Thursday, July 9, 2009

After 3-HR night, is it Andruw time?


Revivals have been started in less obvious places.

But Arlington's hot summer air has been known to defribillate some of baseball's least likely suspects.

Andruw Jones is the latest hitter-left-for-dead, taken off the scrapheap, propped up at home plate and turned into a reliable fantasy player.

In 2007, Sammy Sosa was able to smack 21 HR and drive in 92 runs, albeit while hitting .252, but still finishing higher than anyone thought possible after his swift demise from Wrigley to Camden to the Dominican.

But longtime Braves slugger Andruw Jones is experiencing a stunning turnaround from a 2008 season where he .158 with 3 HR in 209 ABs.

“He’s having a terrific season for them,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s obviously much more comfortable in the batter’s box than he was last year when we saw him with the Dodgers.”

On Wednesday night, Jones matched his total in the span of 5 innings, launching 3 HR in Anaheim, giving him 14 HR and 34 RBI, along with a respectable .250 average in 160 ABs.

Andruw put us on his back and everyone followed,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Now, the question is will you put Andruw back on your team, after secretly vowing to never trust him again?

My official advice: Be careful.

It's clear Andruw has regained some of his power stroke that led to 368 home runs with the Braves.

The real question: playing time.

Josh Hamilton is back and Nelson Cruz is a fixture in the lineup. That leaves one OF spot for David Murphy, who's been raking lately, and Marlon Byrd.

Fortunately for Jones, the Rangers have grown tired of the K machine Chris Davis and sent him to AAA despite 15 HR in the first half.

Hank Blalock has moved to 1B, opening up the DH spot for Jones, but Davis is bound to come back as soon as he regained his stroke (ala Howie Kendrick), creating a logjam, where Jones may be back to half-time status (he's only on pace for 320 ABs).

Fantasy Spin: If you're starved for power, in an NL or a shallow mixed league, I could endorse the Andruw ticket. As for mixed league pedigree, the RBI and run totals, not to mention the dragging average, should probably be left alone in 10-team leagues or smaller.

If it's any indication, it's been 24 hours since Jones' 3-HR outburst and nobody has taken a flier on Jones in our ultra-competitive 10-team Observer league.

1 comments:

Ghoul said...

If it's any indication, it's been 24 hours since Jones' 3-HR outburst and nobody has taken a flier on Jones in our ultra-competitive 10-team Observer league.

There are ten people still working at the Observer?