Thursday, January 15, 2009

Andruw Jones, and the Team of Geniuses Responsible for this Disaster

Today, Andruw Jones ended his career as a Los Angeles Dodger. Officially, that is.

But before we all get weepy at the ephemeral tenure of Andruw Jones as a Los Angeles Dodger, let's all take a trip back on memory lane, recalling the wisdom of those who had brought him here.

Front and center, of course, is Frank McCourt, who told the LA Times in March 2008 that Jones' addition meant it was "time to win":

VERO BEACH, Fla. – Noting the addition of Joe Torre, the signings of high-priced free agents Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda, and the increased maturity of the young players, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt made clear Tuesday what he expects from his team this year.

“It’s time to win,” McCourt said.

Yep, nothing says "winning" like a sub-Mendoza batting average. Good thinking, Frank.

Equally effusive over Jones' signing was McCourt's henchman, Ned Colletti, who thought that Jones' precipitous dropoff in power numbers with the Braves in 2007 merited awarding the largest annual salary in the history of the franchise. Said Colletti:

"Andruw provides a power bat for the middle of our lineup and he is among the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball," said Colletti. "He has a decade of postseason experience and adding him to the core of talented players already in place was one of our top offseason priorities."

Yikes, I am scared to consider what Ned's "top offseason priorities" are for 2009.

Ned and Frank, and the biggest debacle of their tenure. They're definitely to be blamed for this one-year disaster, and they're front and center...

...but guess who else shows up in the Dodgers.com photo gallery from December 12, 2007, during the Jones press conference? Might there be someone else to help Jones with his offensive stroke?

Egads! SoSG's own Eric Karros?!?!?!

2 comments:

Rob said...

The older Jamie McCourt gets, the more she looks like a botched transsexual operation.

Orel said...

That's Frank you're looking at, Rob.