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Talking Chop

Braves' Chipper Jones Out For The Rest Of The Year

The final moments of Chipper's season on the field.

Bob Levey - Getty Images

The final moments of Chipper's season on the field.

The news all Braves fans were dreading today has finally come. Third baseman Chipper Jones will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Braves lose their leader on the field. They lose perhaps their most important hitter. This will be a huge blow to morale on the team, and a most unfortunate way for such a respected player like Jones to end his season, and possibly his career.

This will undoubtedly be the the most challenging time of Frank Wren's tenure as General Manager. He has lost his veteran third baseman and middle-of-the-order stalwart during a pennant race. He now must determine if he should make a trade, and if the answer is yes, then who should he trade for and how much should he deplete the Braves system in order to acquire an impact player, if one is even available.

With the flexibility of Martin Prado to play either second base or third base, there is no need to pigeon-hole a trade for just a third baseman. If a second baseman is more easily available, then that trade could be made. But make no mistake, the offense of Chipper Jones will be hard to replace, but if the Braves are to remain in first place then the team will have to try and replace his offense somehow.

My thoughts are with Chipper and his family as they face this difficult time. Certainly Chipper was already thinking of retiring, but I'm sure he wanted to go out on his own terms, and not like this. One has to wonder if this will hasten his decision to hang up his spikes, or if he will try to return to the team next season.

This sucks.

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Comments

This sucks so bad for Chipper...

I hope he sticks around the clubhouse either way to continue to inspire this team!

This is Chipper we are talking about. No way does he just abandon this team and not stick

around in the dugout and clubhouse.

SHIT! DAMN! FUCK!
on that note...

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE! I mean what a bad break!!! If he was out for a few days is bad luck but this is just, just,

no words for it.

(Expletive)

The team has rallied and done okay without Chip in the past. Can only hope they’ll do the same now and maybe Wren will come through.

Well, this kills us.

And I really hope it is not the way Chipper ends his career.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this team team can do it without Chipper

It just sucks having to.

I agree

But I would just love to see him in the playoffs again; he would be valuable for this team then

This

I don’t think this is worth raiding the farm for a one year commitment (I watched the Rangers last night, and want Andrus back please)

Worst possible news. How the team reacts, and what Wren does will determine the outcome of our season. I hope they can rally around each other to win and not turn into the Mets.

Yeah this could turn into one of those “do it for the gipper (haha Chipper)” type things.

I have a few options in mind to possibly replace him, but I’m not even worrying about that right now. Just reminiscing on a great career. He was my favorite player since I was 6 years old. Not every day you hear this type of news…

Agree...

I don’t even want to think of replacements for now…With the off day, I am just going to think of all the great memories of Chipper’s playing career!

And the thought of possible replacements...

would also change if Chipper wanted to rehab and come back or not.

I hope not, but was Chipper’s contract insured? If so, if he retires we’ll be able to pay him, and the insurance money can be used to get a FA.

ACL would mean if Chipper came back, he wouldn’t be ready Opening Day either, esp with his age.

Oyyyyyee

When I saw him writhing around after that play I knew this would happen. Wouldn’t a trade at this point have to clear wavers? How are we going to get anything better than prado to third and infante at second? Infante will move to a starting role and whoever they get will invariably have to back up Infante, right?

I think getting Chone Figgins to play 2nd and put Prado to 3rd would be best. I dont know how possible this is, but this is just a thought

I really dont like saying this though

Phillies won't let Figgins make it to us on waivers.

They have Utley still out and Polanco dinged up every other day.

Utley took BP yesterday

don’t know what that means about his return, but he’s hitting

Easy solution...

Change Chone Figgins’ name to Jeff Francoeur; he’d be sure to clear waivers when the Phillies see Francouer’s name…

For all we know...

Figgins could have already cleared waivers earlier this month.

Let’s not forget that many teams throw a bunch of players on waivers to see if anyone bites. If no one bites, teams don’t get a second chance to claim them later. They may be traded to anyone.

Because there’s so many people put on waivers at this time of year, it’s hard to know who’s been put on, who’s cleared, etc.

Let’s be patient and see how it all plays out.

-C

It's possible, but unlikely.

The Phillies just aren’t likely to let him pass (then or now) especially knowing that we could use him. Furthermore, while he is having a bad year, after firing Wakamatsu, I don’t think the Mariners have given up on him yet.

No way the Phillies could have risked it

They’re already going to be strapped for cash next year. The possibility of the M’s sticking them with Figgins and his 9 million dollar salary just wouldn’t have been worth it.

THIS

Keep in mind, claiming a player just to claim him can have significant ramifications of its own. If the Mariners weren’t to pull him off the table, they could simply shed his salary altogether. Walk away and say he’s their problem now.

The Phillies can’t say, “Oops, just joking!!” and give him back at that point. They’d be stuck with 3-4 more years @ $9MM a year, a pretty large expenditure.

Bear in mind, I doubt the Braves would even claim him under such circumstances. They could, but that’s 27-36 million dollars they’re taking on.

A trade with salary relief would be the more likely of the two options. After all, if a claim got to us, only the Giants and Padres would have a shot at him after us. If they didn’t claim him, he could then be traded to any team and no one gets a second chance at a claim.

This is by far the most likely of scenarios that would bring him here. Pass thru waivers (along with Lowe, or whomever we wanted to trade the M’s for him), and then do a deal once they’ve cleared.

-C

Actually...

Infante’s fielding percentage at 2B is better than Figgins. Omar = career Fld% .981, 1352 chances with 26 errors, Figgins = career Fld% .975, 891 chances with 22 errors. Infante has had a lighter workload at the plate this year, but his numbers are significantly better.

The only disadvantage to coming to rely on infante at second is potentially sacrificing his chameleon position abilities.

Well, there is also the problem...

….that fielding percentage isn’t a very good measurement of defense.

Oyes oyes oyes
If this is really it for him

it seems fitting in a way that he got the guy out before going down. He made the play. He always made plays.

Yes

and it was a damn fine play. Shame it didn’t make top ten on sportscenter just ’cuz.

I am tremendously sorry to hear of this. Whatever his future may portend, I hope it’s what’s best for him.

Upgrade the offense

Dont worry about the position per say but well have a to get another bat prolly to fill first base. With Prado at Third and Omar at 2nd the Defense should be fine, it replacing the bat that is going to be the problem.

Sad day for Braves fans overall, think this is the passing of the tourch to BMac

Source for the info?

Chris Dimino

from 790 The Zone

a couple of twittererers have said so as well

Also Bowman’s Blog on the main page of the Atlanta Braves Site has posted the news

Pitching...

Our superior pitching will keep us in the playoff hunt, but this really damages our World Series title changes. What a disappointment.

On a side note...

All of my friends from Philly can shove it with their “well we have injuries” excuses now…

Was just thinking the same thing

Except I have no friends in Philly

East Carolina is like a mini New Jersey and Pennsylvania haven. Made quite a few friends from up north there.

You went to ECU? What years were you there?

haha, that’s a good thing

Ty Wiggington was put on waivers.

I hate to think about it considering the circumstances, but I think it makes sense.

He was put on waivers, but I haven't heard...

…that he has cleared waivers, and we are almost the absolute last team that gets a crack at an American Leaguer. The only two I have heard that have cleared waivers are Beltran and Overbay.

The Cardinal’s beat writer was speaking as if he was a realistic option for them yesterday. If they have an opportunity to grab him, we do as well.

That would be an option...

…but Wiggy’s defense at third is, shall we say, not so good.

Neither was Chippers.

Chipper was doing great on defense this year and was one of the leaders of runs saved I think

Actually, our 3B defense as a whole was doing well, but not Chipper in particular. Brooks was doing a lot of the good work over there.

that's true

but I can’t remember who but mvhs, pac, gondee, or even you had post up at the AS break showing some defensive stat that Chipper was leading in

Phuck!!!!!!!!!

So who are some available 3rd basemen or 2nd basemen??

