More details here

I’ll be retweeting a lot of articles real soon that will contain more details.

Options

First, lets get out of the way what options aren’t even worth talking about, because all indications are that they won’t happen (and in my opinion, they shouldn’t happen):

Moving Troy Glaus to 3rd base

Regardless of how much time he’s played at 3rd base in his career, his knees are currently in no condition to play the hot corner.

Bring up Freddie Freeman to play 3rd base

Freeman is solid at first base, but professionally has almost no experience at third base. He played 5 games there 3 years ago in rookie ball. The sample size is small, but the numbers were atrocious. With moving Glaus to 3rd base being out of the question as well, its unlikely that Freddie Freeman’s timetable is going to be altered. The most likely way we’ll see him in the majors this year is if he is called up in September to help fill out the bench and provide some occasional rest for Glaus.

That brings us to the realistic options. We’ll start with my current favorite first:

Stay with what we’ve got

We’ve got at least 4 guys that can play 3rd base. Hinske, Infante, Conrad, and Prado. I like all these guys, so I wouldn’t be upset to see any of them playing at third, but I think the best everyday option is Prado. He is going to play everyday no matter what, and he is probably the best defensive option among the bunch. This leaves a spot open at 2nd base. As far as I’m aware, Hinske can’t play 2nd, so that leave Conrad and Infante to take over there. There has been a lot of discussion lately about how you keep Infante in the lineup after Prado returns. I don’t think this was really how we wanted to address that question, but it does address it. Conrad can continue to be a valuable asset off the bench, and Hinske is free to be utilized in left field and at first base. So, while you can pick your favorite combination, mine is going to be Prado at third, Infante at second. For the batting order, you keep Prado at the top, put Infante batting second, and move Heyward to the third spot. The rest of the lineup fills out the same as it has all year.

Bring on someone new

A few names have been mentioned, but the name that seems to the most attractive, and most likely to clear waivers, is Chone Figgins. Figgins has good points and bad. His overall numbers for the year have been below par, but he’s been playing well lately. He’s a true lead off hitter that has both speed and a high OBP. He’s also from Georgia, and playing for the “home team” can sometimes provide extra drive for a player. His salary is pretty steep, but indications are that Seattle would be willing to eat a large portion of it and/or take Kawakami in return. The latter would significantly offset Figgins’ salary. Another positive about Figgins is that he can play third, second, and center field.

What does it all mean?

So, what does it mean to a team in a hot pennant race to lose someone so valuable? Well, its not good news, thats for sure, but it also doesn’t mean the season is over. The Braves earned their current spot in first place back when Chipper wasn’t playing too well. While his recent production has been important, we’ve shown that we can succeed without it. Chipper is also a valuable member to the team off the field, and this won’t change. The impact he has just being in the clubhouse shouldn’t be underestimated. I think this makes things more difficult without question, but there is no reason to believe that its something that can keep us from winning the pennant, not to mention the world series.

WIN ONE FOR THE CHIPPER!

Whether he’s played his last game for Atlanta or not, his season is over. He went down giving everything he had to try and get the Braves another championship. More than ever, its time to go out there and show our appreciation for all he has done for this franchise, now and in the past. It’s been 15 years since we won the world series, its time to win one again, and this time, lets Win One For The Chipper!

Dave O’Brien has more information in his article here: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/08/12/mri-shows-jones-has-torn-acl-agent-said/

Let not make the injury meaningless, lets make sure we go all the way this year. Lets Win one for the Chipper!

• The Braves scored with runners in scoring position.
  • It was Troy Glaus that drove in the runs with runners in scoring position (and with 2-outs and a 3-2 count no less).
• The Braves didn’t score ANY runs off of a home run.
• Jonny Venters didn’t pitch
• Billy Wagner was so lights out he didn’t even make anyone nervous (except maybe the Giants)

Not to take anything away from the masterpiece that Tim Hudson pitched, but Wagner was just amazing tonight. His first pitch was a ball, the next 10 were strikes, only one of which was hit (foul). Even though I don’t think you can blame last night’s blown save on him, he has been a little off lately. Not tonight though.

Depending on the severity of the issue, the Braves could face losing him for a few starts, the rest of the season, or even the rest of next season. I guess its possible that he could end up not missing any time at all, but everything I’ve read seems to indicate that he’ll definitely be making a trip to the DL, regardless of the outcome of the MRI.

Speculation has already begun on what the Braves will do in response. Obviously if its a situation where he won’t miss a start, nothing will happen. If he does miss any time, there is a lot of debate on whether the Braves will call up Mike Minor (henceforth known as MM), or if they will move KK back into the rotation.

If we do find out that we are going to be without Medlen for at least the rest of the season, I think we have to call up MM. To begin with, KK has hardly pitched since being moved to the bullpen. Chances that he’s even up to starting are pretty slim. That being said, we are in a tight pennant race, and now is not the time for MM to mature in the majors. KK has to begin getting ready because if MM shows any signs of not being able to handle the pressures of a pennant race, or merely falters for any other reasons, KK will need to step in. If we had a runaway lead or if we were out of the race, then you could afford to let MM go through some bad starts in order to further refine him. We don’t have that luxury now.

What I’m wondering is what we do if Medlen ends up needing to just miss one or two starts? Would we call up MM just to make a few spot starts and send him back down? Are there other options in on the farm that could be better utilized in such a situation? Do we have anyone in the bullpen that could be moved into such a role? I know that Venters started most of his career in the minors, but is he prepared to make a few spot starts? Even if he is, can we afford to lose him out of the pen? Could JJ go on short rest if needed? Don’t forget that he didn’t pitch for two months or so while on the DL and is much more rested than other starters.

My feeling is that in such a situation we wouldn’t call up MM. I don’t think he’s coming up this year unless its with plans for him to stay up here as part of the rotation. Instead I think we’d call up another starter from AAA or AA with the intention of him making a single start and getting sent back down.

Another option would be to give it until mid-month. During that time give Glaus as much rest as possible. If he’s still struggling by the time Prado is back, then DL him and let Prado play first so that you can keep the Diaz/Hinkse platoon intact.

However its worked out, I think the bottom line is that Melky Cabrera plays as little as possible. He MUST be confined to the role of a backup and nothing more.

Coming Soon

I’m working on a few blogs right now that I hope to have up soon. They are more than just “my thoughts” blogs, so they require a bit of extra time in terms of compiling data and what not. The ones that are currently in the works are:

1. Kyle Farnsworth & Rick Ankiel – just some more background and history on the two newest Braves
2. Proper Player Utilization – expanding upon my thoughts in the last few recaps.
3. Handedness – this might end up being part of the above blog, or might get its own. I want to take a more in-depth look into the “rule” that it favors to the batter to face an opposite handed pitcher, and vice-versa, the pitcher to face a same handed batter. My hypothesis is that a lot of managers follow this “rule” even when the numbers don’t support it. Any examples of situations where the “rule” was followed despite the numbers are appreciated.