A Frustrated Fan ...sharing his disappointment

Jones almost kept pace with his embarrassing .165 average since coming back from injury on July 4th, but just before the all-star break arrived he dipped down to .164. Yes, that's right, Jones is playing worse than ever after a month-long break.

Here's another interesting stat: Jones has 59 strikeouts to his 27 hits. How many "every day" players in the MLB have a more than 2:1 ratio of strikeouts to hits? The answer to that is Zero, and Jones is in a league all by himself. ESPN actually got one thing right, which is that Jones is quite possibly having the worst season in the history of baseball for any player at any position.

At this point last season Jones was at 16 home runs, but the 2008 version has produced a measly 2. Juan Pierre is one strong day away from equaling that number. Howie Kendrick of the Angels also has two homers, despite missing the majority of the season due to hamstring problems, and he hit both of them in the same day. Since the season is more than half over already, whatever Jones does will be a major disappointment. I bet he doesn't even finish with ten home runs, how sad.

In 53 games of play this season, Jones has a total of three multi-hit games. How hard is it to get more than 1 hit in a game you may wonder? Let's ask Florida's Hanley Ramirez....who's done it 33 times this season so far. Can't be that hard. In fact, Ramirez equaled Jones total hits this season (27) in a span of just 17 games. Now I know what you could be thinking, maybe wondering, "hey, it's not fair to compare Jones to Ramirez, since Ramirez is one of the best players in the game." But my answer to your thinking is this: Jones is getting paid more than Ramirez, so he better be able to at least come close to his output. Both players are supposed to be superstars, yet only one of them is putting up superstar type numbers.

If Andruw Jones were to be paid according to his output this season, I'm pretty sure that his form of currency would consist of Farmer John Dodger Dogs. He looks like he's had a few since coming to Dodgertown, so it would suit him well. I wish that were the case, but he is making $18 million dollars to be the worst player ever.

In his last 3 years of play, Jones has had an above average of 117 RBI per season. This season, however, Jones is on pace for 20 RBI. Even Ichiro equaled that number in the first half of this season, and he bats leadoff for the worst team in the league.

To equal his career mediocre batting average of .260, Andruw Jones will have to bat exactly .356 the rest of the season. Fat chance of that happening, he couldn't even bat that number in a single game.

Although it's somewhat difficult to laugh off Jones' terrible play, I know who has no problem at all when it comes to having a good chuckle: Atlanta Braves fans. I'm sure after his last season, when he batted .222, his fans, owner and manager could not wait to get rid of him. Ned Colletti's nose for big-named terrible talent eventually caught scent of him though, and look where all Dodgers fans are now.

I'm sure that I could come up with even more reasons to blame Andruw Jones for this year's failing version of the Dodgers, but that will have to wait for another article.

At least after writing this article I discovered why the all-star break is actually really great, because for a few days I do not have to risk the fear of being blinded by Andruw Jones' awful and underachieving play.

I am not sure how much longer the Dodgers can depend on their young guys such as Matt Kemp and James Loney, who have been playing great baseball, but hopefully they will get some help before it is too late and the Dodgers once again blow another season.

The thing that is really pathetic is that the Dodgers still have a chance to win their division, since Arizona shows no signs of being able to pull away. If Brandon Webb was not so dominant, the D'Backs would have no shot right now. That reminds me of what the Dodgers really need, a dominant player, because Andruw Jones has not been able to fill that role of "superstar." All the Dodgers currently have are a bunch of good players, but no really great ones. That is why they are average, and can't seem to ever take the lead in the NL West.

I wish the Dodgers could take some money back from Andruw Jones, who has pretty much been a thief this season and is technically stealing money by playing so terribly. I can't imagine him keeping up this play because it seems like Dodgers fans are already at his throat, but at least he can only go up from here. If Jones were to hit a mediocre 1 for 4 every game, that would still raise his average considerably. How pathetic is that?

And with that cheerful update at the halfway mark of this 2008 Dodgers campaign, I leave you to ponder about why the Dodgers are so terrible and continually underachieve in every aspect of baseball. Hopefully they'll be thinking about that during this all-star break, but I'm pretty sure they will not. If you have not noticed already, here is the trend that has been happening the last 20 years: Dodgers suck for most of the year, try hard at the end, then fizzle out and miss the wildcard by a few games. How disappointing, but not very surprising.

Way to go Andruw, you impress me more and more every single day you are in a Dodgers uniform.

Welcome back Andruw, you were sorely missed.

