Andruw Jones only hears cheers but little has changed

PHOENIX -- It was a gut-wrenching decision, but I agreed to take a family vacation again, passing on the RV for long airplane rides, which explains why I'm with the Dodgers now in serious need of comic relief -- the vacation's not supposed to end until next week.

And you can just imagine how happy Andruw Jones & his fellow stiffs were to see me at Chase Field.

I'm not one for hugging athletes, so I appreciate the fact Jones didn't throw himself at me, knowing there's a good chance he'd have missed and how embarrassing would that have been?

He said he's different now, so I looked it up, but he still appears to be a slug with a bat.

"I love the fans," he said, a few months after saying he didn't care what the fans had to say. "I changed my mind."

The fans continue to boo Jones in Dodger Stadium, but he said, "with boos you get cheers."

Now I sure hope he hasn't started drinking to raise his spirits, as if that's going to solve anything -- relieved when he cleared up any misconception.

"When I hear the fans boo, I hear cheers," he said. "I hear the fans who are pushing for me."

I can't imagine anyone in Dodger Stadium rooting for Jones, especially after striking out five times in one game recently, but he said, "I hear what I hear."

I mentioned this to Joe Torre, and he said, "those cheers are coming from the dugout."

Once the laughter subsided, Torre said, "It's nice to know the guy dressing next to you is pulling for you."

I reminded Torre that Jeff Kent is dressing next to Jones here, and he probably didn't even say hello to the guy when they returned to work Friday.

Sixty-seven games to go, the Dodgers one game out of first behind the Diamondbacks, who are just as inept as our heroes, and if Jones does anything, the Dodgers probably win the division going away.

"I like what I see in batting practice," Torre said, and allowing Larry Bowa to work as designated pitcher for Jones isn't an idea any crazier than awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the winner of the All-Star game.

Instead, the Dodgers are calling on minor league roving hitting instructor Jeff Pentland to help. Pentland worked with Jones in Las Vegas, and Torre said, "Jones didn't miss a pitch he swung at."

And so with Pentland, a.k.a. the rabbit's foot, now in Arizona, Jones stepped up in the first against a struggling Arizona pitcher already rocked for three runs, and struck out.

He now has 33 more strikeouts than hits, GM Ned Colletti, who has apparently gone into hiding, probably curled up in a ball and wailing somewhere.

Holy Colletti, did I mention the Dodgers just shut down Jason Schmidt again with a sore arm?

Third inning, Nomar Garciaparra hits a 416-foot home run and then Jones strikes out. This keeps up and Pentland will be roving the minors again.

What a disaster. The Dodgers need every win to advance to the playoffs, and Torre says Jason Johnson will start Tuesday's game. Jason who?