Omar Infante

NL All-Star manager Charlie Manuel said he was told to include a utility player on the NL roster, so he has chosen Omar Infante of the Braves.

Infante is a very versatile player who can play all the infield and outfield positions, but he has one home run and 22 runs batted in this season. He is a good player, but he is not an All-Star player.

His teammate Troy Glaus, who has hit 14 home runs and driven in 56 runs, would have been a much better choice, not to mention the NL home run leader Joey Votto, who has hit 21 home runs.

The last time the National League won an All-Star game was in 1996.

Back then, the Braves were represented by John Smoltz (who got the win), Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Mark Wohlers, Fred McGriff, and Chipper Jones.

The Braves will again be represented by a handful of players this year. Jason Heyward, Martin Prado, Tim Hudson, and Brian McCann were all expected (at least somewhat) by fans.

Yes, I had this exact reaction when I saw the All-Star rosters when they were released on Sunday and I am sure I am not the only person who had the same reaction I did.

I understand that NL manager Charlie Manuel wants versatility in case of injury or if he runs out of players, which is impossible, but seriously why Omar Infante?

There are many players that are more deserving than Infante.

Josh Willingham, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Troy Glaus, Joey Votto, Aubrey Huff, and Dan Uggla are just some people who deserve Infante's spot.

All indicators seem to be pointing toward Chipper Jones retiring at the end of the 2010 season, barring some sort of miracle turnaround at the plate.

I'm hoping that he'll right the ship and somehow manage to salvage the season, but I just don't see it happening. Though, this is one case where I hope I'm wrong.

I'm a Braves fan.  I've been one since the early 90s.  In my lifetime of enjoying Braves baseball, you can't say much about the team's success without mentioning Chipper Jones in the same sentence.

At 38 years old, we all know the decline is rapidly picking up speed.  It shows on the injury sheet.  It shows in the stat line.

Chipper is batting .240 this season with 1 HR and 21 RBI.  He's slugging almost 200 points less than his career average and his OBP is drops year after year.