Just to remind you all once again, I would like to point out that Jones is batting .155 this season and is getting paid $18 million for it. What a wonderful investment by Ned Colletti, but we all know his job security is strongly intact. Maybe Colletti can somehow pull a "Mitch Kupchak" and make himself appear as if he were a good General Manager by stealing a great player from another team, but we all know that will never happen. This is the Dodgers, and if LA fans haven't learned yet...it is painful as a fan to wish anything good to come out of this organization. And if good does occur, it is underpaid, traded or both.

Just for Mr. Jones, here are a few pics to lighten the mood:

K #1 for Andruw

K #2, Money Well Spent

This one looks like it's worth $18 million, K #3

How about no more of these?? HAHAHA yeah right, K #4.

Being the Dodgers fan that I am, I would like to say this to our dear friend, Ned: Hey Ned, Andruw Jones has been playing terribly all season while being 100% healthy, but if you feel that making an excuse for your incompetentency as General Manager by signing an over-the-hill player for $18 million dollars will smooth this situation over, then just admit it. Jones has been playing badly because he reported to camp 30 lbs. overweight and never got out of his 2007 season long slump. He is financially secure, thanks to Colletti-- who I would like to point out was the ONLY General Manager who felt that Jones warranted such a ridiculous contract. Most players going into the last year of their contract, or what is known as a "contract year," play the best baseball of their lives (ex- Adrian Beltre..ha Seattle!), but Jones batted a pathetic .222 average with Atlanta last season. The Dodgers basically rewarded Jones for his career, rather than the player he is today, and that is why we all have to suffer. Thanks a lot Ned, but at least outfielder Juan Pierre is getting paid $9 million to not sit on the bench anymore...

It really is too bad that the Dogders decided to pursue Andruw Jones over Torii Hunter, because look at what Hunter has done with the Angels this season. He has been a solid player on offense and in the field, but Colletti had to be a Dodgers front office man and go with the bigger named and less talented player in Jones. Thanks a lot Ned, great decision.

Believe it or not, Colletti also stated that he viewed Jones' injury as a positive because Jones will be able to come back in 4-6 weeks at 100% and make a contribution. First of all, Ned, just strike that "four weeks" possibility and call it what it is: a 6 week minimum recovery. Then Jones will have to do his rehab assignment with a minor league baseball team, so that will be another week at least. Jones will then come back to the Dodgers and resume his struggles as a baseball player, and we will all be back to where we started...booing him!

At least we do not have to worry about Matt Kemp or Andre Eithier losing playing time anymore, since both players will now no longer have to worry about Jones taking it. What's even more hilarious is that Kemp and Ethier make less than $1 million combined, but they have to pick up all the slack for Jones anyway. I bet that sits well with those guys...


In other news, I had to witness another game in which Chan-Ho Park pitched again. Didn't the Dodgers try this experiment around five years ago, an experiment in which Park was just awful? Is my only memory of Chan-Ho Park still of his pathetic drop kick he attempted to do on a player from the Pirates several years ago? The answer to both of those questions is indeed a "Yes," but as for the most important question, "Why is Ned Colletti such an idiot for making us watch guys like Park and Jones?" I just can't put my finger on that one.

Yes indeed, after working hard to establish a semi-respectable record, the Dodgers returned to form by losing 6 of their next 8 games. That little up and down trend the Dodgers went on is what I call a summary of the 2007 season. Last season the Dodgers went into the All-Star break with the best record in the National League, but ended up collapsing and blowing their season all the way to a disturbing 4th place finish in the NL West division. It's funny how these trends go for the Dodgers, but there has always been a constant about them: They always end in disappointment.

There is a reason why the Dodgers have only one playoff win since 1988: The organization, from the front office down to the players in Dodgers blue, simply do not care at all whether they make the post season or not. Sure, baseball players do get some bonuses in cash for playing in the playoffs, but usually the amount of money they get is so insignificant that it barely puts a dent in their wallet. That is why losers like Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones have no care in the world when it comes to making the playoffs; and that partly explains why the Dodgers as a team have been so bad for the last 20 years. The Dodgers always overpay for players who underachieve, and the conclusion to that formula is always a disappointed and frustrated fan base.

