Andruw does indeed "care," but needs to care more
In terms of being "embarrassed" by his sub-Mendoza performance as a Dodger, Jones does care about his lackluster start. How much of that embarrassment, however, is rooted in Jones caring about fan reaction (or not, as he often seems dead set on maintaining) has been the source of discussion on the blog since the loss on Sunday. The Dodgers' current roadie couldn't come sooner for Jones, now hearing the boo birds in full chirp upon picking up the stick, a serenade that typically only louder as the game continues. This development is the root of of my biggest gripe over Jones and his poor start. The guy has absolutely ruined Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" for me. From now until the day I die, I'll hear boos in my head whenever Andruw Jones' at bat theme is playing. I'm a huge fan of both Marley and that particular song, so this ain't sitting well with me by any stretch.
The gripe running a close second, however, would Jones' apparent take on the fans.
T.J. Simers' exchange with Jones over the pricey import's slump sparked some lively Blue Notes debate. In particular, whether he "baited" the player into saying something he shouldn't have. Frankly, I'd be shocked if that weren't the case. Simers is hardly shy about needling a player over sore spots (in this case, weight and hitting) and typically looks to get a rise out of everyone he interviews. I'm not the biggest fan of that style, but that's neither here nor there. I'm not looking to examine Simers. More importantly, whether or not he bugged the crap out of Jones isn't really relevant in this case, because a) the questions themselves, while perhaps phrased in unnecessarily adversarial fashion, are valid and b) Jones has been around the media block more than enough times to know what statements might come out poorly. And this one is hard to spin in positive fashion.
""You play the game for the team. You don't play the game for the fans. The fans have never played the game. They don't know."
Which brings me to my non-reggae gripe with Jones.
Maybe I'm naive, but I'm of the opinion that despite some opinion, Jones does care about under-performing. A lot, actually. I've watched his face when he discusses the slump and it's not one of indifference. I don't think he's dogging it while he's on the field, nor do I think Joe Torre is blowing smoke when he constantly remind us that Jones lives in the cage. I don't take his continual smile or refusal to crack a Louisville Slugger over his knee as a "lack of passion." I often thing a player's demonstrativeness is the most overrated and cliched way of measuring "heart." By that logic, Milton Bradley would be the most inspirational teammate on the planet and I don't think anybody is gonna make that argument. Some players simply aren't built that way and I don't begrudge them.
But when I hear comments that fans not "knowing" makes the boos easier to shrug off, I take exception. I understand if Simers' line of questioning put Jones on the defensive, but those emotions don't equal an automatic alibi. Jones has been in the spotlight for eons and knows better to say something along those lines, even while annoyed. His statement carries an inference that, because fans have no idea what playing at the Major League level is like, their opinion somehow doesn't mean bupkis. That they don't have any business being displeased not with the poor results coming off 36 mil in cheddar, despite having paid their own hard earned money to watch the sub-par performance in person. That they don't have any business being displeased with Jones arriving at spring training clearly overweight, despite coming off a career worst season and having received the previously mentioned 36 mil, which some (including myself) would say carries a certain responsibility towards conditioning. That, in the end, he's Andruw Jones and they're not, which means he needn't feel obligated to please them.
Is that precisely what Jones meant? I'd like to think not, and in the limited conversations we've had, he seems like a good enough guy. And it's true that you can't always "play for the fans," in that what they're thinking needs to be drowned out while on the field. But that doesn't mean you should dismiss it entirely, especially in a manner that comes off fairly elitist. Jones is doing himself a major disservice. Instead of floating any notion that Ravine Dwellers might not "get" something, he'd be much better off focusing on his desire to get back in their good graces through hard work and (hopefully) better production. That he understands where they're coming from and he asks for their patience. To basically go out of his way to demonstrate some humility over this situation. And who knows? Perhaps yesterday's two hit/1 ribbie performance and today's long ball are the start of a conquered slump, which could work out this relationship. As they say, winning is the ultimate deodorant. But until we know that's the case, I'll go out on a limb and predict a little of my advice could go a fairly long way towards lessening the raspberries hitting him every time he leaves the dug out.
It might even prompt a few cheers to boot.
AK
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AK,
I agree 100%! Why did Andruw have to go and ruin "Three Little Birds" by Mr. Marley like that??? Andruw could have chosen to play "Its My Life" by Bon Jovi or, even better, "My Perogative" by Bobby Brown, and gotten the same message across. But for him to tarnish Mr. Marley's song like that makes my discontent with Andruw Jones grow exponentially!!!
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | May 15, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Hey AK
Does this mean that you think its OK or not OK to boo Jones when he comes to bat? Also, do you think that his comments were OK or not OK? Even if you do think he cares.