Aramis Ramirez, Pedro Feliz, Wes Helms, Adam Kennedy, Jose Lopez, Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Ty Wigginton, Edwin Encarnacion and Willie Bloomquist could all clear waivers. According to MLBTR

wow

for the most part, that list sucks. I think Inge might be a guy to look at though. He plays everywhere.

That’s how it works in August, unfortunately. Not too many good options. I don’t see how Wigginton and his .333 OBP and 18 HR is not the best option.

didn't Inge break his hand/wrist?
Inge was out for a while...

..but he is back.

I hate to think about Chipper ending his career on an injury,

much less starting a “Farewell Tour,” but if you wanted a tribute, and even though it’s almost a year old, THIS STORY is quite fitting.

Just when he was starting to hit so well too. Ugh. This sucks.

Even before Chipper went down, the Braves needed to make a move to get a quality bat if they wanted to hold onto the division lead and go deep in the playoffs. Now the need for an offensive upgrade is only more urgent. Wren was really short sighted for not going after somebody like Josh Willingham at the deadline.

not really...

the asking price for wilingham was extremely steep. and since the all-star break we’ve shown some serious power. Our problem has been awful awful awful defense…

Not to mention Willingham can struggle with back issues that make him less successful second half player. He’s currently reverted to Slumpingham and is not bringing much to the table besides decent OBP to balance his power outage and subpar defense. This Nats fan is hoping that Rizzo didn’t miss a chance to sell high on Willingham for prospects while clearing some of the salary needed to make a run at Carl Crawford.

I'm sure Wren wanted Willingham...

But Willingham was not really available. Can’t blame Frank for making a trade when it was Rizzo’s intransigence which prevented it from coming together.

actually

we apparently went after Dunn and they asked for Hanson . . . . .

This sucks.

Understatement of the year.

From MLBTR: List of Waiver-possible 3rd basemen

Aramis Ramirez
Pedro Feliz
Wes Helms
Adam Kennedy
Jose Lopez
Brandon Inge
Jhonny Peralta
Ty Wigginton
Edwin Encarnacion
Willie Bloomquist

Also: “The Mariners tried to engage the Braves on Chone Figgins last month, so perhaps Jack Zduriencik will call Frank Wren to see if the Braves are interested now.”

Let’s assume that money is not an object: pick the best candidate. Then also pick the one most accessible to the Braves (figuring on cost, tradability, blocking, or any other factors you’d like to discuss)

I’d go for Aramis, Lopez, Wigginton

I kinda like Wiggington.

He’s the best and most sensible option.

Again, you never know...

…but I doubt he clears waivers. He has to clear all the AL teams first and I could see Boston or even Tampa (Pena injury) claiming him.

Ramirez passes the smell test

but his slash and splits aren’t good. Maybe being in our lineup helps him out, but he’s been really, really poor this year

i like him as a “change of scenery” candidate

He has like a billion dollar player option for next season..

The Cubs seem to be having a fire sale, but Ramirez is only hitting .228 – way off his average… ’course he might bounce back if he can get out of the Chicago soap-opera.

he might just need a change of scenerey, he can be a very dangerous hitter

the problem is he has a gigantic contract

Is there any way to project a lineup bump?

no way to pitch around him and stuff like that

You could check out his more advanced stats, figure out how many strikes he’s seeing per AB now versus how many our hitters are seeing and then extrapolate it based on his hit/contact rate on strikes this year or something like that. Might get you something close.

Injury prone, declining, no positional flexibility, bad defense as well. I don’t like Aramis, at all.

If they send cash with him?
It would have to be a lot of cash...

…and to get them to do that, we’d have to give up something real.

This seems like a possibility

As a player who is perceived to be in a slump would be more likely to clear wavers

What about Dunn

we cant rule out first base, Glaus did play 3rd for most of his carrer

Exactly what I was thinking.
first thing i thought of

“at least glaus plays third” i have no desire to put prado at third his bat falls off there for some reason, i know its probably just sample and coincidence but still

My second thought...

… is that if you’re gonna do that (move Glaus over), then promote Freedie Freeman for first base.

agreed

i would definitely bring him up first, and wait and see if a move needed to happen within the next 2 weeks

(not that I would move Glaus to third in the first place)
you were thinking HORRIBLY

Glaus can’t play 1st well, let alone 3rd

I know

I saw him oley lots when I lived in California, but our options as you can see are small

Conrad is a better option at 3B than Glaus. Glaus can neither field nor throw like he used to.

My first thought is that 1st and 3rd would be anchored by a couple of tree stumps…. in all seriousness, Glaus’ lack of good wheels now would badly limit his range. And Dunn… well, never mind.

THIS

does no one even think about defense?? Our problem the last few games has clearly been defense and many of these moves would just make it worse

in all seriousness though

chipper wasnt great at 3rd this year either.

granted

but Troy can’t even move as well as chipper…have you seen the guy move…he is so slow!! he has even less range than chip

Dunn is irrelevant.

He doesn’t have much money left on his current contract and will be a Class A Free Agent after the season. He won’t clear waivers. I believe it has been reported that he did not clear waivers already.

True

But I don’t blame him, he’s played 110 games coming off a less than half season to choppers 95

i don't blame him either...i love Troy

but i’m saying even if you like him/pity him/whatever doesn’t mean he is going to be able to play 3B

Glaus isn't mobile enough anymore for 3rd

He can’t even move his feet fast enough to stop some of the throws to first, and we know his knees are hurting.

3rd is a much more athletic position than 1st. 3rd-base players can shift to 1st with little issue, but going back the other way is much more difficult. I think he’s stuck at 1st, and we have to locate 2nd/3rd and shift Prado accordingly.

Dunn was pulled back

he can’t be traded.

I like Aramis

and who knows what happens to him in a Pennant Race?

The problem with Aramis...

…is that ridiculous salary he has for next year. $18.5 million.

true

but could we renegotiate it? or if we trade R. Delgado, we can make the Cubs pay 1/2 of that. AND they need all the arms in that system they can get.

Aramis has a 14.6M player option for 2011 and 16M club option with a 2M buyout for 2012. He gets 1M assignment bonus if traded. If the Cubs would slide a few million back our way, I’d be all over this. Aramis has been great since coming back from injury in June.

I like him too

Wouldn’t mind the braves getting him

that rumor has gone back and forth...

I’ve seen both ways, that the Braves approached the Mariners and they said no, and that the Mariners approached Wren and he declined. Gotta love “rumors”

The way injuries can change a teams dynamics really shows the importance of having a strong farm system. This has shown already with Meds injury. Unfortunately this is one area where it seems the Braves don’t have too many strong internal options.

this

i wish we had a stronger 2nd/3rd base option…

No chance he can play through it and get surgery in the offseason?

Even if he could what could we really expect from him production wise.

torn ACL??

no way…ACL is what keeps your leg supported…if he planted on that leg it would fold like jelly

I stayed on my torn ACL by using a compression brace. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.

But were you trying to play third base and use your lower body during your swing?

I doubt it is an option for a baseball player or someone would have tried by now.

One of the trainers

was on a local radio station here in SC today and told us that Chip has a partial tear of his ACL, and that the drs said he could rehab it w/ no surgery and he MIGHT be ok during the playoffs. That being said, he chose surgery. Idk as to the validity of this, but it’s what the guy (Tony F-something I think) said.

said the tear

 was about 20% of his ACL torn.

If that’s the case, then he should definitely stay off of it.

I was speaking only about a complete tear.

If that is truly the case...

meaning he had the option of surgery or no surgery and try to finish the year, that almost has to mean he’s not retirning, or at least that would indicate to me he’s not ready to retire and will try to play next season.

This does raise the $1,000,000 question...

…do the Braves think that Glaus can play third base? If so, Freeman is obviously the best hitting candidate for the roster. And with Chipper heading to the 60-day DL, there is room on the 40-man roster.

If you thought Chip was showing his age with his D imajine what seeing Glaus at third would do.

It wouldn't be pretty.

That’s for sure. Hinske is also an option, but his defense at 3B is pretty ugly, too.

i'd rather see conrad/infante playing third than hinske/glaus

Hinske is a much really option than Glaus, he can move around at third much better. You can play him there, you can’t play Troy at third right now.