After that mini-rant above, now let me tell you what is different about this year's Dodgers, and why this year they will make the playoffs: All of their best players are UNDERPAID. Can you believe it??? Yes, the Dodgers actually underpay GOOD players. To give you an example of this, look at the contracts of James Loney, Matt Kemp, Andre Either, and Russell Martin. All of the money they make combined equals about 1/8th of Andruw Jones' ridiculous $18 million dollar contract! What I'm really hoping is that the Dodgers young players will play well enough for the Dodgers to make the playoffs and actually win the first round series, but we all know that will not happen. It is always fun to hope though, so maybe with this column I found a way to raise the spirits of every other depressed Dodgers fan out there.

Also, this just in....Andruw Jones hit something called a "home run" today against the Milwaukee Brewers. Being a Dodgers fan who has followed Andruw Jones and his terrible play closely this season, that phrase has only been mentioned one other time so I am not exactly sure what it means. I think what Jones did was actually make contact with the ball, as in "hitting it," and somehow the ball flew over the outfield fence. That means Jones got to set foot on the base path and actually touch home plate at the end, which must have been an amazing experience. Keep it up Andruw, maybe one day we will see you batting above .200.

Nearly one month into this baseball season, 30 games to be exact, Jones is hitting with an incredibly pedestrian .163 batting average. That is just 16 hits in 98 at-bats, and that will not get the job done. But wait, of course there's more...

We all know that Jones isn't having his problems because of the number on the back of his jersey, since he managed to steal it away from the equally underachieving Esteban Loaiza. It looks like the great #25 is not making a difference anyway though, because if it did then I am sure that Jones would not have accumulated these disastrous numbers:

- 1 home run this season, he had 5 at this time last season as a member of the Atlanta Braves.
- Only 3 doubles in the month of April; 5 total this season.
- 34 strike-outs and 15 walks in 30 games, which comes out to over a 2:1 ratio of strike-outs to walks...pathetic.
- 4 RBI's in 30 games. That is downright embarrasing, especially for a power hitter.
- A .255 slugging percentage, which is Juan Pierre status....but worse.
- 0 Stolen Bases, which isn't surprising since he is reportedly 30 lbs. overweight.
- Only 14 runs scored, which is an average of less than 1 run scored every 2 games.
- 1 multi-hit game this season, which came against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates on April 15th.
- A 1/25 hitting streak from April 5th - April 13th


After making you sick to your stomach with those stats, which sum up Jones' terrible play this season, let me remind you once again that he is under a two-year, $36 million dollar contract. I do not know if I can put up with this for the rest of this season alone, and it looks like Dodgers manager, Joe Torre, is feeling the same way. Lately I've noticed that Torre has been benching Jones in favor of Juan Pierre, and embarassingly enough, Pierre is actually outplaying Jones. So, the Dodgers are basically splitting center fielding duties with guys making a combined total of $27 million dollars. That is nearly half the total of what the Colorado Rockies (World Series Runner-Ups) are making as a team.

If you think Jones is laughing all the way to the bank, then I wonder how his fellow Dodgers are feeling about his astronomical salary. Andre Either, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and James Loney are all outperforming Jones by a landslide, yet all of them make less than $1 million per season. In fact, their salaries hover around the $500,000 mark. All of these players also came up through the Dodgers farm system, yet incompetent Dodgers General Manager, Ned Colletti, rewards Andruw Jones with a huge free agent contract. I love the way the Dodgers do business, and I am sure many of the young guns in their locker room feel the same way....it is ridiculous.

Even if Ethier would have caught the ball the runner would have tagged up and scored anyway, so the Dodgers proved once again that they know how to blow games in a variety of ways. If you are wondering what pitcher allowed the last place Giants so many baserunners in such a crucial inning, look no further than Esteban Loaiza. This game was in the midst of a heavy rainstorm, and if Loaiza does not allow any runs, then the game would have been called due to rain and the Dodgers would have won, 1-0. The umpires were just itching to end this game, but the Dodgers, of course, had to give up the tieing run right before the rain delay was called. Once the rain finally ceased, the Dodgers resumed play with their rivals from SF and managed to lose the game in nine innings outright. Way to go, Dodgers, I am sure this will not be the last time I see a game like this.

One thing that I was glad to see about yesterday's game was that manager Joe Torre placed right fielder Matt Kemp back into the starting lineup. I do not care how much Juan Pierre is getting paid ($9 million this season), because Kemp is clearly the better player because he hits for power and can also steal bases. The Dodgers desperately need a hitter like Kemp, who should be an every day player. If anyone should be sharing time in the outfield it should be Ethier with Pierre, but for some reason Torre appears to be alternating Kemp. I sincerely hope that Pierre is not being used solely on the basis of his gigantic and underserved contract, because that sounds like the Dodgers' front office is running this ball club. If anyone should have the right editing this lineup, all responsibility should fall on Joe Torre's shoulders, because he actually knows a thing or two about baseball.

