Chipper Jones

Atlanta Braves 3B Chipper Jones has been placed on the 15-day DL with a torn meniscous and will miss the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Philadelphia Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel came out Saturday and said that it is likely All-Star 3B Placido Palanco will miss Sunday's game, and very well could miss the All-Star game. 

The Atlanta Braves completed a sweep of the defending champion San Francisco Giants today behind a solid outing from rookie Brandon Beachy. Craig Kimbel closed out the three-game series in which Braves starters have only allowed five runs.

The sweep was particularly sweet for the Braves who fell to the Giants in the 2010 NLDS. In that series, every game came down to one run. But the Braves eventually shot themselves in the foot, committing seven errors.

We all knew coming into this season that the Braves' pitching was going to be solid. But we also felt like that the offense was going to improve. With this combination, the Braves were thought to be one of the best teams in the NL. Well, at the moment, only one of those beliefs has come true.

The Braves enter their mid-week series with division rival Florida Marlins 4-6, a record that most in the baseball world would call a mild fiasco for a team that garnered such praise out of March.

Larry Wayne Jones has been playing for the Atlanta Braves since 1993.  Set to turn 39 on April 24th, the man you all know as "Chipper" is in his 18th season with the same club—that alone is noteworthy.

But on Friday, Jones added to his already impressive legacy by collecting a pair of hits to put his career total at 2,500.

What more do you want from Chipper now? 

He now has the hits, he is a few RBI from 1,500, and he has the home runs. What makes these stats more special is that he is a switch hitter.

If, more like when, he reaches that 1,500 RBI mark, then he will be only the second switch hitter in baseball history to have that amount of RBI, as well as 2,500 hits.

Some people do not think he will get in because he doesn't have 3,000 hits, or he hasn't hit 500 HRs. But what he has done, I think, should easily get him in.

Chipper Jones, 3B Atlanta Braves—Here’s a salty veteran for you. Chipper has come flying out of the gates hitting .353 with two RBI and one run. I know it doesn’t look great, but if he can continue to open hot like he has in the past, the RBI and HR numbers will come. Jones is the type of player you ride a hot start with, then dump him as the season goes on and he starts battling injuries. Pick him up and ride out the production.

What an interesting opening series this has been!

The first game of the series was well played by both sides. The pitching was phenomenal and the defense was solid. 

However, some fans, including myself, were slightly uncomfortable with the offensive performance by the Braves. The lineup had only five hits and two runs, both of which are below expectations. Thankfully, Derek Lowe and the bullpen were there to bail the offense out and shut out the Nats. 

It was Aug. 10, 2010.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones had just made one of the best defensive plays of his career. The 38-year-old sprinted into foul territory to field a ground ball, gloved it, and made a rocket throw to first in time to get the runner—while in mid-air.

However, before viewers could finish processing what they just saw, Chipper landed awkwardly and the camera zoomed into a close-up shot of Jones' face, wincing in pain.

Two opening days, two first at-bat home runs for Jason Heyward.

Last season, in what may have been the single biggest home run call of the year, Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward went yard on his very first at-bat against Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs.

One year later, history and Heyward repeated themselves.

Heyward took a 2-1 pitch from Washington Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez chest high and belted it over the right field fence, extending the Braves' lead to 2-0.