changing places

There was a time — 2007, to be exact — when it appeared that Brandon Jones was on his way to being the Atlanta Braves’ starting left fielder for years to come. Now, he’s fighting for a backup job with the Milwaukee Brewers, his fourth team in about a year’s time. Just hard to believe, really. The soft-spoken Jones, with his picturesque left-handed swing, hit .293 with 15 home runs, 74 RBIs and 12 stolen bases for the ’07 Mississippi Braves, who rode his back to a first-half title in the Southern League South. He went to Triple-A and hit .300 with four homers and 26 RBIs there, then got a cup of coffee in Atlanta. He got another brief look with the Braves in 2008 but apparently didn’t impress the right people. Atlanta signed aging veteran Garret Anderson to play left field in 2009, and Jones seemingly became an afterthought. Though he batted .257 in his 51 big-league games with Atlanta, Jones was waived prior to the 2010 season and claimed by Pittsburgh, which gave him a short look last spring before demoting him to the minors. Jones, perhaps disheartened, struggled with the Pirates, who traded him to Detroit late last summer. He became a free agent this past off-season and signed with the Brewers. He’s in their camp now, battling the likes of Brandon Boggs and Chris Dickerson for the fourth outfield job. Jones is only 27, so he’s still got time to find his niche. There was magic in his swing in 2007. It’s still gotta be in there somewhere.
P.S. Ole Miss, unranked in any preseason polls, has cracked the Top 30 (at No. 28) in the latest Collegiate Baseball rankings. The Rebels are off to a 7-1 start and took two of three at Houston last weekend, a nice showing.