The Scores Report - The National Sports Blog » Chipper Jones

Mikey’s MLB power rankings

Mike Farley — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:28:34 +0000

Pennant races are heating up, brawls are starting to happen, and the Padres still have the best record in the National League. Ah, the dog days of summer. However, not much has changed in the upper half of our power rankings, and hasn’t for well over a month now…..

1. New York Yankees (71-44)—I’ve been touting the Rays for a while now, and I won’t back down from that, but the Yankees sure aren’t letting go of the top spot.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (69-46)—All that talent, and yet they were almost no-hit for the third time last Sunday. Something’s not quite right with the Rays’ bats.

3. Texas Rangers (66-48)—They seem to be coasting now, and with an 8.5 game lead, they can afford to do that a bit. The Rangers still have the largest lead of any division front runner.

4. San Diego Padres (68-46)—A five-game win streak has the Giants gasping for air again. Raise your hand if you keep thinking the other shoe is going to drop. I thought so. But it still hasn’t.

5. Atlanta Braves (67-48)—Bobby Cox’ team had a huge blow with Chipper Jones out for the season, but this is a talented roster top to bottom, so they should hang in there against a charge from the Phillies.

6. Boston Red Sox (66-51)—It’s getting to the point that the Sox have to win every game to stay in contention. Or at least every series. .

7. St. Louis Cardinals (65-49)—They absolutely bitch slapped the Reds, sweeping them after Brandon Phillips ran his mouth. Now that’s the mark of a Tony LaRuss-run team.

8. Minnesota Twins (66-50)—They have a hold on first place now, and they aren’t going to let go. Do you hear that, White Sox fans?

9. San Francisco Giants (66-51)—Little losses here and there are keeping the Giants from catching San Diego. But they still lead the wild card chase.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (64-51)—They are getting healthy and hot, and that’s not a great sign for the Braves.

Mikey’s MLB power rankings

Mike Farley — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:40:33 +0000

A lot has changed since last week. The Dodgers have faded and the Rangers have caught fire. The Yankees and Red Sox have been steadily winning while Tampa bas dropped off just a bit. And the Mets and Braves keep battling for first place. Here are this week’s power rankings…..

1. New York Yankees (46-27)—Not only have they taken over first place in the mighty AL East, but the Yankees are starting to put a bit of distance between themselves, and the Rays and Sox. They just have way too much talent.

2. Texas Rangers (44-29)—We knew the Rangers would hit the ball, but did anyone expect their pitching staff to be fifth in the AL in ERA, and second in strikeouts? Quick, name me two of their starters…..I know, I couldn’t either.

3. Boston Red Sox (44-31)—Like the Yanks, too much talent, and too much straight up desire to win. No wonder the chowder heads love their team.

4. San Diego Padres (43-30)—Don’t look now, but the Padres have the best record in the National League. That is not a typo.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (43-30)—I’ll give you five reasons why the Rays aren’t going away any time soon—Garza, Price, Davis, Niemann and Shields. It’s almost like a young version of the ‘90’s Braves. But being no-hit again isn’t good, either.

6. Atlanta Braves (43-31)—Speaking of the Braves, these guys are turning back the clock with guys like Chipper Jones, Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson and Billy Wagner leading the way; and with Martin Prado leading the NL in batting.

7. New York Mets (42-31)—Seriously, RA Dickey is 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 7 starts? It’s like suddenly the Mets can do no wrong, and they just keep winning.

8. St. Louis Cardinals (40-33)—Raise your hand if you think the Cardinals are afraid of the Reds. I see a few hands up and they’re all in Southern Ohio.

9. Minnesota Twins (40-33)—Leading a weak division once again, and there’s no reason to believe the Twins will relinquish first place any time soon. Or that Joe Mauer’s average will continue to drop.

10. Cincinnati Reds (41-33)—They might be overachieving right now, but you can’t count them out.

End of the line for Chipper Jones

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:00:23 +0000

In 1995, Chipper Jones led all major league rookies in RBI (86), games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at bats (524) and runs scored (87). He also finished second that season for the Rookie of the Year award behind Dodgers’ pitcher Hideo Nomo.

Fifteen years later, Jones appears ready to hang ‘em up for good.

Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hasn’t confirmed the news, but writes via his Twitter page that he’s heard from two people that Jones is set to announce his retirement at the end of the season. If he does, he’ll leave baseball with six All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger Awards, one NL MVP trophy, one NL batting title and a World Series ring on his career resume.

It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that Jones plans to retire. After batting .264 and committing more errors than any third baseman in baseball in 2009, he thought about hanging up his cleats last year. Thanks in part to a finger injury, he hasn’t hit well this season either and it appears that he knows the writing is on the wall.