If Troy moves to 3rd

You can say goodbye to him too. There is no way his knee/ACL/etc stands up to 1 charging off balance play.

i really don't want to seee glaus at third

watching him attempt to field one of those slow rollers woul make me cringe

On the other hand...

…we would upgrade the first base defense by doing this.

True, but then it goes back to the arguement of whether or not it would be wise to bring Freeman up now.

does anyone really think he isn't going to make september callups the way he has been raking in AAA?

I think it’s possible. The Braves are a mid-market team. If the front office has decided that squeezing an extra year out of Freeman prior to arbitration and free agency is more important that bringing him up, he will not be called up. If they have decided he’ll make the big league team next year at the start of the season and they don’t care about the arbitration/free agency clock, then there is nothing to gain by not calling him up. I was dead wrong in predicting that Heyward would not make the team out of spring training for those reasons, so I’m not going to venture a guess on Freeman.

I’m under the impression that if realistic the FO will do just about whatever it takes to try and win this year.

i was thinking the same thing

but after we didn’t really pull off any big moves at the deadline i sorta got a different feel from the FO.

Gotta second this. When getting Ankiel is your “big move” to add power to the lineup, you’re probably not really doing “whatever it takes” to win this year. However, if the Braves want to call up Freddy Freeman any day now, I’d be more than happy to retract my position.

it seems to me

that Frank Wren is absolutely refusing to trade any of our top prospects even for top tier players.

Something im not to sure i agree with.

Yeah, I’m in the crowd that thinks Glaus is turning around and will produce down the stretch, just not at third.

i'd still like to give him a little more time off...

let those knees get all the rest they can before september/october

Bad wheels – no range

Considering that Glaus was never know for his glove and his problems this year have been mostly due to his legs I’m guess his D at 3rd will be rather abysmal.

Glaus can’t play third. Freeman would actually be a more sensible option for 3B play than Troy, and he is not a realistic option either.

Glaus was actually a relatively average third baseman his entire career...

…his UZR/150 for his career is -6.3. In 2008, the last time he played third regularly he posted a 5.6 UZR/150. Now that was before the should surgery, so I don’t know how well he can throw anymore (which would put the kabosh on the whole idea), but I doubt his knees have seriously degraded in the past two years especially since he essentially didn’t play during one of them.

from a Cardnials fan

I was told that he has average numbers because he barely moved at 3B.

That was when he was younger. He came up as a shortstop. Nowadays, just look at Glaus’ numbers at 1B and you can see that a transition to a more difficult position would make his numbers even worse. His defense at 1B is almost unbearable, 3B is not an option.

But is it?

Why would his movement be worse now than in 2008 significantly? He was still average in 2008. His arm may be a problem because there has been a shoulder injury in between and that could make his playing third impossible.

And drumzalicious—-you don’t get a good UZR by being a statue. Maybe a good fielding percentage but not a good score on advanced defensive metrics.

I don’t know how mobile Glaus was two years ago, but I know that he does not move well enough to play 3rd now.

will we see heyward in the 3 hole now do you think?

If we stand pat, yes I’d imagine Heyward bats third – I don’t think we have anyone else capable of batting third for an extended period of time.

If we bring someone in via the waiver wire, which I think we have to, it depends on who we bring in…

I'd agree except

That his stats when he batter third were horrible

yeah but that was a tiny tiny sample size
SSS

out of our current roster Infante has the best stats batting third, with a line of .591 / .640 / .727. But there’s no way you bat Infante third for 7 weeks… (finger crossed hoping Bobby doesn’t try to prove me wrong)

No, I think we’ll see Prado slide into the 3rd spot and Infante stay in the leadoff role. He’s done pretty good their and Prado has the power and average to hit 3rd.

I’m betting Omar, Prado, Heyward for 1-2-3.

I really doub that.

Everyone (i.e. Braves management) has been pretty clear that Heyward was going to be the #3 hitter of the future and he wasn’t yet pretty much simply because Chipper was there. I have almost no doubt that Heyward will bat third now.

Crap...

Well, what do we do now? Stand pat, or make a trade? Or maybe even sign Joe Crede?

Either way, I hope this just adds to the motivation to win. We already have a “win it for Bobby” mentality, and now it’s "win it for Bobby AND Chipper.

we have to make some sort of move...
The Mariners contacted us about Figgins

Maybe they will call us back. You’d think we wouldn’t have to give up much if we agreed to eat most of his contract.

Aren’t we towards the back of the list for waiver trades?

really far back...

Figgins would feel the need for the bat though. However, Prado could slide to the 2 hole and move Heyward to 3

i actually heard

WE contacted the Mariners and they said “No thanks”

there were reports both ways

If stand pat- bring up Freeman, play Conrad/Infante at 3B.

If we bring Freeman up, we lose a few million 5 years in the future. How much does Freeman increase postseason odds- which would be at least 2 more home games+ playoff money?

It’s a no-brainer of a risk to take.

How much does he increase postseason odds? Not much, considering we have no idea how his bat will play at the major league level the rest of the season.

Or the postseason, when you don’t get to feast on fifth starters, and possibly even 4th starters.

Aramis Ramirez didn’t do bad last month

.313 9 HR’s 25 RBI’s

that's a great month

If it is the end of his career, I’m really glad he had a solid last month at the plate. June to June wasn’t very Chipper-like, but July and August were the real deal. The Baseball gods were good to him.

*playing taps*

…for chipper

Google Melissa Venema playing taps if you want to hear the most beutiful version ever…
13 year old girl- she rocks

Don't sign anyone

Let’s just move Infante or Prado over to 3rd and the other one of those guys plays 2nd. Why is this a problem to do? They are both allstars.

this is basically what i want to do

I kind of agree, but if we don’t make a move and don’t make the playoffs people won’t shut up about it for the whole off season. Like a poster said before, lots of pressure on Wren now.

i woldn't complain about

1. Infante/Prado
2. Prado/Infante
3. Heyward
4. Bmac

I actually think if nothing else

This accelerates the time table for Freeman.

I agree...

I think that we should bring him up move Prado to third and make Infante the everyday second sacker.

3B

someone said yesterday that Freeman played 3B in HS. Think they move him to 3rd for a few games in AAA to try him out?

Freeman was one heck of a 3rd baseman in HS. I saw him play a few games. For him being a big boy he does have the quick first steps.

The Braves did try him at third for a few games back in low-A ball. It did not go well.

To be fair, Omar Infante is an All-Star utility player, not an All-Star every day player. This is definitely an option, but it’s tough to win a world series with only above average bats at 2B, C, and RF.

It is tough, but let's face it...

…we only have four above average bats and one is now out for the year. Above average bats don’t clear waivers unless they are tied to really horrible contracts (Vernon Wells, anyone?). Therefore, unless we think that Freeman can be above average and Glaus can play third, I don’t think we have any other option than to go for it with only three above average bats.

I am sure a few of bats will clear waivers and the Braves can make moves, whether they will is another question.

But who?

I am sure the bad contracts will—-Aramis and Wells are obvious. Overbay and Beltran reportedly have already. But who will clear who we actually want? That will be a much smaller pool of players I am afraid.

I wouldn’t mind getting Aramis. He has struggled this year but has been hitting of late. Also, he could provide power from the right hand side and I think his contract is up after this year

$14.6 player option next season… unreasonable.

unless the Cubs kick in at least half of that.

yea

I knew he had an option but didn’t know it was a player option. My next target would be Wigginton or Figgins

Plus a $2 million buyout

for the ridiculous $16 million 2012 team option.

I dont like it

because I like Infante’s versatility off the bench to play basically everywhere except Catcher

I like this idea. Get both of them in the lineup. It’s definitely worth a try.

This seems so unfair

Baseball can be a cruel mistress.

Can... I give Chipper... my ACL?
Tough one

to swallow. Heart and prayers out to Chipper and his family. If he can take the rehab, I hope he comes back. But if he doesn’t he finished hitting it hard and picking it well. Best wishes on a healthy recovery.

With all that, I say keep it in house for the stretch drive – rally around Chipper and win this fuckin thing.

