AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > March > 22
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Chipper apologizes to writer; let the pigeons loose!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fourteen years into his major league career, there was another “first” for Chipper Jones on Thursday.
Hoss apologized to a reporter.
No, seriously. He did. But first up, we have NEWS.
I’m hearing whispers that Brian McCann might be close to signing a multi-year contract. If so, that’d be a very wise move by the Braves, who couldn’t pick a better guy to “lock up” long term.
(They should also do it with Jeff Francoeur, but not sure if they’re in agreement with Frenchy on value, given the fact that he was just unilaterally renewed by the club when the parties couldn’t even agree on his salary for 2007.)
Anyway, I’ll let you know soon as I hear something on McCann.
Next, I need to inform you of a pitching change for today’s game. John Smoltz is going instead of Kyle Davies. No big deal, it just works better for Smoltz to have a more normal schedule as he approaches his opening day start, and he won’t have to face Philadelphia Friday, the team he’ll pitch against on opening day.
They flip-flopped the two, and Davies will now go tomorrow vs. Philadelphia. Smoltz is now going on regular rest today since his last start Saturday vs. St. Louis, and Davies will be on six days’ rest tomorrow.
Smoltz is scheduled to start March 27 vs. Detroit, then perhaps pitch a tune-up inning if he needs one during the March 30-31 games vs. the White Sox at Turner Field before starting opening day April 2 at Philly.
Davies is competing with Lance Cormier for the last available spot in the rotation, but at this point it seems more likely Davies will be the opening day starter at Richmond.
Now, the apology.
When he saw a couple of us standing near his locker this morning, Chipper asked, “Where’s Travis?” Meaning Travis Haney of Morris News Service.
Unfortunately, Travis wasn’t there yet. So the actual apology will have to wait until after this interminable closed-door players’ association meeting with Don Fehr ends and we writers can race down to the field and see Chipper tell young Haney he’s sorry. Travis says we’ll have to wait to see what his reaction will be, but that it will probably be indifference.
(Hey, he’s headed off to cover Steve Spurrier and South Carolina in a couple of weeks, so what the hell does he care whether Hoss apologizes?)
Oh, the setup: Travis was the one who asked him on Saturday morning if he was sure he didn’t want to talk, after Jones had twice that morning declined to discuss his health status after being scratched the night before with a strained oblique.
“How many times do I have to say it,” Jones snapped at him. And that was that.
Chipper kinda acted like a jerk. Something I do only once every six or seven hours. But he’s paid a lot more money, so he’s supposed to be nice (OK, it doesn’t work that way, but it should, right? No? OK, nevermind).
Now the oblique is feeling good and Chipper is feeling bad _ for his admittedly overzealous reaction to a simple request for a comment on his oblique. OK, he’s not feeling that bad, but we ink-stained wretches (actually, I’m just a coffee-stained wretch today, spill on my authentic guayabera purchased by ex-wife in Miami) tend to take any bone thrown our way and then exaggerate this stuff.
So let’s do that. We all know he’s tired of talking about his injuries, but long as one of the faces of the franchise keeps getting hurt, he’s going to get asked. It’s our job.
Anyway, I don’t want to overplay this (yes, I do). It really wasn’t a big deal when it happened. There are tense moments throughout a season between reporters and players, reporters and the manager, etc. It’s the nature of the beast.
“I jumped his [stuff] pretty good,” Chipper said, and gave it one of those patented Chipper smirks that said he was getting a kick out of this apology thing.
Relatively speaking, this was nothing. The only reason it was even noteworthy was that it was Chipper, who rarely snaps like that (he usually just stays in the player’s lounge and plays cards or watches a NASCAR race if he doesn’t want to talk to us), and, as previously mentioned, never apologizes to a writer.
It was funny more than anything else. There’s no tension, not that any of you would give a rat’s a@* one way or another. This kind of stuff actually spices up the mundane stretches of a season sometime, and especially the dog days of spring training.
Oh, yeah, Chipper’s playing today.
At least Betemit’s playing, right? The old Aybar-for-Betemit trade isn’t looking particularly good for either side right now (I like to update it every few days, to stoke the passion that some still have for one dog or the other in this race, as it were). But at least Betemit’s playing. Not particularly well, but at least he’s playing.
Aybar keeps sitting, and at least a few Braves folks are wondering now about Aybar’s desire. He played hurt last year after injuring his hand in his first game with the Braves, but now he’s sitting out far longer than anyone imagined would be necessary due to soreness in his wrist.
It’s not like the Braves can do much with him, other than DL him. They traded away Betemit to get him, so they certainly aren’t going to dump the switch-hitting Aybar, who’s out of options and has plenty of talent, when he actually plays.
Maybe this will all blow over soon, if Aybar gets back on the field. But it seems more likely he’ll start the season on the DL now, since he’s only played three games this spring (4-for-9, home run).
The only thing good that could possibly come out of that would be if it somehow allowed the Braves to keep Tony Pena Jr., say by having him on the opening day roster and then trying to slip him through waivers a couple of weeks into the season. He’s out of options and it seems unlikely Pena would clear waivers if the Braves tried to get him through before the season opener.
It’s sometimes easier to get guys through after teams set their rosters and start the season, since they want to see the guys they’ve got at that point. But even then, some teams are looking for such a late move by other teams.
Pena is, by all accounts, outstanding defensively at shortstop and very solid at 3B and 2B, by major league standards. And he’s starting to hit more now _ .282 last year at Richmond (though only 17 extra-base hits including one homer), after hitting below .260 in each of his previous six minor league seasons.
Oh, almost forgot: Betemit was hitting .211 (8-for-38) before today with no homers, two doubles, two RBIs, two walks, a .268 OBP and .263 slugging percentage.
At least he’s playing.
“INTO THE MYSTIC” by Van Morrison
We were born before the wind/Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won/as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry/Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when that fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don’t have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul/Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don’t have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul/Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float into the mystic
Come on girl…
Too late to stop now
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