First of all, the elephant in the room is whether or not Chipper will retire. Honestly, I don’t know. I was going against what seemed to the be the majority when I said the he wouldn’t retire at the end of this season if it ended on a high note. Given statements he’s made about retirement beginning last season, I would say that retirement is now a certainty, except for something he said Wednesday. David O’Brien asked him if he’d consider a long rehab to play again if he needed season ending surgery, and he replied “I’d have to consider it.” So, I honestly don’t know if we’ve seen him play his last game or not.

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 %Bn%. 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!

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I few of my fellow bloggers and tweeters have put a lot of analysis into much of what I’ve mentioned above. I’d strongly suggest checking them out for some deeper analysis on some of the topics above, as well as some other options I might not have mentioned above.  While there are many out there, and you can find them by looking at who I follow on twitter, as well as my retweets, I’d like to point out two in particular: @FriedBasballATL and @Ben_Duronio.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets (53-53)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
Braves (60-45)	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	X	4	11	2

Boxscore

I think this game was further proof that Matt Diaz is too hot when he starts to not be given a chance to play everyday, at least while Hinske is unavailable to platoon because he is playing first while Glaus gets some much needed rest. At this point I almost think it might be worth putting him on the DL in order to ensure he gets some time off. Doing so would allow us to call up someone else (such as Freddie Freeman) to play first, preventing the need to break up the Diaz/Hinske platoon.

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.

Clubhouse Comments

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Braves (59-43)	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	6	12	0
Reds (57-47)	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	11	0

Boxscore

One of the most intense games I’ve seen this season. As of this posting, x-rays on Prado’s finger were inconclusive and he will be re-evaluated by a doctor tomorrow.

I’m sure most of you also know that tomorrow is the trade deadline. I won’t be near a computer to post any updates or breaking news here, but I’ll be keeping an eye on the twitter feeds and retweeting anything that I think y’all might find interesting. If you aren’t following @thebravesblog yet, now’s a good time to start!

Speaking of the twitter feed, you should check it out for links to a good number of articles about things such as the results of Venters’ appeal of his suspension, Gonzalez’s health woes, and much more!

Clubhouse Comments

The rosters for this years All Star game were announced earlier today. Jason Heyward was the only Brave voted in by the fans, but a few more were selected as reserves.

Brian McCann will be making his 5th appearance in his 5 seasons as the lone back-up catcher, and Tim Hudson will be making his 3rd trip as the only pitcher from the Braves. Martin Prado and Omar Infante were both selected for the first time in their careers, and it has been announced the Prado will start in place of the injured Chase Utley.

One player some thought had a shot but not selected was Troy Glaus. Albert Pujols will be starting at 1st base, while Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez were selected as his back-ups. Below is a comparison of the all stars and Troy Glaus:

Player	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
Albert Pujols	.305	20	60	.413	.567
Ryan Howard	.293	15	59	.349	.502
Adrian Gonzalez	.294	16	51	.389	.522
Troy Glaus	.260	14	56	.364	.458

In my opinion, the right guys were picked. I think there were two things that went against Glaus. First of all, his stats are low because of a slow start. Second, every team has to have at least 1 player, and Gonzalez is that guy for San Diego. I’m curious what everyone else thinks though.

I’ve re-tweeted the AJC article, so make sure you check that out. Per Dave O’Brien: “When Frank Wren called Omar Infante at 8:30 a.m. this morning to tell him he was an All-Star, Infante at first thought he’d been traded.”

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nationals (34-44)	0	0	0	0	3	1	2	1	0	7	11	0
Braves (45-33)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	5	1

Boxscore

A few newsworthy items worth noting. Martin Prado’s chances of starting in the all-star game increased dramatically when Chase Utley was placed on the disabled list today. At the same time, Jason Heyward announced that he would not play in the game even if selected as a starter due to his injury. And finally, Matt Diaz was activated from the disabled list today, to be followed by %Bn%’s activation tomorrow.

Links to stories on all of the above items, and more, can be found on the twitter feed.

Clubhouse Comments

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves (34-25)	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	7	14	0
D-backs (23-36)	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	5	7	0

Boxscore

Good game last night. It was nice to see Chipper back in the lineup. Medlen hurt himself sliding into home, but thankfully it doesn’t look like anything serious.

In other news, the latest results in the all star voting are out, and Heyward, McCann, and Prado are all in 2nd place at their respective positions.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Phillies (28-22)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	6	2
Braves (29-22)	3	0	3	0	0	0	3	0	X	9	11	0

Boxscore

Granted, we still have a long season ahead of us, but I think things look good. My prediction is that if we are still in 1st place by the end of the long road trip we have coming up, we’ll stay there the rest of the season.

The Braves went 20-8 in the month of May, taking them from last place in the division to first in the span of just a few weeks. All of this was done with Chipper, McCann, and Escobar playing way below what’s expected of them for most of the month. Add to that the fact that McCann and Chipper have both started to show marked improvements, and even Escobar has shown signs he is coming out of his slump. We also can’t overlook Cabrera’s recent performance which has been much better than how he started the season.

Then there are the guys that have been performing on a high level the entire time. Heyward, Glaus, and Prado are the everyday players that top the list. Then there are guys like Hinske that seem to perform as a starter, pinch hitter, or late inning replacement. Even Ross is providing solid offense from a position that you don’t usually expect such things from (backup catcher).

Things are looking good Braves fans!

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CIN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	4	11	0
ATL	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	11	0

Boxscore

The silver lining to  blown save was  winning the game with a walk off hit in the bottom of the 9th. With  on first,  hit a double into the right field corner.  scored from first to win the game.