....and do not think I will not end this article with another shot at Dodgers General Manager, Ned Colletti. Hey Ned, sure looks like that Juan Pierre signing is paying dividends, right? I love when the Dodgers overpay a player, but it is even better when that overpaid player loses his starting position and has to share time. I am sure that Juan Pierre is laughing all the way to the bank, so once again, great decision on handing out that contract, Ned.

Also, Andruw Jones is batting a pathetic .200 average after his first three games of the season, as he has gone 2/10. He has also not scored a run or had an RBI. In spring training at Vero Beach he hit for a pedestrian .214 average, so now once the season has started he appears to be kicking it into high Dodgers underachieving gear. Way to go Andruw, but I am sure you do not even care, since Ned Colletti is paying you $18 million this season. Amazing.

Barry Zito, the $126 million dollar ace, once again got smashed by the Dodgers and looked awful. If he keeps pitching like he did today and last season, then there is no way he will finish the year out in the majors. One guy who stood out in the Dodgers' lineup today was our favorite motor cross fan and old man in general, Jeff Kent. The Dodgers oldest second baseman to ever start on opening day found a way to hit a two-run home run shot, and the Dodgers never looked back after that. James Loney also had a nice day as he knocked in a run of his own, and I'm sure fantasy owners loved his stolen base. Andruw Jones, the $18 million dollar free agent signee, is already on pace to have a better average than last year's pathetic season because he went 1/4 today. That is kind of sad, but at least it's an improvement. Oh yeah, often injured starter, Jason Schmidt, will be starting this season on the Disabled List because of lingering shoulder problems...what a surprise.

Seriously, there are 161 more games to go this season, so do not set your hopes too high....we all know what happened last year.

Jeff Kent has also suffered his annual phantom hamstring injury, so I'm sure he will miss the rest of camp and have another miraculous recovery before the official start of the season. Dodgers' closer, Takashi Saito, is also slowly recovering from a strained calf muscle, but he has been improving in his outings of late. His ERA is 9.00 in his only four appearances, which does not seem very encouraging. Andruw Jones is not injured, well not yet at least, but he did report to camp at about twenty pounds overweight. I guess that's the kind of work ethic to be expected after signing a $36 million contract for two seasons; Jones sure is picking up how to be a Dodger quickly...

In other news, reliever Joel Beimel was hit in his glove by a Jason Repko line drive, but Beimel has reported no further complications from his injury. If the Dodgers put as much effort into beating opposing teams as they do each other, I'm sure this spring break would be a lot more successful.

Speaking of Jason Repko, I'll just let his quote on his own injury status speak for itself:

"My body is tight, and some people might call it overcautious, but after last year, I'd rather take a couple of days off. That's a lot better than possibly getting injured," said Repko. "Maybe it's a mental thing I have to get over. I've passed the mental block on my hamstring. I don't think about that.

"But maybe I'm so worried about just having been hurt that I want to make sure I feel good. Maybe my hamstring was tight last spring, and I was so focused on impressing people that I didn't recognize it. I'm just being cautious and trying to be smart. I want to be able to play all year and have a long career. If I didn't learn anything last year, I'd be stupid."

Repko is referring to having sore quad muscles, and seems to believe that the best way to make the Dodgers' team is to simply rest and not play, that way he won't make the same mistake he did last year with his hamstring. Great reasoning, Jason, I'll see you in the minors.


Since this one is definitely the best, I chose to save it for last:

Due to the riggors of walking across the baseball field, Dodgers new skipper, Joe Torre, has been seen taking rides across the practice field in a golf cart. At least Torre is being more efficient than former manager Grady Little, because Little would not even bother. Torre's golf cart also has a seat for assistang manager, Larry Bowa, who has also been seen hitching some rides. No wonder the Dodgers have their spring training in Florida every year, the senior citizen care (for players and managers) is truly excellent.


Things are sure looking up for the boys in blue, and I cannot wait for this season to start. To beat last year's season record of 82-80 would require the Dodgers to be a little more than average, and I'm sure they can do it. The way things are going this training camp, I am sure that the Dodgers will be missing the playoffs by three games or fewer this season in no time...

