Jones prepares to make a stand

By Dylan Hernandez

Dec. 13, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Andruw Jones was 15 or 16 years old when he first visited Dodger Stadium.

Unsigned and having never seen a major league ballpark, Jones was taken by agent Scott Boras to the stadium’s fifth deck.

“His first words were, ‘Wow,’ ” Boras recalled.

The stadium that initially took Jones’ breath away officially became his home Wednesday, as he was introduced to the media in a morning news conference.

Jones, who signed a two-year deal worth $36.2 million, said he wasn’t concerned about Dodger Stadium’s reputation as a pitcher’s park. Smiling, he said, “You don’t hit many home runs against the Dodgers because they have good pitching.”

Jones, 30, said what was more important to him was that he identified what caused him to hit .222 last season for the Atlanta Braves. He hit 26 home runs, down from 51 in 2005 and 41 in 2006.

Upon examining video of his at-bats at the end of the season, Jones discovered that his balance was poor because his stance was too wide by about four inches, according to Boras.

“That his elbow was hurt didn’t help,” Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said, referring to a hyperextended left elbow that hindered him for much of the season.

Jones said he would “love to” hit fourth and that he wanted to wear No. 25, the number he wore with the Braves. The number currently belongs to pitcher Esteban Loaiza.

“We need to discuss that,” Jones said, grinning at Colletti.

Jones, who has won 10 Gold Gloves in a row, will play center field for the Dodgers, forcing incumbent starter Juan Pierre to move to left. Colletti said he spoke to Pierre last week about the change in position.

“He only wished he had a little more inkling about my thought process,” Colletti said. “I understood that.”

Colletti made it clear that Jones’ arrival didn’t make 23-year-old Matt Kemp expendable.

“I don’t have any interest in trading Matt Kemp,” Colletti said. “I think Matt Kemp has a chance to be a great player. Whether he does or not is up to him, but he has a tremendous amount of opportunity and potential to not just be a big league player, but to be a great big league player.”

Dodgers free-agent target Hiroki Kuroda was on a flight that landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday morning, but departed without speaking to reporters. The right-handed pitcher told reporters at Narita Airport in Tokyo that he was traveling to the United States to meet with his agent, San Diego-based Steve Hilliard.

Kuroda’s presence in Los Angeles further fueled speculation in Japan that he has his mind set on signing with the Dodgers, but Colletti said that no deal was in place and that Hilliard hadn’t reached out to the club to arrange a meeting.

“I don’t have a feel for what their thought process is or what their timing is,” Colletti said.

According to published reports in Japan, Kuroda has told his former team in Hiroshima that he already knows which big league club he wants to join. The reports speculated that the club in question is the Dodgers.

But the Japanese media reported in recent weeks that he was a sure bet to sign with the Seattle Mariners. Last week, the consensus regarding Kuroda’s destination shifted, with the Mariners and Dodgers becoming co-leaders.

Hilliard did not return a message left on his cellphone.

Left-hander Mark Hendrickson became a free agent on the eve of the non-tender deadline, as the Dodgers declined to offer him a contract. Hendrickson earned $2.925 million last season and was 4-8 with a 5.21 earned-run average.

The Dodgers offered contracts to their four other arbitration-eligible players: Joe Beimel, Yhency Brazoban, Scott Proctor and Jason Repko.

Right-hander Tanyon Sturtze, who played for Dodgers Manager Joe Torre in New York the last three seasons, headlined a group of 11 players to be signed to minor league deals and extended invitations to spring training. The others were right-handers Mike Koplove, Brian Falkenborg, Rick Asadoorian, Fernando Desgue and Greg Jones, left-hander Brian Shackelford, outfielder John-Ford Griffin, first baseman John Lindsey, infielder Angel Chavez and catcher Danny Ardoin.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

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By the numbers

Andruw Jones’ career statistics in Dodger Stadium:

At-bats: 133

Runs: 25

Doubles: 5

Home runs: 6

RBIs: 20

Avg: .233

On-base