I noticed last night that Old Friend Andruw Jones hit three home runs last night in Anaheim to help defeat the Angels 8-1. The initial reaction from Dodger fans could understandably be disgust; after all Jones hit as many homers last night as he did all of 2008 with the Dodgers.
However, here is why you should be happy about this turn of events:
- We already knew Andruw Jones came into last season out of shape. Nothing he does now will change that fact. The fact that he did that alone is enough for scorn; anything he does now will not make 2008 Andruw a fit, or productive player. I'm sure you are familiar with the idea of a sunk cost -- like the Blue Jays were in cutting B.J. Ryan -- so think of Andruw's 2008 as a sunk emotion. That train has already left the station, and nothing we will ever do can bring it back.
- If Andruw Jones wasn't the worst free agent signing ever, the Dodgers never would have acquired Manny Ramirez.
- If Andruw Jones wasn't a horrible player with the Dodgers, it is very likely that the second-best defensive centerfielder in all of baseball, Matt Kemp, wouldn't even be roaming the middle. By the way, there's still time to VOTE FOR MATT!!!
- The better Andruw does, the more he will play, and the more likely he will be to pick up the Comeback Player of the Year award. Anything Jones earns with Texas, the Dodgers get half, so if he gets his $200,000 for winning the comeback award, that's another $100,000 pocketed by the Dodgers. There are also a number of plate appearance based incentives that Jones could attain as well, so we should root for him to play everyday.
- There are too many positives that come with rooting for a team with the best record in baseball to waste time or negative energy on someone like Jones
As long as Andruw keeps his mouth shut, I have no beef with him.