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Atlanta Braves

bassNspear

By bassNspear
in Baseball

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outdoor ran Mentor

outdoor ran

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The rookie Jordan Schafer sure had a first good night in the big leagues. A homer, a single and then he gets a free pass to first. Brad Lidge sure tied him in a knot though. What does old Cox have against complete games? Lowe was just whipping threw the order and Cox pulls him to put in a closer who lets Howard get to the plate with a chance to tie. Got scarey there for a bit. At least it worked out.

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bassNspear Grand Master

bassNspear

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he looked good last night forsure, but we will see how he is doing in the middle of the season towards the allstar break.

Chipper is going to have another good year again, which will help out the others in the line up!

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bassNspear Grand Master

bassNspear

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Quote:
Hope Chipper can stay healthy.

Don't count on it.

He will, he will have to help carry the team. Hes been my favorite player in the majors since he came into the league. I have a hunt, hes going to have a awesome year!

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bassNspear Grand Master

bassNspear

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PHILADELPHIA -- With John Smoltz gone, Chipper Jones has willingly accepted the leadership role that accompanies his status as the club's longest-tenured player. Thus before Sunday night's Opening Night victory over the Phillies, the veteran third baseman delivered a motivational speech that left a good impression on Jeff Francoeur and some of the other Braves players.

"I said some things that needed to kind of get out in the open and let people know that we're not going to settle for finishing third or fourth in the division," Jones said. "We're just not going let that happen, and if we do finish third or fourth, it's not going to be because we played like we did last year."

While injuries played a large role in the 90-loss season the Braves endured last year, Jones and some of the other veterans also got a sense that some of the younger players might have grown complacent with simply having the opportunity to play in the Majors.

During a January meeting at Turner Field, Jones, Tim Hudson, Brian McCann and Francoeur aired some dirty laundry and agreed that it was their responsibility to ensure every player understood the need to do work together to minimize the possibility that Atlanta would miss the postseason for a fourth straight season.

"Some of the younger players, I don't know if they're intimidated or scared to come up to me sometimes, but I'm just letting them know that if you've got a question, ask me; there's a good chance that I've been through it," Jones said. "I want those young guys to produce just like the rest of us did.

"I don't want them to be satisfied with mediocrity. It's time for some of these guys in here to take the next step. Some of the results we got last year aren't going to be acceptable. We've got to step it up."

After delivering his speech, Jones watched with pride when Derek Lowe provided eight scoreless innings during a 4-1 victory that included confidence-building home runs from Francoeur and Jordan Schafer, who became just the fourth player in franchise history to homer in his first career at-bat.

"Everybody in the country was tuned into that first game, and with the way we came out swinging early in the game and the way D-Lowe pitched, we served notice that we have a lot better club than we did the past couple of years," Jones said. "We're going to try our darndest to get back into contention."

Jones, who has been a mainstay in the Braves' lineup since the start of the 1995 World Series championship season, was somewhat reluctant in the past to step on Smoltz's toes. But with the right-hander now in Boston, the All-Star third baseman says he's more than willing to broaden his leadership responsibilities.

"I've always yielded to guys who have more time than me," Jones said. "Whenever we had a meeting, Smoltzie would talk and I'd come in second-hand. We had a relationship where whenever anything needed to be addressed with the pitching staff, he'd take care of it, and whenever something needed to be taken care of with a position player, I'd take care of it. Now that he's gone, that all falls on me."

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