Injury Worsens, Chipper Out of WBC

Written by Jonathan on March 16, 2009 – 11:11 am

Chipper Jones was officially scratched from the World Baseball Classic before Team USA’s game yesterday against the Netherlands.  Chipper returned to Braves training camp in Florida late yesterday to be evaluated by team doctors.  He reaggravated his right oblique muscle during batting practice.

Chipper initially injured the muscle during the March 8th WBC game in Toronto, but only missed one game.  The injury is still thought to be a mild strain after the initial evaluation, but it was determined that he should cut short his time in the Classic and return to Orlando to work on getting healthy for the 2009 season.

In 10 at-bats during the WBC, Chipper was hitless and struck out 6 times.  This brings to mind the concern of injuries with players participating in the Classic, but there is no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t have happened in Braves training camp, so there’s no reason to fault the event.  The big concern now is Opening Day, April 5th, and whether or not we’ll see Chipper on the field.

How concerned are you about the injury to Chipper Jones?


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Chipper Leaves Game With Strain

Written by Colin on March 9, 2009 – 7:46 am

Chipper isn’t doing much in the World Baseball Classic, but yesterday he left the game with a strained right oblique – an injury he sustained when reaching to field a ground ball. If you know your Chipper history, you’ll know he missed time in 2006 with issues with his oblique – but at least that was his left oblique and this was his right.

Chipper doesn’t expect to miss any time and hopes to be playing again Wednesday, but he’s obviously going to be checked out today to make sure nothing more serious is going on before he’s cleared to play. The last thing the Braves need is the main muscle in their lineup injured before the start of the season. Chipper’s agent said that Chipper doesn’t plan on going home and intends to stay with Team USA.

While Chipper has had offensive struggles during the World Baseball Classic, Brian McCann did well in his first appearance. The Braves’ catcher went 1-2 (and walked once), but his two-run home run and sacrifice fly RBI helped Team USA to a victory over Canada on Saturday. It’s aboot time those Canadians see how talented the young Mr. McCann is, eh? Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Team USA also won the contest that injured Chipper 15-6 last night to guarantee an advance to the second round of games.


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Early Spring Training Review

Written by Jonathan on February 21, 2009 – 10:57 am

Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training last Saturday with the rest of the squad close behind.  The non-roster invitees are getting the chance to meet some of the big leaguers and the young guys have the annual chance to prove that they deserve a spot on the team, either at the start of the season, or down the road when injuries take their toll.  We wanted to take a quick look at what’s going on down at Wide World of Sports since most of this week has been taken up with discussing the last few contract issues the Braves have been working out.

Jair Jurrjens has turned down the opportunity to pitch for his native Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in the interest of preparing for the 2009 season with the Braves.  With The Netherlands not expected to advance from the first round of competition and the Braves wishing for him to return after his first start, the decision was a little easier for Jurrjens.  Coming off of a surprise season last year that left him as the Braves most productive starter, everyone has high hopes for him in 2009.  This leaves Javier Vazquez as the only Braves pitcher in the Classic, pitching for Puerto Rico.

Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are the only two position players that will be participating in the World Baseball Classic.  Chipper received permission to report to Spring Training early with the pitchers and catchers as he will miss a portion of the preseason.  McCann has the toughest of all though.  With at least three, and potentially four, new pitchers in the Braves’ starting rotation this season, he has a lot to learn to prepare for the season.  With his participation in the Classic, he will miss up to three weeks of Spring Training, but he and the Braves are confident he’ll be ready to go by Opening Day.

Kenshin Kawakami will be the first Japanese player to play for the Braves at a Major League level and he has been soaking in everything that Spring Training brings.  He’s been excited to see his fellow rotation members pitch and eager to show what he’s got as well.  His first couple of sessions throughout the week were mostly to get used to the change in setting and get loosened up and he’s expecting to begin his harder sessions and workouts this week.

Peter Moylan is apparently looking great in camp.  It’s still unknown if he will be ready to go on Opening Day, but he is throwing beyond everyone’s expectations right now, including throwing live batting practice to hitters in Spring Training.  Moylan is recovering from Tommy John surgery on May 8th of last year, a surgery that usually requires a full 12 months for recovery.  My biggest concern is that he takes the time to come back correctly and to not rush anything that might hurt his chance of a full return this season.  Moylan will be a huge asset to the bullpen this year if healthy.

Tommy Hanson has been impressing everyone at camp with his slider.  Hanson is consider one of the top minor league prospects in all of baseball and Bobby Cox continually likens the slider that he throws to that of John Smoltz.  It’s doubtful that we’ll be seeing him in Atlanta at the start of the season, but I have the feeling he will make a few appearances in and out of Atlanta throughout the season.  I expect big things out of this kid down the road.

Jason Heyward is excited to impress as many people as he can this Spring Training.  While likely that he’ll start the season in Rome and probably have the chance to make it up to Mississippi, Heyward is not just another prospect.  At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Heyward is the Braves’ power-hitting outfielder of the future and plays defense to back it up.  At 19 years old, he still has some development to go through, but as MiLB.com’s 3rd-rated prospect in the game, look for him to be making a name for himself in the upcoming seasons.

Those are the main things that have happened as far as Spring Training has gone so far and we’re expecting a lot more news to come from this week when preseason games get started on Wednesday against the Tigers.  Don’t miss your first chance to catch the Braves on TV this season on Thursday when the Braves take on the Astros at 1:05pm on ESPN.  This week will likely start the competition between Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco, Jordan Schafer and Brandon Jones to tie up the loose ends for outfield positions this season; I’m sure we’ll have lots of news on that this week.

So what’re the things to watch for this week in Spring Training?  Who do you expect to impress?  Who’s not going to meet expectations?  There’s a lot to be excited about.  It’s Spring Training and it’s time for another baseball season to get underway.


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