I didn’t like Brian Jordan the first time, when he was merely overrated and overpaid for a serviceable corner outfielder. I like him even less now as a has-been with twisted limbs and a shot to cost the Braves several games in the standings. I like him so little that I’m starting to come around on the whole Mondesi thing.
Jordan played right field for the Braves from 1999-2001. Even then, he had injury problems (missing 29 games in 2000) and was a fairly ordinary hitter when in the lineup. In his Braves career, Jordan hit .281/.334/.463, with most of his damage coming against lefthanders. He then cried like a little baby when the Braves traded him for a far superior player, Gary Sheffield. Jordan had one season with the Dodgers which was close to his Atlanta standard, then started having major injury problems. In 2003, he managed a fluky .372 OBP but slugged only .420; last season, with the Rangers, in a hitters’ park, he hit .222/.275/.363. He played 66 and 61 games in those years. So of course the Braves brought him back.
Jordan can still hit lefties some (.259/.316/.482 last season) and that has a little value. Over the last three years he’s hit .260/.315/.386 against righthanders; his numbers last year are unprintable. If the Braves are sensible and platoon him with Ryan Langerhans, they might be okay. If they let Jordan play everyday, he will stink, but he’ll get hurt soon enough, and even if he doesn’t he’ll be so bad that Bobby will eventually yank him. Jordan will then cry to his boyfriend (the columnist who shall not be named) and raise another stink, which is what he does. I don’t get why this guy is supposed to be a good citizen.
Jordan was a pretty good defensive outfielder once. The leg injuries have likely ended that. He can’t run the bases anymore either (8-of-15 SB over the last three seasons).
A bit harsh…but nothing in there I could really disagree with.
At least now the other team’s wide receivers will have to think twice about running crossing patterns through left field??
Maybe he could wear some of his old FB pads in the outfield…
Dang Mac, tell us how you really feel. I guess the truth hurts. One of the worst contracts Schuerholz has ever made.
I still can’t figure out why this guy got 600k guarenteed when he could have been an NRI for crying out loud. I agree that the Mondesi signing looks positively brilliant compared to this guy. Schuerholz has every right to be confident in his decisions and he has made more right ones than wrong ones in the past 15 years but not even he can resurrect BJ. If BJ plays well then shoot I’m going to fly down to ATL for JS feeds the masses with one fish and 2 loaves of bread night at the stadium.
I am pulling for Langerhans so hard this spring training that I might just sprain something.
$50,647,334…good grief!
“I like him so little that I’m starting to come around on the whole Mondesi thing.”
Excellent! I love the way you sugar coat your feelings. But, alas, I have to agree. In my dreams, he hits .295/23/94 and drives in the winning run in Game 6 off Mo Rivera to win the ’05 Series. I also have dreams that Anna Kournikova and Natalie Portman fight over which one gets to share the bed with me. I guess you see where I’m going with this dream thing.
no faith! come on guys! what’s the big deal? he signed for 600k. what could that money have gotten anyway? another washup ya’ll would be down on. truthfully, i think it was a good decision. both the mondesi and jordan deal will be good for the braves. jordan’s best seasons came with the braves. he will overachieve one more time. go schuerholz, go mondesi, go jordan, go bravos!
jordan’s best seasons came with the braves.
Untrue. Jordan’s best season was with the Cardinals in 1998, when he was 31. He set career highs in BA and SLG and had his best full season in OBP (the 66-game part-season with the Dodgers in 2003 was better for that). And, gosh, it was his free agent year. Funny how that works. The Braves signed a 32-year-old player who was sure to decline from a peak year. Now he’s 38 and coming off of two bad years.
Anyway, his next three best seasons are all pretty equal, 1995, 1996, 2001 — two with the Cards, one with the Braves. Those were his only three full seasons with the Cards because of football and injuries. His overall line as a Cardinal was .291/.339/.474, slightly better than his overall line with the Braves.
As I’ve written before, the true cost of this contract is not the money he got but the instructional time and game at-bats he will take away from other players. The best case scenario (I mean, the best scenario with any likelyhood of happening) is that these are only in spring and that he hangs it up or goes on the DL with inability to hit before the season starts, giving way to someone who can actually play.
Ryan, its not the money thats being invested. Its the time. By bringing Jordan into camp, that is one less slot in the lockeroom. By bringing Jordan into camp, that is one fewer apparent hole for Schuerholz to worry about. By bringing Jordan into camp, that is X number of fewer ABs that other players don’t get.
To me, this is the same thing as brining Garth Brooks into camp. Interesting show and may be newsworthy, but in the end, it does nothing to help and may harm the chance to move forward. No, its not the end of the world, but best case scenario for Jordan, he’s just good enough to play and suck wins right off the scoreboard.
Great minds, Dan.
Spooky!
Lets just say the whole Jordan deal was like Micheal Jackson. It was Bad. But as far as the whole Mondesi thing goes, lets just say well get the same production as we would from Drew at less then haalf the cost.
Mediocre minds do too … 🙂
notice i said “seasons”. when we are talking consecutive seasons with 1 club, jordan’s best seasons were with the braves. he was productive then. yes, he is older, but this time around he has something to fight for. you guys even said that langerhans and others were not ready for a full-time position. i don’t understand what all the fuss is about? if it doesn’t pan out (which i think it will, because home is where the heart is), then go to plan b of platooning jordan w/ langerhans. it’s 600k (no matter which way u look at it), and most definitely not worth getting worked up about. if i am wrong, then i will eat my words (as long as i can add some hot sauce).
Last I checked, 1995 and 1996 were consecutive seasons. And together with 1998, they are multiple seasons. Three of his four best seasons were with St. Louis, period.
I agree w/Mac…I remember the crying Jordan did when leaving Atlanta.
in 3 years with cards, he had a .301 b.a., 64 hr, and 276 rbi. with braves in 3 seasons, 65 hr, 289 rbi and a .283 b.a. neither one of us are wrong, because the stands with each team are similar, unless i overlooked something. so 6 of his best years have come with the braves and cards. when healthy, he can be productive. let’s see what happens. mac, u r a smart guy and much respect goes to you. you can blow me out of the water with your baseball knowledge. i just look at things from a more personal level, rather than statistical. i think a player excels more when they are in a place they feel comfortable. turner field is jordan’s home stadium. even though he has played in texas, st. louis, and l.a, atlanta is his home. i predict (key word, predict) he will do well.