Should the Dodgers Release Andruw “Tubbo” Jones?

With the Padres releasing Jim Edmunds and his $9 million salary, it begs the question: should the Dodgers do the same with Andruw “Tubbo” Jones?  The answer is clearly no, as his contract is guaranteed for another year and a half, but there are other options:

1.) Bench him indefinitely and recall Mattingly to work with this guy as a special project (isn’t that what Mattingly is on the payroll for?)  If this isn’t a “special assignment,” I don’t know what is.  Someone tell Torre to flash the Dodger logo up in the night sky. When Mattingly sees it, he will know the team’s in trouble and it’s time to return to the West Coast (“Donnie Baseball” is currently out working on an important assignment with the Great Lake Loons).

2.) Install a treadmill in the dugout and make Jones walk or run on it throughout every game.

3.) Banish him to AAA.  While this would be humiliating all the way around, it certainly would be more embarrassing for Tubbo.  Paul Oberjuerge has a great take on this as well – check it out.

Of all these options, I combination of #1 and #3 would be best (although I would LOVE to see option #2 put into place).  Think about it: sending Jones to the minors allows him time to escape the glare of the LA sports media and work on his swing with one of the true hitting legends of the game.  It allows the Dodgers to give Ethier some much needed at bats on a consistent basis and it sends a clear message to the rest of the team.  If the booing Dodger Stadium crowd wasn’t a wake-up call to Jones, an extended trip to Vegas certainly would be.  Who’s with me?