Chipper Jones

The reason I love the Braves.
The reason I play baseball.
The reason I wear number ten.
The reason I wore high socks and now do not wear high socks.
The reason I love the game and play hard.
My favorite player. Always.

HOF 2014

The reason I switch hit my whole life.

Hopefully I am wrong and he comes back but it seems like this will unfortunately be the end for Chipper

The reason the name Larry said with a New York accent will always make me smile.

Your gonna make me cry. Can’t we play the mlb10 the show rules and turn off freakin injuries

THIS

A million times over…

2014?

Even if this is the end for him, 2015 is the soonest he could go in.

Way to ruin a good post with factual information and crap
Sorry, I admit in advance I can't figure this out due to work...

But does anyone know our record this season with Chipper not playing? I know this may be hard to determine (especially if he came off the bench with a key play), but there may be a site that sorts these things out.

the more I think about it

the more depressed I get.
Here’s a pick-me-up for whoever feels the same way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCpyLCqrnOU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ltD21rYWVw

This really sucks. I don’t want his career to end this way, but I would be amazed if he comes back.

Sign Francoeur, he’s demanding a trade.

Yeah I’m sure he could suck equally at any position…

Actually he is a pretty decent outfielder isn’t he?

And we need ANOTHER 4th outfielder for … why? Not enough double plays and strikeouts?

This SUCKS!!!!

Wren HAS to make a move. Even with our pitching we need to score runs. I like the idea of Mike Lowell.

Also remember that we can trade for a SS as well. Move either the new SS or Gonzalez to 3B.

There aren't many good options that will clear waivers...

…but Lowell could be one of them. His contract is bad, but over at the end of this year. On the other hand, with Youkilis out for the year, the Red Sox might not be interested in trading him, which is funny because the Sox have been trying to give him away all year.

Ramirez is the best option

b/c there is a chance we could get next year’s option

That's the problem.

His option for next year is horrible. If we get him, we do get the option, and at $18.5 million, we do not want that. On the other hand, if he didn’t have that option and was a free agent at the end of the year, he wouldn’t clear waivers.

I stand corrected.

Next year is only $14.5, but then a $2 million buyout for 2012. At $16.5 million, it is still horrible.

Plus the remaining $5 million he would be owed this year. The Braves were rumored to not have much flexibility on the dollar this year, I doubt they go after A-Ram, and they probably shouldn’t.

You know what the lesson is from this

Chipper may not have been having a very good year by his standards, but when you look at what’s available, you realize that he way still way above the curve.

This is a disaster of...

…epic proportions. I don’t give a fuck if we get A-Rod…there is no one that can replace what Chipper meant to this team.

Nope.

But if this is it I would rather him go out this way anyday then sign with the Mets, Cubs or Red Socks.

SHIT! This really does suck

Get well Chipper and get ready for next year so we can go back to back

MLB.com

“Jones’ agent B.B. Abbott will fly to Atlanta today to discuss the situation with the 38-year-old third baseman.

If Jones does need surgery, Abbott doesn’t believe he will simply retire without attempting to first rehab the injury."

Chipper's future

Over on DOB before the diagnosis: “His outlook has changed so much in the past two months that when I asked Chipper this morning if he’d consider going through another lengthy rehab if it’s a major knee injury, he said he’d have to”. So take that for what you will. Anyways, this sucks a big one, I hope we can be alright going forward down the stretch.

One of the worst pieces of baseball news I’ve ever heard. He is so much to this team. Here’s hoping they all rally around this injury and just rake for the rest of the year.

Keep Chipper in the dugout so that he can transition to our future hitting coach.

P.S. No Glaus at 3rd, please

Chipper,

Thanks for a fantastic career. You will always be the best player I have ever seen.

agreed

My favorite player of all time. Thanks Chipper.

THIS

and thats off the field as well.

this

but he hasn’t said he is retiring yet

I don’t see him not retiring at this point. ACL surgery takes quite some time to recover from. I am a spry young 25 year old, and it took me about 5 or 6 months before I could comfortably run on it again. Someone Chipper’s age is probably looking at a year or so before he would be back to his old self.

Grandma, are you spry?

I don't want him to retire like this, so fuck that noise.
so

Chipper is going to retire before even rehabing and testing his knee? You really think he is going to give up before even trying? That definitely sounds like Chipper

If Chipper had not already said he was leaning towards retirement for the past two seasons, teh thought would have never crossed my mind.

It isn’t about giving up. It’s about knowing when to call it quits, and Chipper has said for the past two years that it may be time.

But then does he want to go out like this?...

Perhaps he sees a good young core that can compete for a World Series next year, and if he’s added to the mix around August or September he could be a great piece to add in a final push.

maybe he thinks history can repeat itself

1994 – ACL tear
1995 – world champs

2010 – ACL tear
2011 – ??

Why wouldn't Braves fans think that?

I don’t see us getting worse next year.

it sucks for this season but I'm more sad that this could be it for him.
This team

This team seems to be a very close knit bunch and teams like this can do amazing things under fire and adversity. I hope six weeks isn’t too long, but don’t be surprised to see this team get hot on a “win some for Chipper” factor.

I don’t think it’s imperative to rush out and sign someone and hope the player plays well, the team gels around that person, and still win. The Braves have depth, time to really use it.

Chone Figgins

Might be our best option here if he’s already cleared waivers.

He’s been on a tear this month and I think he could fit perfectly in the #2 hole. His career averages would be great there.

Prado 3B
Figgins 2B
Heyward RF
McCann C
Glaus 1B
Hinske LF
Gonzalez SS
Ankiel CF
Pitcher

Figgins and his contract are an absolutely awful idea.

My family is from Orange county, and my uncle is a HUGE Angels fan (also an old player and coach)

and he thinks Figgins is, in his words, “an overpaid sack of shit.”

well, was when he was on the Angels

And he got more money, has played worse, and is old (for his skill set)

If you get the 2007 or 2009 Figgins...

…he’d be great. The problem is that you get four years at $9 million (he’ll likely exercise his player option) per year to find out who you are going to get. That said, I don’t think he’ll make it to us anyway.

I guarantee he would clear.

what about next year?

Do we move Figgins to LF?

i dont know

im not thinking longterm lol im just distraught over who will replace him in the line up

Let’s not even go to Figgins.

Broken Hearted to hear this news.

My thoughts and prayers go out for Chipper and his family in what must be an agonizing emotional experience right now.

As devastating news as this is, I hope it brings our team together even closer than it already is and they find a way to make this a year to remember for Bobby and Chipper both.

I sure hope to see him in that #10 on the field next year – I’d never want him to leave the game of baseball this way.

We love ya Chipper!

fuck

i was really hoping for anything else besides this :( i mean we could fill this internally, but it would weaken us too much in my mind…the two names that i find most intriguing here are ramirez (who i also think could benefit from a change of scenery), but only if the cubs picked up most of his tab for next year…but that wont happen, so i think we should try to get figgins…he wont give us power, but he will still b good for our team i think…

i hope the guys rally around chipper and play their hearts out the rest of the year…

I don’t think this will kill morale. It is times like this that can bring a team together even more if they choose to. Everyone has to dig a little deeper and play a little harder. he will still be in the duggout every game . he is not about to let Bobby go out a looser!

Braves just hired the best hitting coach in the league.
TP got fired?
You wouldn't believe the backlash from the press if that actually happened

it’s gonna happen anyway when he’s not made the manager, but still.

Maybe TP can fill in at 3rd

Probably not worse than Troy over there.

Chipper’s dad?

They brought Frenchy back?
I really am speechless

Oh god, oh man!

We all know...

… that Chone Figgins isn’t particularly good at baseball right?

And his contract is terrible.

And his production at third base makes him even worse.

He was a 6 WAR player just last year.

He’s exceptionally good at third, defensively, and he usually is a really good OBP guy.

.356 BABIP last year too. He’s 32, and players like him don’t age particularly well. Just not a fan of him being much better than current options, then you throw in his awful contract and it makes the idea unwise, in my opinion.

wow

I didn’t know he was that old plus the contract. I think I changed my mind about getting him

yea

i think i did too…

His contract is fine.