Package
Posted by: Package | May 15, 2008 at 01:31 PM
Maybe it's just because I teach language arts, but I've always thought that saying the right thing would be the easiest part of being a professional athlete. I get it when a 19 year-old kid puts his foot in his mouth--19 year-olds say a lot of dumb things. But to be AJ's age and have been in the pros that long... well, you'd think someone would have shown him the "one day at a time... just trying the help the team..." yada yada yada scene from Bull Durham. Or barring that, maybe he could watch just one Peyton Manning interview. I'm no Manning-fan, not by a long shot, but you gotta hand it to him that he'll never say the wrong thing to the press. I just don't understand why it isn't that easy for all of them.
Posted by: VA Blueblood | May 15, 2008 at 01:39 PM
AK good discussion on the AJ-gate. We ride him because he says such things about the fans and that is what really got me up in arms. Lets hope he actually keeps hitting and losing some weight. Last time i checked he was a gold glove CF and power hitter, we brought him in to do both, but he focused more on hitting than anything else and that has truly hurt his overall game. He thinks he can work everything out in the cage, but i disagree... his total game is not hitting, but his defense. He cannot run as fast or cover as much ground as he used to and it is showing. I dont think he will get a gold glove this year if he is going to be slow on jumps and not being able to get to half of the balls he used to. Being in the cage can only work on half of his problems. We ride him on offense, but i am also getting scared to watch his defense which he has taken for granted.
Posted by: poppinfresh | May 15, 2008 at 02:16 PM
America loves a good second act. I can see Jones' second act coming... and saw it a few days ago. Dude is gonna catch fire.
The only disagreement i have with AK is that the weight was the problem. Yes he's fat, but there have been plenty of fat people who can hit a baseball. You can't tell me Babe Ruth was just big boned. Jones had (has) a mechanics problem that once he figures out will make him a good player.
The interesting question is how soon the fans will forgive and forget? And if he does catch fire ( I think it's started), is Coletti suddenly a genius?
Posted by: benzojones | May 15, 2008 at 02:33 PM
I don't know that he is ever going to catch fire, but he should improve and it looks like it may be starting. However, I don't think he has lost all that much on defense. He still gets to an awfully lot of balls that Slappy couldn't last year and he still has a cannon for an arm. If you really want to see a defensive decline, take a look at new Cubs centerfielder Jim Edmonds.
Posted by: dalegribel | May 15, 2008 at 02:49 PM
Dcerros was correct when posted in an earlier thread that LaRoche had previously played 2B. A few years ago he was rated the top Dodger 2B prospect. I believe he was moved to 3B because he lacked range at 2B and wasn't a wiz at turning the double play. But don't quote me on that latter comment, since I'm not certain those were the reasons.
By the way, I won't make a judgment based on one game, but my first impression of Luis Maza is that he has a questionalble arm. That was my observation, and also the observation of the Brewers announcers. Admittedly, the Brewers announcers are not perfect. Last night (or maybe the night before) they commented that Russell Martin had signed a six year deal with the Dodgers prior to the season. Would that it were so.
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | May 15, 2008 at 02:52 PM
Package,
"Hey AK, Does this mean that you think its OK or not OK to boo Jones when he comes to bat? Also, do you think that his comments were OK or not OK? Even if you do think he cares."
Define "OK." If you're asking if I think it's a fan's right to boo, my answer is yes, although I'm personally not a booer and in more cases than not, I don't see the point. Unless you think a guy is absolutely dogging it or indifferent to his production (I already said, I don't think Jones is), I don't understand why fans would look to get in the head of a player from their own team. In Jones' cases, however, I can almost "condone" it, since I think his comments were pretty dismissive of the fans. But I'd likely still avoid it, because my bigger concern would be the team and I wouldn't want to do anything that might hurt the team (by bothering Jones).
As for his comments, I clearly didn't think they were okay, otherwise I wouldn't have written this.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 15, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Benzo,
"The only disagreement i have with AK is that the weight was the problem. Yes he's fat, but there have been plenty of fat people who can hit a baseball. You can't tell me Babe Ruth was just big boned. Jones had (has) a mechanics problem that once he figures out will make him a good player."
To clarify, I never said Jones' weight was "the problem," just "a" problem (in my estimation, which could be wrong). Also, I know there were players that have succeeded while fat, but off the top of my head, they're mostly guys who've been fairly doughy their whole career. Babe Ruth, your example, had the same belly from start to finish. But I would think that a player like Jones, who doesn't have that history, could be affected worse. Plus, it's not just his hitting. There's been a few times where Jones couldn't reach balls in the outfield. Is that a measure of the age or weight? Who knows for sure? But it does make you think.
