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Thursday, June 15, 2006
Chipper responds to criticism
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones responded to criticism that he didn’t do enough to catch the ball on a play at third base in Wednesday’s loss. Jones admitted he probably could have come off the bag and gloved the throw from reliever Mike Remlinger. “I’m trying to hold the bag and make the catch and it went off the end of my glove,” Jones said. “With the bases loaded and nobody out, the odds are stacked against us anyway. I couldn’t afford not to try to stay on the base. That’s not being critical of our pitchers, it’s just a fact.” Jones also said, “I don’t think anyone is in a position to throw stones.” What do you think of his response? Meanwhile, the Braves lost again Thursday. Is the season going down the drain? Is it down the drain?
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The other failures
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves bullpen is worse than bad — it’s horrible. But all the deserved criticism heaped that way has let others off the hook.
Except for Brian McCann and Edgar Renteria, no player is blameless.
That includes the Braves’ biggest names - Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, John Smoltz and Tim Hudson. None of them are having bad seasons, but they haven’t been really good, either. With the fragile state of the rest of the team, they all needed to be at the top of their games.
Much has been made of Marcus Giles’ shortcomings as a leadoff hitter. But the middle of the lineup has hardly been fearsome.
Andruw Jones has 16 homers and 56 RBIs, but he isn’t the offensive force he was last season.
Most perplexing is the power drop-off of Chipper Jones. He is hitting .291, but has just seven homers and 34 RBIs. It doesn’t look like his legs are back after getting hurt in April.
The Jones duo has also struck out way too much, joining their struggling teammates.
Smoltz and Hudson have both pitched well for the most part. But being a combined 10-9 with a 3.79 ERA isn’t enough to carry a rotation with way too many question marks.
The Braves are a mess right now and the blame should be spread around.
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The blame? Ask Chipper, reliever says
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves lost to the Marlins 6-5 Wednesday night on a play scored as a throwing error for pitcher Mike Remlinger. The lefty fielded a bunt and tried to get a runner at third in the 10th inning, but the throw sailed past Chipper Jones and the winning run scored. Remlinger apparently felt that Jones might have been able to get a glove on the ball. “Ask Chipper if it was catchable,” Remlinger snapped after the game. “I don’t know. I just threw it.” Jones wasn’t still around to comment. Whose fault was it? More importantly, is this a sign the team is beginning to unravel after its 13th loss in 16 games?
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