tireball.com

It looks like Bobby Cox may not be the only big name to leave the Atlanta Braves this off season. Chipper Jones may follow. The 38-year-old third basemen has been a mainstay in the organization since being taken as the first overall pick in the 1990 draft.

During Jones’ playing career he was a regular at All Star games and took home the 1999 NL MVP award. Injuries took their toll on his playing time over the last six years as he never topped 150 games played following the 2003 season. Even during that time he still managed a 42 home run season, a NL batting title with a .364 line and led the NL in OPS.

The last two seasons Jones has really struggled on the field even when healthy. His batting average dropped to .264 last season and he’s batting just .228 this year. Predicting when Chipper is going to be in the lineup is no easy task and even when he makes a start there is little guarantee that he will play the full game.

Manager Bobby Cox has kept Chipper in his customary third spot in the order but aside from a still high on base percentage he’s offering little to nothing this year.

Even I, a life long Braves fan who always roots for older players to show they still have it, think things would be better if Chipper would go ahead and hang them up. Part of me even wonders why the delay in doing it at seasons end when he’s pretty much a burden on the club right now.

Popularity: 7% [?]

For the first month of the season at-bats of Troy Glaus were not a good thing to be on the television in my house. Glaus, a former All-Star, had been signed to play first base for the Braves and provided more hair pulling then hand clapping to start the season.

Glaus had been a notoriously hot hitter to start past seasons so his early struggles only blazzed a fire in me that called for his departure from the club. The sooner, the better.

Well that was April. In May Glaus drove in a career best 28 runs in 28 games. To end the month he went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer off Chad Durbin in a Braves win that restored the team to first place in NL East. A win over the Phillies that completed the Braves transformation from worst to first in two weeks.

On May 1 Troy Glaus was hitting .194 with more strikeouts (21) than hits (14). In May he hit .330, six homers and 28 RBI. Numbers that could  earn him NL player of the month honors.

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution asked the Obvious question: What changed? Glaus’ answer: “It didn’t feel any different in April. It’s the results that are different.”

I wrote back in Spring Training that the Braves 2010 season rest on the back of Glaus. At that time I didn’t expect Jason Heyward to be so good, and I didn’t expect Chipper Jones to be so average. In April the Braves were a boat losing water quickly without the bat of Glaus clicking, in May the big guy took charge from the fourth spot in the lineup and the Braves reeled off 20 wins. That’s more then Baltimore, Cleveland, Seattle and Houston have had all year.

The Braves who once had a dreadful 9 game losing streak at the end of  April now seek their seventh win in a row as June starts.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Last night as I turned on the Braves/Rockies game I told my wife “we’re in for a treat tonight”. Of course the reason I made that comment was because I originally thought the pitching match-up was Ubaldo Jimenez and Jair Jurrjens. I then found myself a little bummed I was watching the Rockies feed but it wasn’t long before the treat turned into a nightmare for my Braves.

That’s because Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter in the majors for the 2010 season. Jimenez threw a major league high 128 pitches in the contest and was still hitting the high 90’s as the eighth and ninth inning came around.

I’ve never been a big one for no-hitters because I’ve always found them to be a little cheap. My reasoning has always been the same no matter who was pitching. “So the pitcher didn’t give up a hit but he walked how many?”

True enough. Jimenez walked six in this contest and one could argue it may not have even been the best pitched game of the day as the Mets and Cardinals raced to a 0-0 tie before the top of the 19th.

But it is a no hitter none-the-less. Troy Tulowitzki provided the Rockies with a run in the top of the first and Jimenez singled in the fourth to drive in a run of his own while Carlos Gonzalez doubled in two as the next batter.

Perhaps the biggest break for Jiminez in his run at a no-hitter was the costly base-running mistake of Kenshin Kawakami in the bottom of the third. After reaching base following bunting into a force out Kawakami was advanced to second on a Martin Prado walk. That brought Chipper Jones to the plate and following the second fastball for a ball Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo threw down to second to catch Kawakami off base.

Those thrill seekers hoping for some heroic defensive play can feel a little left out in this one. The only play even close to a dramatic defensive play to save the day was that of Dexter Fowler who chased down a Troy Glaus line drive in the seventh. Never-the-less it’s being highlighted on MLB.com and other places.