If he does decide to retire, something that I’ll always miss about Chipper is his consistency. He’s never posted awe-inspiring power numbers, yet he usually posted between 25-40 home runs during his prime. His career batting average is also over .300, which is still more impressive to me than a player that finishes his career with 600 home runs. As far as anyone knows, he’s also never been accused of taking steroids either.

Considering the era he played in, that should gain him unwavering respect in most fans’ eyes.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Top 10 active base hits leaders

Mike Farley — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:00:58 +0000

I read yesterday that one of Pete Rose’s bats was being auctioned off, the one he used for his last hit, number 4256. And it made me wonder if that will ever be topped. I can’t imagine it will be, but stranger things have happened. Of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame still fails to recognize what Rose did on the field because of what he did as a manager off the field. But that’s for another post. Here is a look at the Top 10 active leaders in base hits:

1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (2824)—The classiest player by far in the big leagues today, and the epitome of someone who plays the game right and just gets it. I look forward to Jeter notching his 3000th hit, which will likely be next season.

2. Ivan Rodriguez, Washington Nationals (2781)—In his twentieth season this year, I-Rod is batting .331. No loss of bat speed with this guy, that’s for sure.

3. Omar Vizquel, Chicago White Sox (2724)—Amazingly, Vizquel is in his 22nd season and still looks like he’s 28 years old. I got to see him play in his prime in Cleveland, and he was/is the best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen. But he has clearly racked up hits too.

4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (2596)—Well, duh. The question is, though, will he eventually be the all-time home run king?

5. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (2530)—Yeah, he juiced, and so did A-Rod. But these two guys still have to be incredibly talented ball players to rack up this many hits.

6. Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers (2515)—Steady and classy as well, but it’s just hard to believe Garret Anderson is 38 years old. Didn’t he just break into the bigs?

7. Johnny Damon, Detroit Tigers (2482)—Scrappy, solid player, and he just keeps on grinding. But do any of you remember Damon’s days with the Royals? I sure don’t.

8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (2444)—Another guy who defines playing the game the way it was meant to be played, and he just keeps on hitting well into his thirties.

9. Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers (2326)—He’s hitting .339 with 53 RBI on June 11. Vlad is another ageless wonder.

10. Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants (2213)—It’s kind of amazing that Renteria is on this list, even though he’s never had a 200-hit season. But he’s been reliable and consistent all these years.

Source: Baseball Reference

2010 MLB Preview: NL East

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:20:39 +0000

In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

Next up is the NL East.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
Much like the Yankees in the American League, it’s hard to find bad things to say about the Phillies. They’re the three-time defending NL East champions and considering they’re ready to bring back the same core of players that got them to the World Series the past two years, there’s no reason to doubt them. Oh, and they added Roy Halladay. Roy, I’m going to dominate your face for nine innings, Halladay. If Cole Hamels rebounds and J.A. Happ’s 2009 wasn’t a fluke, the Phillies won’t suffer a setback this season. In fact, the pitching doesn’t even have to be that great with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez taking up the first six spots in the order. The problem, however, is that Hamels might not bounce back and Happ’s ’09 season may have been a fluke. There’s also that nagging Brad Lidge closer issue that could haunt this club as well. That said, odds are that the Fighting Phils will be right back at the top of the NL East again this season. They’re too good, too talented and too experienced to fold and they have a great chance to reclaim their title back from the Yankees.

2. Atlanta Braves (11)
A lot of pundits are high on the Braves this year – and for good reason. In Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, their starting rotation is one of the best in the National League. Atlanta has the starting pitching to go toe to toe with the Phillies in the division, but the real question is whether or not they have enough offense. Top prospect Jason Heyward looks as good as advertised, but if he’s not ready to produce then Atlanta’s corner outfield situation is questionable at best. This club has a nice blend of young and veteran hitters, including Heyward, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus, but they’re one or two big injuries away from falling to the middle of the pack in the National League. This club has more than enough talent to push the Phillies in the division and as of now, are the early favorites to win the NL Wild Card. But players like Jones, Glaus and Billy Wagner have to stay healthy and produce or else the Braves will fail to live up to expectations this season.

3. Florida Marlins (18)
The Marlins are usually pretty easy to project nowadays. They’re always slightly better than what you think they’ll be, but just not as good to rank ahead of some of the more talented teams in the National League. Hanley Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in the game and his supporting cast (Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla and Ricky Nolasco) isn’t bad either. In fact, Ramirez and Johnson are reason alone to go to the ballpark on a weekly basis. But unless players like Cameron Maybin, Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio (who was confused for Ricky Henderson for about three games at the start of last season) and prospect Logan Morrison produce, then the Marlins will fall to the middle of the pack this year in the NL. Still, while they’re not as talented as the Mets, over the last seven years they’ve won more games and have spent nearly $600 million less over that span. For whatever reason, Florida always finds a way to be competitive with their young roster and while I don’t think they have enough to succeed in the end, I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a run at the Wild Card again like they did last year.