He just needs to not completely crap the bed offensively. I think if you get him out of Seattle and move him back to 3B, where he’s always been more comfortable, he’s actually a really good value.

Let’s not pretend like $8-9M is some huge, unabsorbable sum, especially when we could probably send some money back to the Mariners in any deal.

It’s not unabsorbable, it’s just more than the guy is worth. If he were 29 years old and getting that much, it would be more reasonable. However, he’s 32.
 
That being said, I don’t know that he would fare worse here than Wigginton.

I don't think it's more than he's worth at all.

Unless you are 100% convinced that he can’t rebound from his poor play this year when placed in a better environment. He’d only have to be league average—a bit more than 2 WAR to be worth his contract. He can do that easily, especially if he’s allowed to play 3B, where his defense is stellar.

We really have no way to know unless he came here. I’m just going off of my gut and it tells me a change of scenery isn’t the answer for Figgins.
 
At 4 mil, I’d take him in a heartbeat, however. I really don’t think he’s worth the extra 5 mil for just over 2 WAR.

i am 26 years old and have been a loyal Braves fan since i can remember.

chip has always been a part of my braves and therefore a large part of my life for the past couple decades.

this is truely a sad day for me…

i hope this is not the end

What a fucking joke ESPN is...

…not one mention of Chipper on there front page. If it were a Yankee or Red Suck the world would stop revolving. It’s just a little disrespectful to a future HOFer and one of the greatest players in the history of a franchise.

I mean I hate ESPN too...

But it’s relatively fresh news, MLB.com just got it up and they’re probably just still writing up the article… take it down a notch.

5 minutes after a ball rolled on A-Rod’s leg it was front page news at ESPN.com.

Why talk about Chipper,

When K-Rod is assaulting his inlaws?

ESPN priority stories as of this moment...

Mets’ Rodriguez to appear on assault charge
MLB suspends 3 as result of Reds-Cards brawl Fog lifts
 PGA Championship begins |
 Blog NASCAR owner Roush released from hospital
 Ex-Nets executive Thorn named 76ers president
Thames Yanks rally vs. Rangers |
Matthews Five arrested in All-Star protest at MLB meeting
 Pavin: No Woods promise for Ryder |
 Sobel Managing partner: MLB owners OK Rangers sale

Tiger “creepin on the down low” Woods is the cover guy and you have to click on baseball and look to headlines on the left where it mentions Chips injury 3rd.

they just added Chip to the front page headlines...

…still 3rd.

Well

the news that he’s out for the year has been mentioned every 30 minutes. Atleast the people on there are realizing that this is big news.

Why isn't anyone talking Conrad at third?

Is he not a viable option? Maybe I’m missing something… Enlighten me.

Great PH option

I shudder at the thought of him as an MLB regular. The man has contact issues. We’d be replacing a .380 OBP with a .300 OBP. Huge dropoff.

What is in his contract?

Try reading again.

OBP dropoff is pretty drastic

but since we are using 2010 stats: brooks has a yearly SLG of almost .500 compared to chipper’s yearly SLG of .426

Yeah, kind of an “all or nothing” hitter.

I don’t know if I can watch the Braves anymore.
We gotta win the whole thing. We gotta win it all.

This is pretty sad...

Calling for a group hug here. The thing is,Chipper is not near death. He will be fine.The Marlins brought up Morrison, to whom Freeman is favorably compared. Logan wacked out 3 hits yesterday.Maybe this can be the start of a new era.

But!

I’m not ready for a new era :’(

Well the new era started without you I guess...

Hudson, Hanson, JJ, Medlen, Minor?

None of those guys are Chipper...

Chipper is the unprecedented leader of this team. If he’s gone, somebody else will have to step up and fill that role. None of those guys have done that, so, no, the new era did not start without me.

I wanna stay in the Chipper Jones era

CHIPPER JONES 4 HITTING COACH THEN MANAGER

CHIPPER JONES 4 THIRD BASE
Neither am I...

but , we have to turn to the next page. Its what Chipper wants, I am sure.

Chipper in the dugout the rest of the year – will be like having an extra Coach.

His presence and influence will be felt – in a good way.

Hey girl...

I know how you feel. I just logged on and saw this news; it hit like a ton of bricks after all the optimism I was feeling after yesterday’s good reports.

I am feeling really sad right now. I haven’t been around in a couple of days because my dad is in the hospital, but he is doing better, so that’s good.

There’s a reason for this happening, we just don’t know it yet. It will work itself out. All will be well.

GO BRAVES!

Cot's baseball

Aramis Ramirez 3b
5 years/$75M (2007-11), plus 2012 club option
5 years/$75M (2007-11), plus 2012 club option
re-signed by Cubs as a free agent 11/06
$5M signing bonus
07:$8M, 08:$14M, 09:$15.65M, 10:$15.75M, 11:$14.6M player option, 12:$16M club option ($2M buyout)

Yeah – Cubs would have to help with at least half of that, IMHO.

Or take back a bad contract...

from McLouth, KK, or Lowe.

Lowe would have to clear waivers too, so I doubt that happens. You can’t trade KK because of he is literally the only other pitcher you can call up if something happens to one of the starters or if Minor struggles. McLouth you can trade, but then you are stuck in the same problem I mentioned below.

Lowe will almost certainly clear waivers...

or if he didn’t I’d see us letting the claiming team take on his $30+m remaining ala Rios with the White Sox/Blue Jays. We have other options besides KK, although they are suspect (Redmond, Diamond, Ortegano, etc). So we could move any of the 3 imo, and not suffer much this year or next.

And what if Chipper decides he wants to play next year? Then you have around $20 million locked up in injury-prone third basemen.

Can he even come back? Does he want to?...

would he not be a good backup if say Ramirez went down in August so you had his replacement coming back? If the Cubs send cash, or take back a bad contract, it makes sense to me.

any chance the payroll increases, with increased attendance and all?

We've gotta

Save the dough for Carl Crawford…

That's actually a good idea, right?
yep

a great idea

Yep

I just don’t seem confident that we could outbid the Yanks or the Sox (if he leaves the Rays)…But man, he would fit this team nicely.

He will be very over priced...

…and he only plays left. I’d pass.

this

he’s going to get some ridiculous contract and under perform for half of it.

and who knows...

how much longer his legs will last.

don’t need any more lefties

Isn't Aramis injured anyway?
all the time...

except for now

He was but he's back...

Ramirez has only been on the DL twice in his career

Well, for all those thinking he’s injury prone, that’s obviously a lot better than Chipper’s record (no disrespect intended – simply a fact).

123 G in 2005
132 G in 2007
82 G in 2009
86 G in 2010 (114 games played so far)

Well, maybe “roughly equal” to Chipper, then… there’s a lot of things that would have to fall into place to make this one happen.

wow... then espn lied to me haaha

He might have missed a bunch of games without being on the DL, but nonetheless, he is an injury prone player.

"stand pat" platoons

vs righties: brooks at 3B, hinske in LF
vs lefties: infante at 3B, mattyD in LF

but

Infante hits far better against righties than he does lefties

see that's the problem

we have too many players on our team that hit righties wayyy better than lefties :/

Just switch

Brooks and Infante in your platoons and we’re fine.

That way Brooks gets a few starts but we still save him most of the time for a prime PH opportunity.

doesn’t he hit poorly from the right side?

Not enough PA to say one way or the other.

His OBP so far is higher RH, but his SLG is (a lot) higher LH. Probably just a fluke though. There’s no real reason to think he’s much worse RH.

brooks' minor league splits show he hits LH worse, but the splits are not as pronounced as his major league numbers

vs. LH: 0.238 / 0.324 / 0.470 / 0.794
vs. RH: 0.258 / 0.336 / 0.477 / 0.813

my LH and RH i mean LHP and RHP

Yeah.

So in other words, he’s a decent platoon option there.

chip was the best at cutting off the SS and tossin the ball over to 1st

i will miss seeing that hustle day in and day out

Coming on a bunt or slow roller as well.