I’ll admit I missed parts of the game. We went out to get some ice cream, I had turned on the computer to compete in a on-line NASCAR 2003 event and didn’t realize the game had no hits until a well after 9.

Not the best game ever pitched. It probably will be beat out by a few others in my opinion this year but still it’s a no-hitter and I can’t change that.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Would anyone truly have been surprised if Jason Heyward struggeled upon his promotion to the major leagues?

Despite all the hype it was just that. Hype. Things rarely are as good or as bad as we hear. Even your child’s chorus concert sounded bad but you’ll tell them it was good not to crush their spirits. So exactly why is Jason Heyward living up to the hype at 20 years of age?

All spring we heard concerns that the left handed hitter lacked experience at Triple-A. Even I suggested  the Braves would delay his path to the majors in order to stall his service clock and yet on Opening Day there he was in right field.

The legend continued from there. He homered in his first big league at-bat and suddenly his spring training batting practice was starting to look like the real thing.

So what happened next?

Rob Neyer at ESPN and all the other big wigs decided Heyward can’t possibly be this good. Neyer went on to write a piece saying Heyward strikes out too much.  Maybe it’s true, maybe his sample size doesn’t correlate well with projecting any season numbers as you could just as well say absurd things like he’s on pace for 50 homers or 120 RBI.

Will big league pitchers adjust to Heyward by throwing him breaking balls? Probably. But will Heyward also adjust? Maybe.

We could go through a whole bunch of what-if’s but isn’t it better to just watch Heyward on the field? That’s where I like to see him right now.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Never mind how well Randy Wells pitched or how silly Carlos Marmol made Jason Heyward look in the ninth. The Braves lost the finale of a three game set to the Chicago Cubs because they couldn’t advance baserunners.

Yea Tommy Hanson pitched great in his season debut but the Braves still loss. It’s not a knock against Hanson but if the Braves don’t figure it out on the base paths we’re going to see this scenario again and again this year.

The Braves had a combination of 12 hits and walks off the Cubs staff, still none were able to come around to score. Officially there were three double plays turned by the Cubs.

Do you know how many runners the Cubs had total? 7 None of that really mattered as the Cubs scored both runs on solo home runs by Tyler Colvin and Marlon Byrd.

The fact is the Braves were awful moving runners around last night. The evidence may be even sicker then the comments already made.

First Inning. Martin Prado got a single as the second hitter in the first. He never moved off first base.

Second Inning. Troy Glaus lead off single in the second. Flyout by Escobar then Heyward grounds into a force out taking Glaus off the bases. Nate McLouth then singeled by Heyward was unable to score from first. Then the pitcher hit.

Third Inning. Martin Prado doubles as the second batter then Chipper walks, McCann reaches on error to load bases. Glaus grounds into double play

We got a reprieve in the fourth as everyone grounded out.

Fifth Inning. Melky Cabrera walks with one out. Prado then grounds into a double play.

Sixth Inning. Omar Infante who came into the game for an injured Chipper Jones leads off with a single. McCann lines out in front of a Glaus single. Yunel Escobar figures he hasn’t done one yet so he grounds into a double play to end the inning.

No base runners in the seventh. I guess they were gearing up for the final let down.

Eighth Inning. Prado singles again with one out. McCann walks with two outs. Glaus grounds out.

Ninth Inning. Escobar leads off with a single. Carlos Marmol makes Jason Heyward look silly with a breaking ball and then walks Nate McLouth. Pinch hitter Eric Hinske flies out and Melky Cabrera sits at home plate with the bat on his shoulders to end the game.

Obviously there’s not much that can be done with the lineup right now. Nate McLouth is still dealing with a hamstring issue so the two biggest speed assets to the Braves (Heyward and McLouth) are stuck back to back in the lineup. With Chipper Jones already dealing with his first injury of the year the Braves also lose quite a bit of power in the downgrade to Omar Infante at third.

It’s also true the Braves won’t be facing Randy Wells every night so maybe they can avoid the 13:2 ground/flyball ratio sometimes.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Chipper Jones jumped on a high pitch by Chicago Cubs reliever John Grabow and deposited it into the stands giving the Braves a 3-2 lead. Not only did the two-run home run give the Braves a late inning lead but you could feel a season of frustration being let off the veteran third baseman’s shoulders.

While Cub fans may question manager Lou Pinella’s decision to use Grabow in the eighth after Sean Marshall another lefty recorded two strike outs in the seventh but the manager was simply using his players in the way any other manager in the game would.

