Chipper Jones is put on Disabled list as left calf injury gets worse - MLB Update
On Friday, star third baseman Chipper Jones finds his way back to the disabled list, after coming off it earlier in the season. Back then, it was an issue, arising out of the arthroscopic surgery he went through in Spring Training that kept him out.
This time, his left calf injury has grown to such an extent that playing games with it is counter-productive for the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves’ progress is going to bear the brunt of his injury.
As his absence prolonged for number of games in the last two weeks, the Braves suffered long-losing streaks. In contrast, for the times when Jones was in the line-up, the Braves maintained tremendous win-loss record.
This proves the kind of significance he holds to the Braves’ chances in the season.
The manager, Fredi Gonzalez graciously accepts an impact of his absence on the teams’ overall performance. In the process, he endures an embarrassment for witnessing a thumping decline with an outage of single player in the line-up.
Gonzalez is optimistic that once Jones returns, he will become a regular participant as opposed to playing few games and sitting-out in others.
Kind of creating an analogy with the Philadelphia Phillies and their decline due to injuries of their hitters, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the manager believes, it is just obvious that they will experience something similar, with Jones out.
“Yes. But I don’t think he’s going to miss six or seven in a row again,” Gonzalez said. “If he misses six, seven in a row, we’re in trouble. But any team is going to have a hard time surviving when a guy in the middle of their lineup misses [a number of]
games. The Phillies, without [Ryan] Howard and [Chase] Utley, they’re kind of treading water.”
Meanwhile, Jones will make sure he comes out fully fit, after passing his time on the DL.
Instead of becoming a player who appears in the line-up intermittently, he will look to be regular.
If the Braves are going to win back their earlier position on National League East Division table, Jones will be showing-up on plate and putting up consistent performances.
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