Andruw Jones seeks contact in the D.R

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic – Andruw Jones' search for solid contact has landed him in the heartland of a baseball-crazed country that isn't his own, accumulating at-bats in the dead of winter.

The skills that made Jones a five-time MLB All-Star seemed to vanish upon putting on a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform after he signed a two-year, $36.2 million contract before the 2008 season. He was helpless at the plate, batting .158 with three home runs and 28 RBI in 209 at-bats, a far cry from his career averages of 33 home runs, 100 RBI and a .260 average.

Wasn't it only three years ago that Jones belted 51 home runs? He's only 31 years old. Where did it all go?

If Jones returns to the Dodgers with answers, they will have been found playing for the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. Aguilas veteran Rafael Furcal, a longtime teammate of Jones with the Atlanta Braves and the Dodgers, got him the gig.

Furcal met Jones' private plane at the airport. Jones, overweight and bloated during the regular season, has dropped a few pounds. He could drop a few more.

"I need at-bats," Jones said. "I am used to getting my 500-to-600-plus plate appearances, so as the 2008 season progressed, I realized that I was going to put everything aside and explore the possibility of playing winter ball."

Jones said he also plans to play in the World Baseball Classic. He was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Curacao, part of the Netherlands Antilles, making him eligible for the Netherlands' WBC team.

"The most important thing for me is my work habits," he said. "I need to maintain them, keeping my daily routine, so that's what I'm doing down here. It feels great to face live pitching, guys that are competing to try to get you out. It's not a spring-training environment here; it's a very intense league, and it's extremely important for our fans that we play well and win."

Dodgers fans might echo the sentiment. Jones made almost zero contribution to the team's National League West title. In fact, after going 10-for-31 with four homers in a short stint at Class AAA Las Vegas in August, he rejoined the Dodgers for only one game in September. He also missed the playoffs.

"The one thing I told [Dodgers manager] Joe Torre is that once the team got rolling and playing well, I didn't want to be in their way," he said. "Joe was great about it, we discussed me going to the minor leagues, where I swung the bat really well, but even after that, I did not want to be a distraction to a team that was finally playing so well, especially after we got Manny Ramirez."

The Dodgers are contemplating bringing back Ramirez, a free agent who doesn't appear to have many offers despite almost single-handedly leading the team to the NLCS. The return of Ramirez would greatly impact the scenario for Jones, who currently would compete with Juan Pierre for a third starting outfield spot alongside Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Should the Dodgers sign Ramirez, Jones would be on the bench.

Or be traded, if anybody would have him. He's had plenty of time to contemplate what went wrong last season.

"I tried too hard, especially after getting off to a slow start in L.A.," he said. "I got off to a bad start from spring training, the travel to China, Vero Beach [Fla.], Phoenix, all affected my rhythm in getting ready for the season. It became hard to find my hitting groove.

"Then it begins to get in your mind. I started listening to too many opinions regarding my batting stance, my approach, my hands, pretty much everything. People in the Dodgers, along with Joe [Torre], were trying their best to help, but I just dug a bigger hole by trying so many things."

Jones' right knee also bothered him, making it difficult to generate leg strength in his swing. He had surgery to repair torn cartilage in late May and missed a month. But he was no better upon his return and went on the disabled list Sept. 13 for the rest of the season.

"Something in my knee was not right," he said. "I was glad to see my doctors in Atlanta after the season, get the green light to work out, get into my routine, and really get into who I am as a player. I've got to have fun playing the game."

It's no fun to strike out 35 percent of the time, as he did last season. It's no fun to be booed, to be called overpaid, overweight and unmotivated – all labels he had to wear. Somehow, Jones said, he never lost his confidence, even though his body language at times indicated otherwise.

"As tough as 2008 was, I never lost confidence," he said. "I've always been a very confident player. I showed up at the ballpark with the Dodgers looking for that particular day to be the day for things to change."

He's still searching for that elusive day. He's played for about a week in the Dominican League, starting slowly by going 3-for-16 with eight strikeouts. The search continues.

"The reason I am here is because I want to make it right by working hard, and to put 2008 behind me."