LaRoche suffered the ligament tear, which partially fractured his thumb because the ligament was torn off, during a fielding play when the ball deflected off of a base runner's helmet and struck him in the thumb. It was a very unfortunate accident, although not surprising because it is the Dodgers, so now Nomar will struggle to hit for power and do anything productive for at least two months until LaRoche is projected to come back. The Dodgers announced that LaRoche will be out for eight weeks, but that is a very generous assessment. Usually with ligament tears of this matter, the ligament has to be reattached and the hand is put in a cast for no less than six weeks. When the cast is removed, LaRoche's hand will have no movement and he will have to go through weeks of rehab to get the flexibility and strength back, so I predict that he will not be back in a Dodgers uniform until the start of June at the earliest. Since LaRoche is a rookie and this will be a difficult injury to come back from, I'm pretty sure he will not be productive at all this season. Nomar sure is a lucky guy, but at least he's getting paid to actually do something now.

While reviewing some of the articles on the Dodgers website concerning how their training camp is going, I was not surprising at all to see how many players have the flu, cramps, back spasms, or blisters. Do the Yankees, Red Sox, Rockies...you know, winning teams...have these types of problems also?? I'm sure they do, but not to the extent of the Dodgers. This really is ridiculous, but that's the competitive drive that comes with an 82-80 ball club I guess.

Here's an interesting fact for the day: Second baseman Jeff Kent is about to become the first 40-year old starter in Dodgers franchise history on opening day. Wow, the Dodgers' youth movement sure is working out beautifully. Kent did actually lead the Dodgers in home runs last year with a whopping 20 though, so good for you Jeff. Hopefully our $18 million per year and overpaid underachieving center fielder, Andruw Jones, will have a stronger year though... but you never know...it's the Dodgers.

So with all of this optimistic coverage, I'm proud to say that the Dodgers' opening day is only three weeks away. The Dodgers will be hosting a Barry Bonds-less Giants team on March 31st, so by then I will likely figure out which Giant I will spend the most time disliking for this season. Last year it was Brett Tomko, a Giant disguised in a Dodgers uniform, but I have no idea who it will be this year. How about Giants starting pitcher, Tim Lincecum? He looks like he's about 13 years old, so he should do fine.

Can demand for tickets really be this high? Are true blue Dodgers fans just itching to pay Ned Colletti's salary in return for the terrible and underachieving players he's placed in uniform?? Will it be so impossible to get opening day tickets that this email selection process is the end-all-be-all way of doing it? For all answers to the proposed questions, I would say no, no, and no to all of them. This is simply just another way for the Dodgers to feel exclusive, and although the tickets would sell out the normal 'buy them online' way, the Dodgers feel that they must select random fans by chance in a useless email raffle. Either way, the tickets sell out and poor Dodgers fans overpay, so of course the Dodgers win in the end. What happened to setting a date and time for opening day tickets to go on sale and letting the fans fight it out online? This way gives everyone a chance at least, and is part of the joy of buying tickets for your favorite team. I used to enjoy waking up in the morning and clicking refresh on my screen over and over until I was finally given the opportunity to buy, but now even the Dodgers have taken that joy away. Pretty soon they'll be emailing us coupons for Dodger dogs, with the opportunity to pre-pay with a Dodgers credit card before printing out the coupon to be redeemed only on Sunday games...that wouldn't surprise me at all. The Dodgers keep finding ways to make themselves look more and more ridiculous every day.

Speaking of ridiculous, how about the fact that the Dodgers are still considering Esteban Loaiza as their 5th starter in the rotation? What this guy was doing at the end of last season was not close to pitching, he was basically throwing batting practice to the NL West in September. His 5.62 ERA was astronomical, and his $8 million dollar salary boggels the mind. Way to go Ned, once again. The only guy competing with Loaiza for the job is former Giant, and damaged goods pitcher Jason Scmidt. Schmidt was once a pretty dominant pitcher, but after joining the Dodgers he was, of course, lost for last season due to surgery on his throwing arm. This guy was also signed by Ned Colletti, further crippling the Dodgers financially. It should be interesting to see who wins the job between these two Dodger lowlight reels, but either way the result should be disappointing because I do not see either of them finishing out the season.

Nice to see that things are looking so bright and shiny for the Dodgers right now, I would not want it any other way.

And baseball season has not even started yet...


p.s. here is the page where you register for the Dodgers email raffle...fill it out and hope for the best. I'm pretty sure it will not work and tickets will eventually be opened up for fans to buy online at their own will, but we shall see.