Chipper on Druw
@ 240 lbs !!!!!
Andruw Jones seeks revival with Dodgers | ajc.com
Chipper Jones, a rare Braves player with a chance to finish his career in Atlanta, senses some disappointment.
"He wants to be here," said Chipper, who played golf this winter with Andruw. "He misses it. He knows he's going to miss it. We talked a little bit. He only signed a two-year deal. He knows the restraints we're under monetarily. He knows that in two years he's going to get an opportunity to come back if he so desires and wants to work with Atlanta."
It's probably not that simple, though. The Braves traded for Mark Kotsay as a one-year bridge to center field prospect Jordan Schafer.
Jones might have been that one-year bridge if the Braves had offered him salary arbitration. But the Braves, who didn't want to risk Jones accepting and commanding some $16 million, didn't offer.
Jones acknowledged he would have accepted arbitration.
"Yeah, sure," Jones said. "Probably just to get another year to get myself ready [for free agency]."
Boras had said all along Jones wouldn't take a one-year deal. The Braves weren't going to offer him one. "We had already made a decision it was time to move on," new Braves general manager Frank Wren said.
Greg Maddux surprised the Braves when he accepted arbitration in 2003 and got $14.75 million. He was gone without an offer the next year. When it was pointed out he and Maddux had that much in common, Jones got about as inflammatory as he would get.
"I don't want to say much," he said. "They're always right. We're the ones who are wrong. That's the way it is."
Promising to drop pounds
Jones gets a fresh start in L.A. He was one of the few veterans to volunteer to go to China for exhibition games against San Diego. He's in a locker next to good friend and former Braves teammate Rafael Furcal.
He raised some eyebrows reporting to camp at 240 pounds. But he assured new manager Joe Torre he'll lose it as the season progresses.
Jones said he doesn't feel awkward toward his old team or its front office. He saw Schuerholz at Jeff Francoeur's and Brian McCann's weddings this winter.
"I understand their decision," Jones said. "I have no problem with that. It could be different if they had a couple talks and stuff, but there was no talks; I think they had their plan already, what they wanted to do. I had to move on."
Jones did ask if any Brave was wearing his old No. 25. No one is. The Braves won't move on that quickly