this role. What's more, he's already said he will do whatever the team wants him to do--gotta love that attitude--that was something missing from last year's team also. Oh yeah, and in case we forget--Grady is gone!! No more stupid lineups and letting a pitcher hit with the bases loaded in the 6th only to take him out of the game one batter into the 7th. So there too, we are A LOT better than last year.
Thing are looking up boys. Come on Ned, baby steps, just a few more simple yet smart moves and we'll be sitting pretty--no Broxton/Kemp/Kershaw for Bedard trade please.
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 06, 2007 at 12:10 AM
great signing! a guy who is willing to sign a two year contract to prove he's worth more means he's gonna put up big numbers and prove last year was a fluke with injuries.
just don't trade kemp ... trade pierre for bullpen help. an outfield with etheir, jones, and loney is gonna be awesome! no ones gonna be complaining about a lack of power anymore. my homerun predictions next year if these guys start regularly ...
furcal 12
martin 21
loney 35
jones 45
kemp 38
kent 21
etheir 23
laroche 22
TOTAL 217
Posted by: 88 | December 06, 2007 at 12:14 AM
D'Skip,
The tomato is dead. LONG LIVE THE NOMA'TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 06, 2007 at 12:27 AM
DBB
I just hope that the K brother's will speak on my behalf when the Dodgers start printing "Killer Nomato" T-shirts without giving me royalties.
Posted by: dodgerskip | December 06, 2007 at 12:35 AM
Guys-
First off, no other team is going to take Pierre and his bloated contract off our hands. We're stuck with an overpaid base stealer. Only way he leaves is if we agree to pay about 75 percent of his contract.
Second, I do think this signing will start a domino effect. But that won't begin until the Dodgers hear something about Kuroda.
What I see happening, and I'm not crazy about the idea, is Colletti dealing Kemp and Broxton to the Orioles for Bedard. That somewhat defeats the purpose of adding Andruw's power, since we'll then be subtracting Kemp's. If we have to ship out Kemp and his 30-35 HRs, we need to add even more power -- and I'm not talking about Rolen. Maybe we could move into blockbuster mode and swing this:
Kemp/Broxton/LaRoche/McDonald
for
Bedard/Tejada
Posted by: Scott True Blue | December 06, 2007 at 12:59 AM
I'm a 24 year old Dodger diehard, and got to the Ravine at least once every season for 22 years. Last year while attending school in LA, I broke the streak and didn't attend a single game. From a business prospective, I didn't think McCourt would ever have to spend money to "win". Didn't believe in any progress coming out of the new ownership, particularly the inconsistencies in management. Winning on the field doesn't matter in our LA as long as we all keep showing up in record numbers as prices grew, and that just killed the spirit for me. And Grady didn't really inspire me, to say the least...
So I took a stand and didn't go. I stopped watching in June, and I'm proud of it. The night Mr. Torre was confirmed, my house was a fun place to be, but post-ARod's Return I really cooled on the idea of something dynamic happening. To be honest, I hoped it DIDN'T happen.
But this is a great deal; perhaps the culmination we hoped for as the Blue's power people begin to integrate. Logan White's emergence as a true FO All-Star, the ability to secure the farm, McCourt's willingness to spend in the right fashion... In fact many have suggested that Pierre as a platoon/insurance policy at $9 million a year is a luxury some teams wouldn't mind having. If the boys continue to develop in the corners, we've got another Kenny Lofton in his prime to deal at $9 mil/year, or less, if appropriate. Kenny can tell you how many teams have interest in a lead-off CF at the deadline, I'm sure. And the cherry on top? We managed to get something done, briskly, with Boras. Way to go Ned.
Hey this blog is a great read guys and love hearing you get some airtime, and look forward to a healthy 2008.
Posted by: SCDim30 | December 06, 2007 at 01:01 AM