With Marcus Thames out of the question since he signed with the Dodgers earlier in the week, the question in Yankeeland is who will be the fourth outfielder come opening day? Johnny Damon was once an option, exciting Yankee fans for nostalgic reasons. But his poor defensive skills and weak arm, along with batting left handed did not fit the bill the bombers were looking for. So the Yankees turned to Andruw Jones, the player that once as a teenager hit two home runs against them in the 1996 World Series.
Pros for adding Andrew Jones :
- Hit .256 against lefties last season and .261 against lefties for his career. Those numbers may not look great but his power is what really matters, and he sure can hit for power. 8 HRs in 86 AB's for 2010.
- Andruw is better defensively, the former Center fielder still can play average defense in left field. Jones did win a gold glove just 4 seasons ago, so his defense hasn't fallen off that much, could it?
- Still just 33 years old.
- Jones always starts out hot, hitting .291/9/15 over the last 2 seasons.
- Strike out city! Jones strikes out a ton, but hes not like Nick Swisher who does strike out, but walks alot. Jones is known for reaching for outside pitches and swinging at balls.
- What if they get a repeat of Randy Winn or even worse Jones plays like his 2008 season. Winn was a bust who was suppose to platoon and play defense. He did neither very well. As for Andruw and his 2008 season, it was the worst ever for a player being paid $14.8 million. In 209 AB's, Jones hit just .158 with just 3 homers.
- Just as he starts out hot, it also means that he cools down quickly. Over the past two seasons in the months of June,July and August his highest batting average was .273(33AB). But some of the other numbers are, .086 (35AB) .224 (58AB), .170(53AB), .209 (67AB), .167 (48AB)
- Andruw spells his name different from Andrew, causing too many typos.
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