And like I said, even if you don't think the weight has anything to do with his struggles, it's still still flirting with fire to show up like that to spring training off a career worst season for very big money. Common sense would say it's a strategy to avoid.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 15, 2008 at 03:03 PM
Hey guys from this link from the times:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/
dodgers/la-sp-bbcol11-2008may11,0,6482432.story?page=2
That evaluator said he clocked Jones -- while beating out an infield hit -- at 4.7 seconds to first base.
"That's what a catcher runs," he said.
I know larger people like both Fielders and Mo Vaughn can hit, but I am referring the weight being more of a problem of speed/range. Sure AJ gets great jumps on the ball the Pierre never gets, but i am saying AJ can't get to half of the balls he used to because he is not as fast as he once was. He can catch anything within range, but that range is dwindling by the year, or in his case by the lb. I think we can all agree the fatness has nothing to do with the swing at this point, we can see it is bad mechanics, but he has definitely slowed down. Running with an extra 40 lbs is not easy.
Posted by: poppinfresh | May 15, 2008 at 04:37 PM
Jones was wrong to pick "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley for his AB music. He SHOULD have picked "Three Little Pigs" by Green Jelly. That way, he'd be PSYCHED at the plate while thinking about BLTs, ham sandwiches, pork chops, pickled pigs feet, PB&J sandwiches, etc...
Posted by: Brian | May 15, 2008 at 05:09 PM
AK,
So the Phrase Fat and Happy doesn't apply to baseball players?
Now I'm no Rocket Surgeon, but I do remember that when i turned 30, metabolism went nutty and I started to look like a pregnant bald man.
What's to say AJ wasn't being irresponsible, and nature just kicked in? I mean, has anyone seen him belly up for all you can eat Pasta night at the Olive Garden? Show me the Perez Hilton modified evidence.
Just because he has a belly, does not mean that he is irresponsible... at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Mmmmmmmm ribs.
Posted by: benzo jones | May 15, 2008 at 06:22 PM
AK,
First, wanted to comment about the booing. I believe the fans already got into Jones' head when he gave that interview. Seems like his answers were given out of frustration and anger with himself and the fans for booing him. So to spite the fans, he says he doesn't care about them and they don't know what they are talking about. And a lot of the times fans don't know what they are talking about.... just as you said, booing someone for sucking while he is still trying his best, only hurts the player and team... so all the boo birds (implied by you) really don't know what they are talking about. Again, it is the right of any fan to boo... but really what are they booing about?? the outcome or the effort? In this case, it seems that most of them were booing about the result and not his effort.
Secondly, the weight thing. I agree with Benzo. Andruw really doesn't look that fat to me. I can't call him fatso because then I'd have to look in the mirror and call myself much worse. Granted he has put on some weight since last year and you make a good point that he probably should of come into this year in the best shape of his career to prove something. However, if he believes that a few pounds won't hurt his performance, he likely didn't give it much thought. I myself feel that a few pounds doesn't hurt your hand/eye coordination and bat speed. It would only hurt in running speed and defense. Too many fans wanting to be experts, speculating that the weight is the problem... could it be as Benzo said that it was a mechanical thing and not the weight. Could it be that Jones was trying too hard and pressing to hit the LONG BALL, to appease the fans?... I think so... because my novice opinion is he always way out in front of the ball... tries to pull and kill everything. Sitting down for two days seemed to help. He is shooting the ball to the right side or trying anyway.
Posted by: Rob | May 15, 2008 at 11:34 PM
If I don't boo, can I groan?
I'm in AZ so I can't go to games anyway. I find lots of chances to groan at the Dodgers, lol...
Did you notice when AJ was at first base next to Fielder? He could hide behind Prince. There's a bit of prospective...
Bottom line, it's insulting to a Dodgers fan when the highest paid per year player ever comes to camp out of shape after his worst season ever. It just seems downright stupid.
As far as how AJ is handling things, these guys don't experience real life the way most people do. I think he really doesn't know how to handle it. Common sense is at a premium when you have been a sheltered pro athlete.
Posted by: Andy B | May 15, 2008 at 11:42 PM
I still swear that I saw him throw something into the crowd near the dodger dugout when he was walking back in after his sacrifice fly that nearly turned into a hommer. Didn't anyone else see it??
Posted by: Steve D | May 15, 2008 at 11:47 PM
I meant the mother's day game, by the way.
Posted by: Steve D | May 15, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Hey Benzo,
I think you are mixing your metaphors...Rocket Surgeon Huh
Posted by: K T USN (feeling retired) | May 16, 2008 at 08:50 AM
thanks for catching that K T... I thought it was pretty subtle.
Posted by: benzojones | May 16, 2008 at 04:51 PM