4. New York Mets (20)
If I were a Mets fan, I would have tried to take a bath with one of my kitchen appliances by now. I don’t mean any disrespect – I’m just concerned with their well being after watching this team underachieve over and over and over again. Every year this club has talent and every year they find a way – whether it be through poor managing, injuries or what have you – to screw it up. The Mets have enough star power in David Wright, Jose Reyes (when healthy), Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran to succeed, but bad luck, incompetence in the front office and poor fundamental play always sinks this club. Then again, bad luck won’t have anything to do with why the Mets will fail this year. Simply put, they don’t have enough starting pitching to succeed. There’s no guarantee that Santana will be 100% all season and after him, the rest of the rotation is under whelming to say the least. Sorry Met fans, but the torture looks like it’ll continue for at least another year.

5. Washington Nationals (29)
There are plenty of people high on the Nationals this season, but I’m having a hard time taking a leap of faith. I realize the additions of Jason Marquis, Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Ivan Rodriguez filled needs, but let’s not confuse these players with Catfish Hunter, Johnny Sain, Dennis Eckersley and, well, Ivan Rodriguez in their primes. I think this club has improved, but some publications believe they’ll finish third in the division and I just don’t see it. Stephen Strasburg isn’t quite ready to save the day yet and therefore the rotation is still similar to the one that allowed 874 runs last year. Marquis should help, but the end of the rotation is scary and Capps might be the only reliever that winds up with a sub 4.00 ERA by the end of the year. While there is hope on the horizon in the form of Strasburg, the Nats just don’t have enough overall talent to get out of the basement of the NL East.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Dead body found on Chipper Jones’ ranch

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:23:00 +0000

The body of a 22-year-old man was found Thursday morning on Braves’ third baseman Chipper Jones’ ranch in Texas.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“He was in a part of the ranch we don’t go to on a daily basis,” Jones’ father, Larry Jones Sr. said Thursday evening from Double Dime Ranch in Carrizo Springs, Texas.

Jones Sr. said the man, a Mexican national, had entered the country illegally. The extreme heat and the drought would have made it difficult for anyone to survive without food or water, he said.

Thursday was the 83rd straight day of temperatures topping at least 100 degrees, Jones said. Recently, Jones’ truck thermometer read 124 degrees.

Well there’s a story you don’t hear everyday.

Top 10 MLB active free passes

Mike Farley — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:18:39 +0000

There are some batters that no pitcher wants to face, especially in a crucial situation with runners on base, or with first base open. But some guys are intentionally walked with regularity, and in some cases, even with the bases loaded to give up one run instead of four. Here is the current Top 10 among active players in intentional walks. Pitchers, proceed at your own risk…..

1. Ken Griffey, Seattle Mariners (244)—Of course this guy has always been a feared slugger, but he had a career high 25 intentionals in 1993, and the year he slugged 56 homers with 147 RBI on his way to winning the AL MVP (1997), Griffey was intentionally walked 23 times. Yikes. But before we get all excited about that, consider that Barry Bonds was given the free pass 120 times in 2004, a league record that surely will never be broken.

2. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels (240)—He’s topped 20 seven times and 30 once. Is he that feared or are pitchers tired of looking at that crap on Vlad’s helmet?

3. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (199)—‘Roids, no ‘roids, hormones, no hormones, whatever. This is the one guy in baseball I am never pitching to if I don’t have to.

4. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets (186)—As a Mets fan, I’m just glad my team doesn’t have to face this guy. There is always the potential to hit one 600 feet the opposite way.

5. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies (172)—You don’t give a guy like Helton anything to hit, not with a .329 lifetime batting average, as well as an average of 30 homers and 109 RBI per season.

6. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (160)—Oh yeah, screw what I said about Manny. I forgot about Albert. He’s only 29 years old and should easily hit 700 homers or more. THIS is the guy I don’t ever pitch to if it’s not necessary.

7. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox (159)—It’s interesting to note that in the ‘90’s Thome and Ramirez typically had single digits in free passes. That’s because if you put them on, you still had to face Albert Belle or Eddie Murray.

8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (143)—It’s kind of funny that Chipper’s intentional walks are declining as he’s becoming a better and better hitter.

9. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (129)—This one baffles me. Why put a guy on who averages 40 steals per season?

10. Gary Sheffield, New York Mets (128)—A nice, long career, and sheer intimidation at the plate, even today at age 40.

Source: Baseball Reference