Andruw Jones was overweight, hitting .161, and had struck out in 74 of his 205 at-bats so far this season when he went down injured. According to Jones,
those numbers are set in stone.
"This year," Jones said, "it's basically over."
He's reacting to the fact that his knee injury flared up again during his rehab assignment. The proverbial writing, however, is also on the wall with
Matt Kemp,
Manny Ramirez, and
Andre Ethier the everyday starters in LA's outfield. At this point you'd even have to consider
Juan Pierre ahead of Jones on the depth chart, given Jones' pathetic play in 2008. He knows it:
"If the team needed me and I was the only one who could be out there, I would wrap it up and play," said Jones, who cut short the first of his two rehab assignments to step in for an injured Juan Pierre in early July. "In this situation, we have other guys who have been getting the job done. I'll try not to be in their way."
Good thing for Andruw that his agent,
Scott Boras, was able to squeeze an extra year out of the Dodgers ... otherwise he'd be in line for a minor league contract or retirement next year. Either way, the unemployment line is not far off for someone once destined for Cooperstown.