His barehanded grabs are a thing of beauty.

Hank Blalock

is available.

yeah, there’s a reason for that. He’s basically a 4A player at this point

And he would probably be worse at third defensively...

…than Glaus at this point.

If he does happen to be done, we can take solice in knowing that he ended on such a fantastic play. Chipper is the man, there will never be a player I idolize as much as him

Ramirez...

Was injured with a thumb injury that threw him off but has gotten hot as of late. There’d probably be like around 5-7 left on Ramirez’s contract

Hats off to Chipper

One of the best 3b and switch hitters of all time and my favorite Braves Player ever. Hats off on what may be the end to a HOF career.

As for replacements, I’d be interested to know who may have cleared waivers already. The problem with waivers is that the Phillies will most likely block anybody they feel we may trade for to replace Chipper after this injury news, so if they haven’t been placed on Waivers yet, I doubt we’re going to be able to trade for them.

There is so little to say about this

other than that this royally sucks.

I’m so glad I got to see him hit a home run (in person) on August 6th. Can’t remember if it was his 9th or 10th of the season, but if it was the 10th, I may have seen have seen the final home run of his career.

I saw him hit one on Memorial Day this year. Great frickin’ day. He hit a home run, that game put us in 1st place, and all was frickin’ fine and dandy with the world.

I was there too,

and it was awesome. Love me some old man heroics.

NOOOOOOOO!

I’m actually in tears right now and physically sick to my stomach. My thoughts and prayers go out to Chipper and the whole Jones family.

My feelings exactly

I just have this blank look on my face.

I’ve had to fight back tears twice in my office at work already.

maybe move glaus back to 3rd and bring up freeman

This is the worst idea

that for some reason everyone keeps having.

Glaus would be the first player at third with a negative UZR

if I understand it correctly. I probably don’t

You don't.

Many players have negative UZR’s at third and any other position. A 0 UZR is league average. And he would be bad, but he’d never get near the record bad UZR’s Adam Dunn put up in the outfield.

Glaus doesn’t have the athleticism to play 3B anymore. Freeman should be called up just to give Glaus some rest but Glaus and Hinske are not realistic options at 3B.

We’re sort of fine with Prado and Conrad there (and Infante at 2B).

Don't lump in Hinske and Glaus together...

Hinske moves MUCH better than Glaus right now. He can play LF passably, so he can manage at 3B just fine, too. He’d be merely subpar, not abysmal like Glaus would be.

Agreed, Hinske can play 3B.

It’s that “sort of fine” point that makes me believe Frank is burning up the phone lines. Today is August 12. That means:
1. 19 days until the hard trade deadline AND playoff eligibility.
2. 48 games – 30% of the season(!) still remains on the schedule.

To preserve the roster flexibility and depth, you need to beat the bushes for a full-time third baseman. Anything else means you’re playing multiple guys out of normal position, and that’s risky for the defense.

Why does everyone want Infante at second and Prado at third?

The past two years, Prado has been fine at second, just about league average. Infante is also approximately a league average second baseman. Infante is also a league average third baseman, and Prado did have some nice numbers at third, but in so little playing time that it is not a large enough sample to be meaningful. Prado is our second baseman, Infante is our utility guy. Any possible defensive advantage we get from moving Prado to third and having Infante at second is minimal at best, so why have Prado playing a position he doesn’t play often when he is just coming back from an injury? Let Infante the super-utility guy, do his super-utility thing.

Infante is the better second baseman defensively

Since both bats will be in the line-up, put them where their defense will have the maximum impact. Prado has been really good at third base in his chances there, and Infante has been better than Prado at second base. It’s not really that complicated.

I remember before Prado became the everyday 2nd baseman...

and seeing him sub at both 2nd and 3rd, and I thought he was better at 3rd, although still good at 2nd. I was very impressed with his play at 3rd.

DOB

has just confirmed the fact that Prado is the better defensive 3B

Rely on DOB

Lazy Journalism!!

Someone get Frank Wren or Ozzie Smith on the horn. I bet one of them can solve this debate…

-C

DOB

isn’t a scout. I think that Prado would make a good 3b, though.

if not. when prado comes back, let infante play 3rd then

Today is a sad day,

but let’s not close the book on this team. Bobby Cox has won with rosters more depleted than this one, and he can do it again.

If we could get a rental player for little-to-nothing on the waiver wire, I wouldn’t be against it, but realistically, I think our best options are probably internal. Namely, a mix-and-match of Hinske, Infante, and Conrad at 3B. Perhaps Conrad vs. LHP (since both Hinske and Infante do better against RHP), and Omar and Eric split the rest of the time there.

Contending to win the divison is one thing. Contending for a title is another. Do you believe that internal options can keep this team on a path to the World Series? And not just “hey we’re just happy to be here”, but a team that can knock off the Yankees?
 
I don’t see it with a patchwork infield of utility guys. Can they hold off the Phils though? Absolutely.

There's no difference

between “contending to win the division” and “contending for a title.” Hell, you don’t even have to “contend for a division” to “contend for a title,” thanks to the wild card.

Any team that makes the playoffs is, by definition as well as by evidence, a legitimate threat to win it all. Worse rosters than our current one have won it all. See St. Louis a few years ago.

This team, even without Chipper, can absolutely beat the Yankees, or anyone else. That’s the magic (or horror) of a short series.

Oh really? Ask the Minnesota Twins. Ask the Anaheim Angels. Ask the Los Angeles Dodgers.
 
Those teams all won their division, yet were nowhere near good enough to make the WS. Am I cherry-picking? Yes. But right now, the Yankees are the cream of the crop as defending champs and until they get knocked off, that’s the standard to which all championship caliber clubs must be compared to.
 
So I’d say there absolutely is a difference between being a division contender and a WS contender. I find it difficult to believe that you really believe the AL Central winner has a legit shot at beating the Yankees in either the DS or LCS.
 
Bottom line, I think this team, as it sits right now without Chipper is good enough to beat the Phillies for the division. Getting past St. Louis or San Diego will be tough. Getting past either Tampa or the Yankees will be much less likely, even with home field.

anything can happen in a 5 or 7 game series. We just got to get there first.

Sure

there is what should happen. But October is unpredictable. Momentum can make a lot of difference.

any chance

Timmons gets a call up? I know he’s not going to single handedly replace Chippers production but he’s having a decent year in AAA, he bats righty (although I’m not sure of his splits) and he doesn’t seem to be horrible defensively at third.

Wouldn't hurt to give him a shot,

and we do have to call someone up from AAA…

I'd certainly rather add him than Hicks

if we’re picking between the two. Better hitter, just as good on D.

Agreed, I’m in the Timmons camp for now.

same here. But he’s deserved a call-up before and not gotten one, so it won’t surprise me if the Braves never even consider him.

trade for jeter, stick him at 3B

just kidding, baseball would probably explode if that happened

If you do go out and trade for someone...

Julio, Arodys, and Randall better not be some of the names going the other way. I don’t Wren would do that anyways but im hoping he doesn’t. I would trade Beachy though

With Arodys on the shelf....

injured, I don’t include him with Teheran or Delgado anymore, and would be much more willing to part with him for a quality player than I would have been say 2-3 months ago.

only if

we were getting someone like Evan Longoria, Aaron Hill, or Justin Upton

One of these names is not like the others...

…Aaron Hill is not nearly as good as Longoria or Upton.

Wow

This fucking blows chunks. Watching Chipper play baseball has been a highlight of the past fifteen or so years of my life.

Teahan would be a great pickup from the White Sox’s. Flexible and primarily a third baseman. I think he’s in the minors rehabbing for a comeback. The problem is that I don’t know if he would clear waivers and I don’t know if we would match up with the White Sox at all.

Uggla???
thats an interesting option

too bad we’d have to give up the farm for him

he'd also never clear waivers

yea. Wouldn’t we be the last team to be able to claim him?

second to last

only the Padres would be behind us right now.

2nd to last in the NL, which would make him probably about the same level as Wigginton. Both unlikely, but there is an outside chance by the end of the month. The Phillies would block him from us now, but if they and the Cardinals overtake us, we could get them. That’s not really a great plan of action to get a player though, lol.

