Chipper Jones Gets Thrown Out at the Plate Twice
The man that has been anchoring down the 3rd base bag for the Atlanta Braves over the last decade or so, didn’t get the best of jumps on his attempts to run home. Now the Braves just came off a very emotional 3 game series with their division leading rivals the New York Mets. Chipper Jones had 2 different occassions where he was threw out at home plate. The 2nd time he got threw out at the plate wasn’t that big of a deal, as he had no chance to score and the bases was loaded and he had to run home. The Met’s player made a good decision by stopping Chipper from scoring on the 2nd time he got threw out at the plate.
The big base running blunder that Chipper made was on his first attempt to come to home plate. As we know Chipper Jones is someone that doesn’t really like to hustle like most baseball players do, and he didn’t bother on this play either. It’s not like the manager in control Bobby Cox is doing anything to make his players hustle. Cox doesn’t hold players accountable for their lack of hustle, or let me rephrase that, Cox doesn’t hold his stars and the players he shows favortism to accountable. So Chipper Jones is allowed to get away with his ability or inability to not hustle on every play.
So to tell you the story on how Chipper Jones didn’t hustle to home plate against the New York Mets is simple. He was on the 3rd base bag and when the ball was hit, he took off running toward home plate, and had his head turned around to see what the infielder was going to do. The bases were loaded, so Chipper had no choice in this opportunity either. He had to run both times against the Mets, because the bases were loaded both times. The 2nd time was a hard hit ball and the infielder threw a strike to the plate and got Chipper out by plenty. It’s still not clear why Jeff Francoeur hit the ball to 3rd base, when we really needed the runner from 2nd to go to 3rd base, because that was going to be the run that put us ahead with no outs in the inning. Just more things Cox sees as acceptable for his players that he likes.
Now why in the world would a million dollar baseball player that is on 3rd base and the bases are loaded, why he wouldn’t take off running with everything he had as soon as he heard the crack of the bat? I can’t answer that, but maybe Chipper Jones can. If you’re reading this Chipper, I would love to hear your philosphy and answer on this one. Now I realize if the ball is caught he could be doubled off and he needs to make sure the ball isn’t caught in the air. That’s not the case in this incident. It was a ball that hit right in front of home plate and rolled out the entire length of the infield to a infielder. Now what makes this so bad, is that the infileder had Chipper with ease, if and here is the big part of the play, if he had made a good throw to home plate. See what happen was that the ball was hit, Chipper ran half speed and the ball beat him there by a good 4 or 5 steps. If Chipper would have ran full blast, he still would have been tagged out by a good full step and a half. So why hustle on the play, if you know the guy is going to get you out? That’s exactly what Chipper Jones was thinking. However, it doesn’t hurt if you hustle either, because if your going to get out, then hustling doesn’t do anything to hurt, right? Actually not hustling does have things that can make it bad, just ask Chipper Jones.
Would you believe, it turns out the guy from the infiled makes a bad throw and the catcher had to dive away from the plate just to catch the ball from his infielder. Now since Chipper was looking back to see what the infielder was going to do for some reason, and wasn’t hustling as fast as he could, the catcher was able to snag the ball and then make a diving attempt back toward the plate, where he was barely able to tag Chipper Jones a full step away from home plate. The catcher just had to tag home plate for the out, because it was a force play, but the throw was so bad, it was actually easier and closer for him to tag the non hustling Chipper Jones that was half way running to the plate.
Now this run was not significant and had no bearing on the game. Most of Chipper’s individual non accomplishments have no bearing most of the time. However, it has been one of the main reasons that the Atlanta Braves have won only 1 World Series in their 14 year run on division titles. They don’t play all out and they accept losing, as long as they can look cool on the field and only hustle when they think it is necessary. Many years ago, Lonnie Smith got blamed for a base running blunder that he made in one of the early runs at a World Series Title. It made big news and headlines, and I’m sure some real big baseball fans remember that play. Being a Braves Fan for so long now, and seeing all of the Braves accomplishments over the last 14 years, it needs to be known why the Braves didn’t win more World Series. It’s very simple, Bobby Cox!
No more praises for Bobby Cox in Atlanta, when he is not the one that led us to 14 division titles. It was Ted Turner’s Money that led us there. Don’t get fooled Braves or Baseball Fans in thinking Bobby Cox is that great of a manager. Bobby Cox is a text book manager. He’s a good manager for managing the game from the so called “book”. He has very little guts and gut feelings that he goes on, and he makes decisions before the games are even played. He doesn’t make them up during the game, nor does he do things during a game to help his team win each night. Cox is only managing by the book and he feels the more he sticks to that, then mathematically he will have a better shot at winning. He’s right, but winning odds over a 162 game season just puts you in the post season. Once you get there, you have to have something a little special to take you the rest of the way. Cox doesn’t have that, and he coaches his post season games exactly like his regular season games, and that has been such a crucial problem over the years.
So once again, exactly why does a million dollar baseball player look at the infielder while he is running home, on a grounder that has been hit and the bases are loaded? Why do you not hustle Chipper Jones? I am still a Braves fan and I will continue to watch every game. I refuse to sit on my hands any longer and wait for Bobby Cox to choose when he wants to retire from this game. It’s time Bobby Cox goes in Atlanta and I am out to see that he doesn’t coach this team in 2008!
Isn’t it just a bit funny how Bobby Cox holds the record for being throwed out of a game more than any other manager, but yet he rarely shows that anger to his players? I mean come on, if he can get that steamed up to an umpire, don’t ya think he just wants to let a player have it every now and then to? Is it because Cox is a wimp and yelling at helpless umpires and beating his wife is all the man really has guts to do? I have seen him lip off to 3 or 4 players over the last 15 years. You know what? No guy that he lipped off to probably made more than a million dollars. He has only done it to the scrubs or the players that see little playing time. Bobby Cox in all his ejections and lipping off to umpires, has he not ever lipped off to a star in Atlanta. I know of one that you might be thinking of, but it’s not exactly what I’m talking about. I’m talking about giving a player some beef, because he did something wrong on the field.
Ok Philly and the Braves this weekend! Should be fun to see which one of these teams want to be breathing down the Mets necks as this playoff race is heating up. GO BRAVES!
August 12th, 2007 at 1:26 am
[...] it or not that is indeed what one Atlanta Braves Player did tonight. Chipper Jones batting in the first inning tonight against the Phillies; he was up to bat with Willie Harris at 3rd [...]