Is Crow On The Menu? (Part II)

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Yesterday I discussed the big intangible Teahen brings to the table that might just save his acquisition and contract extension from being a major bust - something I absolutely thought it would be originally. As my buddy posted in the comments section, just being funny sounds like a pretty rah-tarded thing to make up for mediocre play on the field.

Sort of true, but one guy really can make a difference in the demeanor of a team, and that difference can mean you win more ballgames. Plus, as I should have stressed, 3B for most teams is not somewhere you get much for production. Look around the league and aside a handful of guys like ARod, Longoria, and a few others, most teams have nothing but offensive mediocrity at the hot corner.

If Teahen can be like so many of those others and hold his own defensively while playing every day, he'll be a serviceable 3B. And a serviceable 3B who help keeps your team with the right attitude? I'll take it.


But today I'm not asking you to make such an intangible leap of faith. Instead, I look at the very tangible reasons adding Andruw Jones this offseason could end up not looking stupid - another outcome I originally thought to be fairly definite.

Why the change on Andruw Jones - it's pretty straight forward stuff. I will say I still can't believe they committed to a guy who hit under .220 in four straight months last year, all while playing in Texas, where EVERYONE hits, and had regressed so far defensively that he was mainly a DH.

But I've since learned he didn't get $1M, but instead only a $500k deal. It's not the difference in dollars per se, it's that $500k basically is the league minimum. So they paid the least amount of money they could to fill a roster spot. Viewed that way, why not take a shot at some career rejuvenation? Jones is still only 32 and with his financial gravy train doneski, maybe the motivation is now restored.

That still doesn't justify counting on a guy like Jones to play a significant role on the team, which at this point the Sox are. They didn't sign a true DH, which I like in principle, but am leery if the plan is that Jones can somehow handle a portion of those at-bats. Again, in June, July, August, and September of last year, he couldn't manage to hit over .220. In Texas. Where Milton Bradley and Gary Matthews (the two biggest salary dumps of this off-season) were offensive stars.

But two things are changing my mind. The first is simple - if there's anything in baseball that's easy to get, it's a right-handed bat. If you don't care what position he plays and don't need him to bat from the left side (both true for the Sox), then you pretty much can go to about half the teams in the league and they'll have someone they can offload on you. If Jones doesn't get it done by the end of April, Kenny can easily find himself another option via trade. So can I really sit here and say that I think the Sox downfall will be relying on Jones when I know they can so easily replace him?

The other thing - Jones has looked and sounded like a different player this spring. He's lighter, he's driven, and he's producing. Sure it's Spring Training, but it's definitely better than him not doing those things. At least the possibility is still there. And everything he's been saying sounds like he wants it bad. Jones is not content to be a right-handed bench option. He's not even content to be the main DH or a semi-regular OF.

No, Druw Jones expects to win that starting CF spot at sometime this season. And not just with his bat - he's apparently driven to show that he can still play center as good as anyone in the game. That's a statement that used to be undeniable, but in recent years seemed impossible.

Is Jones about the 10,000th player to come into camp in great shape and profess a new lease on life? Yep. Is he the 10,000th player to tantalize with a return to previous stardom? Yep. Could he be one of the small, small minority who actually comes through? Why not. The guy always was a head case. Even at his peak, you weren't sure you were getting his all. No one ever put a ceiling on this guy. He could steal, hit for power, and holy cow could he cover center.

At 32, there's no reason to think he's done. Will he be the Gold Glover he was for a decade? Probably not, as even fully committed, defense is a young man's game. But could he be a plus defender in all three OF positions? Yep - very plausible. And could he really get his offense back? Well, he never was a guy who hit for average, but he could definitely hit for power and drive in runs. Why couldn't he do it again? Plenty of players have good to great years from 32 to 34.

And that could end up being very necessary for the Sox. Rios and Quentin are huge question marks in the OF. Rios could hit .200 again and/or Quentin could be back on the shelf. Or a fluke injury to Pierre or Konerko (both impressively injury-free in their careers) or even Kotsay could put extra pressure on the Sox. And the guy who answers the bell might just be Jones. You can't think of a single good season by any team in baseball that didn't involve somebody unexpectedly stepping up and coming through in spades.


Look, I'm not pulling a 180 and saying these two moves which I previously loathed are now going to be the reason we win another ring. I'm just saying that I'm not as assured as before that I'm going to hate these moves. Teahen could be serviceable at third and bring something I find very necessary to the team dynamic. And Druw Jones could just rediscover what once made him good, at least enough to earn some starts in all three spots in the OF and to help the club with his 300-400 ABs.

The possibility is there, which is all you ask for. And as a fan, that's what you're hoping for - I want to be able to get a little bit excited about every part of this club. Despite my earlier assurances I couldn't, I'm starting to come around. There's a glimmer of hope that Teahen and Andruw Jones won't be stains on Kenny's resume. And that hope is what makes this time of year so fun in baseball.

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