Joe, it's time to bench Andruw!

OK, we're almost a quarter of the way into the 2008 baseball season and a few players have become a bit beyond annoying to some of us. Actually, there's probably one who has caused more ire than anyone else for fantasy leaguers: Andruw Jones of the Dodgers.

What can I say? 19 hits in 112 at bats for a .170 batting average???!!! He has all of ONE home run and FIVE runs batted in on the year so far. Lance Berkman of the Astros recently had almost as many hits in a week (18) as Jones has for the entire season! Yes, this is the same Andruw Jones who hit 92 home runs and drove in 257 over the 2005 and 2006 seasons for the Braves. Nagging injuries and a pre-season diet where he took off 20 pounds were thought to be the main reasons why he slumped to a .222 batting average, 26 home runs and 94 RBI's last year. He put the weight back on (plus about 5-10 more pounds) and he has simply fallen into an abyss this year. He looks completely lost at the plate, and is striking out more than once for every three at bats. If Joe Torre is as smart of a manager as he's supposed to be, he should bench Andruw until further notice and go with an outfield of Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for the foreseeable future.

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Dodgers Sign Andruw Jones

After what can only be described as a horrible "contract year" season for the Atlanta Braves in 2007, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed outfielder Andruw Jones to a two year, $36.2 million contract last night. Jones hit 26 home runs with a league-low .222 batting average last year, while scoring only 83 runs. These were all career lows (in 1999 he also hit 26 home runs). Two years ago, Jones hit 51 home runs for the Braves. He followed that up with a 41 home run effort in 2006. Last year, I saw many Braves games on the Atlanta Superstation, and it appeared to me that he was pressing an awful lot, chasing balls that he normally wouldn't go after. Jones also battled a variety of nagging injuries last year.

In Andruw Jones, the Dodgers did also happen to get one of the league's best defensive outfielders. The weak-armed Juan Pierre will presumably move to left field. If Jones is fully healthy next year and he stays patient at the plate, expect Dodger fans to be very happy with this signing... he's a proven run producer and a great talent!

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