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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Benching Andruw a good move by Cox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Given the possible forces of nature that have conspired to scramble Andruw Jones’ head and liposuct his batting average, you would have expected some drastic remedy by now.
In Curaçao, where Jones is from, many still practice forms of voodoo. I’m thinking we wouldn’t have made it past May without some sort of spiritual sledgehammer. But in Atlanta, all the Braves’ struggling center fielder had to show for himself was a .202 batting average and beaded necklaces hanging in his locker.
“People just give them to me,” he said. “They’re not for luck.”
Not going to hang a dead chicken?
“No. Hopefully not.”
The problem isn’t what Jones is hitting but when he’s hitting it. Two years ago he was hitting .175 when he asked Bobby Cox to rest him in a game in Washington. But that was in April. (He came back to hit close to .300 with 22 homers in May and June.)
But it’s already late June. Jones’ average is so anemic that agent Scott Boras may have to fabricate two secret bidders for his client, not just one. You don’t dig holes like this without paying some sort of price in free agency.
Jones is on a pace for 592 at-bats. With a .202 average, he would need to hit .289 the rest of the season just to finish at .250. History and logic scream: He ain’t hitting .289 the rest of the season.
You worried Jones would have to take a hometown discount to remain a Brave. But he’s already marked down.
The Braves closed out a series [mercifully] against Boston Wednesday. Cox didn’t sacrifice a chicken (he would opt for a starting pitcher first). But he did bench Jones.
It was only the second time this season Jones was scratched, the other in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Boston. So this makes twice he was absent against the Red Sox, who last season inquired about trading for him. (Stats Boras hasn’t kept: Jones is 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts against Boston this season. Coco Crisp, who might’ve been dealt here in return, hit a three-run homer.)
Now, the Braves are trying to act calm about all this. But they had already dropped Jones in the order. Benching him against the best team in baseball — twice — is significant.
Jones probably inadvertently put it best when he said: “I think [Cox] just felt like we can play without me.”
He says he’s not feeling the pressure of impending free agency. He says he has never hit for average (though adding: “I never was a .200 hitter”). He claims his home run and RBI numbers aren’t far off (actually, they are).
He is understating his struggles, and everybody around him knows it.
“I’m just trying to get him to settle down and relax, do what he can do instead of what everybody expects him to do,” hitting coach Terry Pendleton said. “The toughest part is trying to get him to slow down. He’s trying to rush. He’s trying to make up 50 points with one swing. He’s trying to drive in 10 runs with one swing. He can’t do that. It’s impossible.”
Jones says he doesn’t pay attention to the criticism.
“We all say that,” Pendleton said. “He hears a lot. He’s just trying to prove people wrong. Some guys just say, ‘Forget that.’ “
General manager John Schuerholz said he has “genuine frustration” and “genuine wonderment” about Jones’ plight. But he still believes there will be a market correction.
“A player who is 30 years old and has the body of work he has, he’s eventually going to [return to form],” he said.
Jones actually was looking forward to sitting out. “It’ll be good to just rest and watch the game from the bench, get the extra day off, and come back Friday and start a new series,” he said.
This was a good one to miss. With a blindfold. The Red Sox won 11-0. But the Braves, despite losing 12 of 18, are only 1 1/2 games out of first place.
Some things, like that deficit, can be overcome. But .202 in late June — not so much.
Jones says he doesn’t feel the heat. The numbers and his absence Wednesday say otherwise.
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