The Cubs managed two runs off Braves starter Jair Jurrjens in the fifth. Aided by Jurrjens sudden loss of control and an error by first basemen Troy Glaus. Glaus would atone for his error an inning later when he snared a line drive off the bat of Marlon Byrd and then doubled up Aramis Ramirez off first.

The homer by Jones was one of five hits for the Braves on the night. Prior to Jones’ homer second basemen Martin Prado hit a double.

Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster was dominating on the mound. The 32-year-old righty was on throwing six innings allowing a run, three hits and two walks while recording nine strike outs.

Jason Heyward was one of the few bright spots against Dempster as he doubled in Brian McCann in the bottom of the second.

Billy Wagner recorded a strikeout of Marlon Byrd to start the ninth before giving up a single to Alfonso Soriano. He thre retired Xavier Nady and Geovany Soto with back to back strike outs.

The third and final game of the series will by played tomorrow.  Randy Wells will be on the mound for the Cubs and Tommy Hanson for the Braves.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Jason Heyward has made the Atlanta Braves. Despite some, including myself, who said he may benefit from some at-bats Triple-A there wasn’t much the 20-year-old did this spring that made those notions true.

Heyward was 15-for-41 (.366) with a home run and five RBI in his spring audition and it became increasingly clear that whatever Heyward lacked in experience when compared to Matt Diaz and Melky Cabrera he more then made up for in raw talent.

While Heyward will be played in right field the duo of Diaz and Cabrera figure to share time in left.

Popularity: 30% [?]

With the names of Scott Proctor, Freddie Freeman, and Mitch Jones as non roster invitees to Braves camp I could see four or more making the major league roster at some point. Though none with have near the amount of talk around them as baseball’s top prospect Jason Heyward.

Heyward is supposed to save the Braves offense much the same way people said Tommy Hanson would change the rotation which was odd considering the Braves had one of the best rotations in baseball with or without Hanson last year. I personally found it hard to believe that Heyward might start the regular season with the club but midway though Spring Training I have to admit that he should be on the roster.

Of course then finding at-bats may be though for all of the guys the Braves plan to throw out in the outfield. While McLouth is certain to be in center the Braves figure to run Matt Diaz, Melky Cabrera and Omar Infante at the corners. Throw in Heyward and we are going to have some guys disappointed with their at-bat totals.

Truth be told though the ability of Heyward far exceeds anyone the Braves have for any of their outfield positions, Diaz is more of a platoon/pinch hitter and Cabrera couldn’t even make a mark for himself with the Yankees. Infante is better suited for spelling infield then outfield and while Gregor Blanco and Jordan Schafer are still with the organization they are afterthoughts.

At 20 years of age Heyward is as exciting as they come. He’s hit and hit well at every stop on his rise though the Braves system. Some think some time at Triple-A may do him well but there’s no arguing with the numbers he produced between three levels last year. (.323/.408/.555, 17 HR, 10 SB)

Some have gone as far to say that they believe Heyward is a 25-30 home run player this season in the majors and while I think that’s a little far fetched all he has to do is make an impact above that of Melky Cabrera to justify him being on the big league roster.

Thus far this spring Heyward is 8-for-18 with a homer, four doubles, 5 RBI, 5 runs scored and two stolen bases.

It’s certain (barring a major injury) that Heyward will be on the Braves roster at some point this year. Just when is the question.

Popularity: 11% [?]

It’s been a little while since I last made a Daily Jason Heyward note because the outfielder had been out with a sore back.

I guess a few days off and a rub down will get you back to swinging the lumber as the 20-year-old collected two doubles in a spring outing against the Toronto Blue Jays.

In total the youngster has done nothing to give the Braves reason to keep him off the roster as he’s 8-f0r-18 with  five extra-base hits and six walks in exhibition play.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Jason Heyward continued his demolition of spring training pitching hitting a two-run homer off Max Scherzer and collecting a walk in Monday’s trashing of the Tigers.

Heyward is currently 5-for-12 with three extra-base hits so maybe just maybe he’s starting to make even me believe he’ll be on the opening day roster. Ah but there is still a few more weeks of March so I won’t bet on it yet.

Still it’s great to see him get off to a good start and even I can’t discount that.

Popularity: 4% [?]