December 6, 2007

Even though I couldn't access the story, I guess it makes sense for the Dodgers, considering Joe Torre is probably close to their second-best power hitter prior to this signing. But Jones should be thankfully donating a big chunk of this to a church or something, seeing as how it's a miracle a guy who played like he did last year got that much money. I'd say he has to improve on his .222 batting average, but then again it would be pretty hard to hit worse.

posted by dyams at 5:35 AM CDT on December 6

I love that both LA teams overpaid for mediocre center fielders last year and have now both signed replacements the immediately following year for $18MM per year. I also love that Juan Pierre is now expected to be shifted over to left field. That guy doesn't even hit enough for a center fielder or catcher, let alone corner outfielder. So basically, either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier will be benched most nights. Not the best deployment of resources.

posted by holden at 9:33 AM CDT on December 6

What holden said. If signing Jones means the young talent sits, it's a waste of a signing. I think Jones had an off-year, but isn't he leaving a hitter's park for a cavern? I suppose there's no risk of the fans booing him out of town in LA. None of which means this is a bad signing, just it bears watching.

posted by yerfatma at 12:18 PM CDT on December 6

The Jones signing has to be an admission of guilt. I will say this, the contract is only for 2 years, so maybe Colletti is learning. The idea of shifting Pierre to left is ridiculous, but not without precedent. Recently the Dodgers have shown a tendency to start vets and slowly phase them out (think Nomar at first or Gonzo in left). I just pray that Pierre is phased out sooner than later. This move greatly improves the Dodgers if Jones effectively replaces Pierre, but not if its at the cost of playing time for Kemp or Ethier. One good tidbit to already come out of the signing is the notion that Colletti is prepared to have LaRoche and Nomar compete for the starting job at third next season. I'm not pining for another season of Nomar in the field, so the news of how Andy and Delwyn Young did during winter league is encouraging. I'll be pouring shots for Jobu until spring training in the hopes that Colletti will be able to unload Pierre on another team in the same vein as his past mistakes (Jae Seo, Danys Baez).

Jon Weisman over at DodgerThoughts covers the signing nicely.

posted by lilnemo at 12:37 PM CDT on December 6

Really? I seem to recall the opposite. According to Buster Olney's blog today, "it was only last month that Boras informed the Dodgers that he expected to get a deal north of $100 million for Jones." Unless Boras was expecting $50m a year, I'm pretty sure he had to back off of his initially-stated goals.

posted by Venicemenace at 1:41 PM CDT on December 6

Good point yerfatma, if Andruw can put up the numbers he used to, he could easily cash-in mega bucks. While I agree that this was the right deal, im a little suprised that the Dodgers didn't push for Torrii Hunter or Miguel Cabrera. Either way, things in LA are beginning to look brighter after this offseason.

posted by Kendall at 2:43 PM CDT on December 6

One of the things I read about this deal was that the reason for the extra $100,000/yr on the contract was just so that it was higher than Torii Hunter's deal. If that's going to be the standard, then this deal was ridiculous. Hunter is the only player on Jones' level defensively, and Hunter was way better offensively than Jones was last season. The Dodgers overpaid.

posted by TheQatarian at 9:31 AM CDT on December 7

They aren't that different in age (about a year and a half), and Hunter is in excellent shape. Jones' stats are going in the wrong direction for someone supposedly entering his prime, whereas Hunter's are improving. So I'd say no.

posted by TheQatarian at 11:29 AM CDT on December 7

Looks like agent Scott Boras has recovered from the A-Rod rebellion.

posted by Newbie Walker at 12:53 AM CDT on December 10