DEL.ICIO.USChipper Jones enters offseason of uncertainty
Bothersome shoulder, moving to first base all considerations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Fresh off securing the National League batting title, Chipper Jones headed for an MRI on Tuesday on his throwing shoulder. Even the good things don’t come easy for a 36-year-old third baseman.
Jones’ shoulder has bothered him since before he went on the disabled list July 24 with a hamstring problem. He thought two weeks without throwing would ease his shoulder, but it didn’t.
Pouya Dianat/pdianat@ajc.com
Chipper Jones heads into the offseason with question marks about his bothersome shoulder.
He was limited to pinch-hitting the last eight games of the season.
The Braves suspect the problem is bursitis or tendinitis, but Jones underwent a dye-injected MRI to be sure. The Braves won’t have the results until Wednesday.
“I thought it better to be safe than sorry,” Jones said Tuesday. “If there is something structurally wrong, let’s get in there, let’s get it taken care of so we can be as ready for spring training as possible.”
Braves general manager Frank Wren reiterated Monday that the Braves plan to keep Chipper Jones at third base next season as a key piece to their offense.
Jones knows there could come a day when he’ll be asked to move to first base. He said Tuesday he’ll resist that as long as possible.
“That’ll be one move that I’ll fight,” Jones said. “I learned my lesson moving to left [field late in 2001]. I’ve never played on that side of the infield. Not to say I don’t think I can do it, I’d just rather not. I feel really comfortable at third. …
“There are a lot of things that go into playing first, a lot of footwork. Obviously the ball is coming at you a different way that quite frankly I don’t know anything about. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. When John [Schuerholz] and Frank [Wren] tell me it’s time, then we’ll talk about it.”
Jones wants to play four more years to get closer to his goal of becoming only the 11th third baseman in the Hall of Fame.
His first-ever batting title should help his cause after he hit a career-best .364 this season, but he believes he needs to get closer to 500 homers (408) and 3,000 hits (2,277) to make his case.
In the meantime, Jones will keep a close eye on the Braves’ offseason moves. He knows their primary need is starting pitching. He’s also curious to see what protection they can add for him in the lineup.
“It’s important that we get another big stick in the middle of our lineup,” Jones said. “I don’t think that you can have Brian McCann hitting fourth behind me for the simple fact that he’s not going to play every day. You’ve got to give him some time off because he plays the most demanding position on the field and quite frankly at the end of the season he was gassed. He had nothing left. …
“But if you can get that every day outfielder of some sort, a first baseman such as Tex [Mark Teixeira] that you can plug in there every day and get me pitched to in important spots late in the game, then that’s what they’re going to try and get.”
With Casey Kotchman at first base, the Braves are more likely to make that an outfielder.
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