Time for Nate McLouth to step up and actually perform. If he can come up and produce somewhat close to his yearly averages before this season, Hinske can move to 3B and McLouth can platoon in left field.

That's a funny joke, Ben.

Maybe we should do a reverse-Alex-Gordon and have Nate learn to play 3B really quick.

I actually want him to learn 2B next year, in a Kelly Johnson type transition. I saw him take infield at Citi Field earlier in the year and he actually looked sharp, he was just messing around though.

That'd be cool and all,

but wasn’t Kelly a SS who became an OF, then was moved back to 2B?

I actually think 2B would be kind of perfect for Nate, since he’s got such a weak arm…

Yup, as did Schumaker who also made a similar move. Having the experience definitely helps, but McLouth seems to have a similar athleticism as Kelly, if not more. I don’t think the Braves would do it, but I would definitely like to see them try.

nate at 3B would be entertaining. i can see it now: two hopper to nate, and he holds onto it instead of attempting to throw the runner out.

Well, "holding on to the ball" isn't always bad...

if Chipper had held onto that ball, we wouldn’t be having this sad little thread.

McLouth at 3rd....

that’d be hell working with the Ps midseason on how to play the role of cutoff man for his throws to 1st.

Maybe they could just do an "around the horn"

McLouth to Gonzo to Martin to Troy on every play to 3B

It's hard to believe that Chipper may never play again...

I kinda want to see Freeman called up now so we can hype up the start of a new era. Instead of the Jones bros. we begin the era of FreeWard!

Any chance ol’ Dayton still has feeling for us, so to speak, and makes Gordon available? I’d gladly give up a non-Teheran pitching prospect for him at this point.

he'd never make it to us in waivers
Question...

Does everyone involed in a trade have to clear waivers? For example, if Longoria cleared waivers (I know it would never happen…just using an example)…Then we trade for Longoria with a package that includes Teheran, would he have to clear waivers as well? This makes trades kind hard if the prospects have to clear, too…

Minor leaguers (i.e. non 40 man roster guys)

do not have to clear waivers, I think. Major leaguers do.

That's right.

40-man roster guys must clear waivers, but lower-minors guys don’t.

Got it...

Thanks.

Just a thought

If we bat Heyward third, will it put too much pressure on him? Since he’s a rookie and all.

Chipper

Prado and Infante together couldn’t carry Chipper’s Jock in a Wheel Barrel.

Um...

You do realize that Prado is a better player than even a healthy Chipper now, right?

Historically, sure, Chipper is way better. But let’s not diss our current players either.

Thinking ahead to the playoffs

Couldn’t we put Chipper on the DL now, but keep him on the 40 man roster obviously, have him rest until the playoffs and then use him as a pinch hitter? Who wouldn’t love to see him pull a Kirk Gibson in the playoffs or World Series. Then he could have post season surgery and call it quits after getting to play in the postseason one last time with Bobby.

I don't think we'll want to waste a roster spot

on someone who can barely walk… Unless he is a third catcher, of course.

It wouldn't work.

You need the legs to swing. He’d probably fall on his ass trying to hit.

I'm still in denial

hoping for some miraculous second opinion that would allow Chipper to contribute again this year

There may be one

But its called HGH…

and its a banned substance.

And Chipper wouldn’t do it anyway.

And no, I don’t count HGH as a performance enhancer like steroids. Medical science would back that up.

maybe cyborgHanson can loan chipper some knees……..

would you guys

trade Freeman for Gordon?

God why?

um

because we need a 3B?

It would be easier to obtain a 1B for next year than a 3B.

Someone like Victor Martinez could play 1B.

So our projected starting 1B next year, who has 0 MLB service time, for a failed prospect from the Royals? They’ve sent him down and back up a few times already. Instead of having to fill a hole at 3rd next year, we would have to fill a hole at 1st and 3rd.

Alex Gordon

is far from a “failed” prospect.

I like Gordon,

but come one. Freeman has five times the value that Gordon has right now. That trade is just silly.

This

That’s just about exactly what I was getting ready to post.

This year Gordon’s batting .215/.302/.409. Last year it was .232/.324.378. Freeman could do that. Also, Gordon hasn’t played more than 50 games since 2008.

Also,

Freeman is younger and has a better contract situation. And is a better fielder, by all accounts.

im not sure about that

I was just thinking from a perspective that it would be easier to get a 1B than a 3B

If we are tarding for a 3rd baseman, let’s aim a little higher than Alex Gordon.

Oops, trading. Tarding is what Farve 4 is doing.

"tarding"

How appropriate given the proposed trade!

I don't think that's true, either.

Sure, you can get a 1B, but they’ll either be expensive or not any better than Freddie will likely be.

A 3B better than Gordon, though? That’s very doable, and not that expensive.

Yes, and if you’re gonna do a trade in this situation, you’ve got one shot to do it right, which requires an everyday-playing major-league experienced 3B dude who you won’t have to worry about. AG doesn’t fit that bill.

Maybe we should be looking to add a good utility guy

There’s a better chance of someone like that clearing waivers than getting a starting caliber third baseman. Since this essentially means that we’re starting Infante every day, perhaps we should be looking to get a Reid Brignac (probably wouldn’t clear waivers) or Eric Aybar or someone like that.

It might be easier to get a 1B than a 3B, but ...

…Victor Martinez is not the right example—-he is much more valuable as a catcher, despite his poor defense there, and as the best catcher on the market, he’ll have a big price tag.

Again, why?...

Gordon’s not a very good 3B, and nowhere near the hitter at the major league level that his minors numbers show. Why give a promising prospect up for a guy who so far has looked like anywhere from a league average player at best to a AAAA player at worst?

Most. Definitely. Not.
pacnosis

Please. With the GAME ON THE LINE, TWO OUT IN THE NINTH, HALF A CHIPPER AT BAT IS BETTER THAN PRADO FOREVER….

You are either crazy

or blinded by grief. You also can’t spell, need to stop using all caps, and should learn about the “reply” button.

which half?

because i just don’t see it

not if Chipper’s left leg can’t hold his own body weight

put him in a wheelchair and play him

that would result in an interesting strikezone…

wouldnt be able to catch the high fast ball

i hate that chipper is out, when he was starting to swing the bat well, but when prado gets back this weekend wh cant the braves play glaus in his old position at 3rd base and have gonzalez at SS, prado at 2nd, and freddie freeman at 1st?

have you seen glaus at first? imagine that at third
There is a long debate about this idea...

…about 100 posts back.

i know his numbers were not fantastic this year

but his switch hitting and hottness of late will sorely be missed in this lineup

I wonder what mets fans think about this

the 10 or so comments at AA on this topic

have been respectful

some of the mets fans over there are actually pretty cool

The 60ish on TGP, however

Are typical of Phillie fans. Some respectful, and some like “Sucks doesn’t it! Now you know how we feel!” Entirely missing the point.

i liked the one

that was all MIKE SCHMIDT WAS BETTER

love the one that said “Was he Pujols good? Nope.”

Yeah...

For the most part, I feel the SBNation blogs tend to draw the more intelligent fans from any fan base, and I think most of the posters on both AA and TGP are representative of that.

This situation is perfect opportunity, though, to see which group is classier, and the Mets fans win by a HUGE margin.

i read one post they said we were done...

just like the mets

there’s no way we’re done

thats what i said

our lineup has been coming up big when needed….

and not just chipper….

usually someone else

How can we be done.....

when we have Hudson/JJ/Hanson in the rotation and Venters/Saito/Wagner in the pen to always keep us in games. Chipper is good but he was not carrying the team offensively by any means. McCann has been a bigger help to the team than Chipper.

we think alike

well i think of some pretty weird things… but baseballwise we think alike

Prado's

Career will be a “spec of dirt at most” on Chipper’s cleats. And that’s being kind.

please stop

How drunk are you?

BRETT FAVRE #4 IS DRUNK?

QUICK, CALL ESPN

Ed Werder just interviewed him. Apparently he hasn’t had anything to drink

Actually,

he hasn’t decided yet whether he’s drunk or not.

Well, he did announce that he was drunk

and then changed his mind.

He texted me… but he took it back.

He's got to consult his doctor

And see if his liver is fit to drink.

-C

THEN WHO WAS FAVRE 4?
Brett's just mad...

because he wanted Chipper to retire and unretire 3 or 4 times.

On second thought Brett is not sure that is what he wanted Chipper to do

As a Packer/Brave fan, at least one of my childhood idols will be respected.

What the hell?
gondeee, your services will no longer be needed

…Favre 4 is now in charge of TC. That is all.

I'm sad...

really didn’t want him to go out like this (If he indeed is finished after this season)

i'm sad and pissed..

our chances to go to the world series took a big hit with his injury, but this is a good team, hopefully they can rally and whoever end up playing steps up..Go Bravos!!

I'm thinkin L.A. Angels Style
What about...

Casey McGehee? Brewers just signed Hart up long term, so McGehee may be their available right handed bat.

Won't clear waivers.
Maybe something to think about off season then?
Some points to consider

1. Get over it. It’s real, it happened, and it’s not the end of the world. Yes, it sucks, and I hate for Chipper that he’s out for the year, but ultimately it’s one player on a 25-man roster that is producing up and down the line. We will adapt successfully. If we don’t, we didn’t belong in the latter part of postseason anyway.
2. Pretty much anyone you put in at 3rd is going to be a downgrade either defensively or certainly at the plate. Again, we have to accept this and move forward. The rest of the team needs to step up even more now.
3. Bright spot — it virtually guarantees Chipper comes back next year if at all possible. No way does he let this end his career like this, so plan on seeing #10 at the hot corner in 2011.
4. We have to go out and get someone either for 2nd or 3rd. Shuffling our bench people around is only going to give us a short bench when the everyday guys need a rest. And it’s August — not the time to be rolling the dice with the bench. Prado to 3rd I can see, but not Glaus to 3rd. Infante should remain a bench guy; he’s not quite an everyday player yet.
5. McLouth to 2nd is intriguing, but you still have that black hole where most guys have bats. He’s tradebait for real now.

Aren’t we allowed to be upset for atleast a day over the potential ending of a Braves Legend without having to get over it? I see what you’re saying and all but it sucks. Mourn I shall.

Absolutely

My post was pointed more to the doomers who are convinced that This Is The End. Mourn away — I will be as well!

Yeah you make some great points..

but ya gotta let people express their grief, because that’s what happening.

Response to your 5 points.

1. It does suck, but nobody seems to be in denial here.
2. Yep. Anyone will be a downgrade.
3. He might try and come back, but I doubt he’ll be back until the middle of next year given the injury.
4. There are not likely to be any good players available on the wire unless the contract is so bad we won’t touch it. The disadvantage of being good is that you have a very poor waiver priority. Infante isn’t anything not “yet”. If he isn’t it now, he never will be, he’s not exactly young. Yes, it would be great to have an every day player fall in our laps, but that is doubtful; Infante’s job as a utility guy is to fill in when guys are hurt. Now we have the hole. I don’t think we’ll be able to get anyone better on the wire.
5. McLouth was just as much tradebait before—-the problem is that nobody wants him.

My McLouth to 2B idea would be for next year, just wanted to note that.

#3

is probably a bad thing. While Chipper is great and has been, should we be putting faith in him to come back 100% and ready to play like he’s capable? Or should we be looking to the future?

I think we should be focusing on the future.

Chipper’s gonna fight back to play next year…I just hope he doesn’t get Tom Glavine’d. If he does, I’m burning down Turner Field.

FRED MCGRIFF 2.0

hahaha

He won’t get Glavine’d, because his contract is big.

some jackass had this to say about chipper over on the ESPN blog

 Chipper was a hell of a player but hardly a class act. Go ask the Braves fans who know that he sired about 20 illegitimate children around the Atlanta area going back to his minor league days.

what a load

the REAL question is

what were you doing looking at ESPN comments?

Chipper Jones:

The white Shawn Kemp

Travs Henry...

thinks Shawn Kemp is a limp wristed monk vowing celebacy.

But without putting on 80 extra pounds.

Is it ok to cry?

Yeah, but don’t get this posting board wet – the entire thread will smear.

FARNSWORTH GO BACK TO THE BULLPEN AND GO PRACTICE NOT BLOWING LEADS
Pazzoozzooooooo!
If you need me

I’ll be in the angry dome.

this sucks more than the existence of the donkees
Chipper's sitting at 2490 career hits

It’s a long thread, not sure if it’s been mentioned, but that’d just add to how sad this is, that he was so close to 2500…

and hit 493 doubles,

147 SB,
1491 RBI

Might be part of the reason he is considering rehab. Lots of milestones pretty close on the horizon for Mr Jones

Chipper lost is terrible but not end of world

We still have Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson to help keep opponents runs low. We have Brian McCann (hot bat atm), Prado (hopefully the same guy before DL), Heyward to provide runs. We still have the best bench in baseball. And to top it all off, we have the best bullpen (Wags, Saito, Venters, Moylan, etc.) in the majors to either shorten the games or keep us in games. Let’s not let today be the worst day ever. Reload and kick ass like before. That is probably what Chipper is saying to the team now.

Your right ....

of course, its not the end of the world. Sure feels like it though.The world might last a little longer if we brought Freeman up and he hit 300 the rest of the way, Group hugs

or

worse if he comes up and cant crack the mendoza line

at least we'll have Infante, Gonzo,

and Prado on the field at the same time. But it still sucks

at least we’ll have InfanteGonzo and Prado on the field at the same time.

FTFY. The way he’s played we can live without that other doof on the field. He’s playing like a DH.

Here's an idea.

First post for me, and I don’t know if anyone thought of this before. What about Adam LaRoche’s brother. He seems to be a pretty good third baseman. Not sure of his numbers, maybe he is a bum, but the Pirates love to trade with us. Seems like he would be cheap. Just an idea I had, might not be a good one.
 
Get well soon Chipper. Whether you retire or not, you will always be loved by Braves fans.

There's a reason the Pirates love to trade with us.... :-)
Yes....

And Maybe Adam will follow….love that idea

Phils fan, not a Chipper fan, but I respect his accomplishments on the field and I’m sorry to see this happen to him. Hope he can make it back on the field (if he wants to) and get a few more good hacks in before he hangs up the cleats for good.

My condolences.

Nice of you to say...

that.Chipper is pretty classy hinself you know.Condolences? He hasnt passed away(jk). BTW, neither have the Braves. We are still gonna win this thing,

Definitely sucks but...

I see this as more of an emotional impact to the team that a playoff killer. He will be sorely missed for his presence on the field and his veteran leadership. However, Chipper was having an average to below average year. Yes. He was turning it around a bit. But I could see Prado sliding to 3rd and keeping Omar at 2nd. You could also shake things up and add some baby Brave spark by bringing Freeman up to replace Glaus to see if that adds some life to the team. I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t think we necessarily need to do a trade.

Glaus is fine

He just had a good series and all people can do is call for an unknown to come up and replace hm.

Definitely sucks but...

I see this as more of an emotional impact to the team that a playoff killer. He will be sorely missed for his presence on the field and his veteran leadership. However, Chipper was having an average to below average year. Yes. He was turning it around a bit. But I could see Prado sliding to 3rd and keeping Omar at 2nd. You could also shake things up and add some baby Brave spark by bringing Freeman up to replace Glaus to see if that adds some life to the team. I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t think we necessarily need to do a trade.

I totally...

agree sic. I am fairly confident that Freeman can hit better than 240,and not clog up the basepaths as much.If he is brought up and produces it will be a big boost emotionally for the team.It may not be ideal from a developmental angle ,or from a contractual basis down the road, but we just lost the face of this organization in a pennant race,and could use a lift from the best hitting prospect in the organization.Its not like Bobby wouldnt play Glaus if he was raking like he did a few months back,but frankly 240 is 240.Maybe a legend gets hurt and a story gets made.one never knows….

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