Chipper Out a Few Games (or more?)

[KB 34]

Chipper celebrated his 38th birthday today by injuring his right hip. It turns out he hasn't had this injury before and gets to cross another off the list. He can't push off and thus can't bat. Officially he's listed day to day but since Chipper hasn't experienced this injury before he expects to miss a few games. See the link before if you want the 8 paragraph version of the story.

From a Braves point of view this illustrates how quickly the lineup is going to become Heyward's lineup. Chipper's injuries aren't going to go away and it's time to think about who will be the anchors going forward since Andruw and Chipper Jones aren't the answers as they were for years.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100424&content_id=9540160&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl&partnerId=rss_atl

[Wahoo]

Chipper celebrated his 38th birthday today by injuring his right hip. It turns out he hasn't had this injury before and gets to cross another off the list. He can't push off and thus can't bat. Officially he's listed day to day but since Chipper hasn't experienced this injury before he expects to miss a few games. See the link before if you want the 8 paragraph version of the story.

From a Braves point of view this illustrates how quickly the lineup is going to become Heyward's lineup. Chipper's injuries aren't going to go away and it's time to think about who will be the anchors going forward since Andruw and Chipper Jones aren't the answers as they were for years.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100424&content_id=9540160&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl&partnerId=rss_atl

Great. That leaves just 3 productive bats in our lineup.

[KB 34]

Lineup thoughts? I'd go with
McLouth CF
Prado 2B
McCann C
Heyward RF
Hinske LF
Glaus 1B
Escobar ss
Infante 3B

Honestly though, after Heyward you might as well pick names out of a hat and go with that. After taking a look at the AAA Braves stats I don't see any help there either.

[Andy G.]

What's with the 'lineup anchor' obsession KB? There are eight hitters every night.

I know our guys aren't hitting right now, but they will. McLouth is an .800 OPS hitters, as is Escobar. As for Glaus, fans just need to be more patient, which I know is a lot to ask because we're fans and this is what we do.

The point is that there are eight hitters in our lineup every night. Why do you constantly imply that one guy has to be there to carry the other seven? That's not really how it works.

[KB 34]

Lineups typically have 1-2 players you wish were up to bat all the time. They're players who single handedly have the power to carry the lineup for a good portion of the season and make amazing things happen. For example, Chipper in his MVP season was ridiculously good. Batting in front of him were Gerald Williams and pre-steroids Bret Boone. Protecting him was Brian Jordan, who was amazing the first half of the season but disappeared afer that. A few years later Gary Sheffield helped with this role. J.D. Drew shared the spotlight for a season. Andruw Jones grabbed it for a year. Teixiera shared it with Chipper.

This comes down to how one views the makeup of the lineup and how much one batter affects things. One could argue it's equal across the board. I'd consider that to be a crude approximation statisticians will prove otherwise in time.

[Wahoo]

What's with the 'lineup anchor' obsession KB? There are eight hitters every night.

I know our guys aren't hitting right now, but they will. McLouth is an .800 OPS hitters, as is Escobar. As for Glaus, fans just need to be more patient, which I know is a lot to ask because we're fans and this is what we do.

The point is that there are eight hitters in our lineup every night. Why do you constantly imply that one guy has to be there to carry the other seven? That's not really how it works.

I largely agree with what you are saying. Book is still out on Glaus, but I can say the first couple of chapters haven't looked good.

Escobar, is a safe bet to start hitting again (*knocks on wood*).

McLouth, will be better than he has thus far. How could he not?

Left field needs to be addressed in some shape or fashion. That's just not going to get any better.

[Dreamscape]

So, Chipper magically healed. He's in the lineup tonight.

[mojochopper]

No, Chip is not mysteriously healed. Dude just sucks it up and plays. He knows how bad the team is scuffling right now and they need his bat. And besides it's the Mets...

[Dreamscape]

No, Chip is not mysteriously heeled. Dude just sucks it up and plays. He knows how bad the team is scuffling right now and they need his bad. And besides it's the Mets...
Well, after watching his defense, I'm not sure it's so smart.

[Lauren T.]

Ever notice how often his hips and groins get minor injuries when the Braves go out of town? ;)

[quick]

As a fully qualified amateur medical doctor (;)), I suspect he has a herniated disc about L4/L5 area putting pressure on his sciatic nerve--hence the pain down his leg (been there, done that, had the surgery). He probably got some PT and is going with it. You can play until the pain just overwhelms you, then you try cortisone (and rest), and if unsuccessful, then you get a discectomy. Many ballplayers have this problem because of all the torque on the lower back from hitting. See, e.g., Furcal and Helton.

The hip joint when you're younger (under 60) is very stout for most sports (save football and gymnastics). That is why I doubt this is just a simple hip problem. Of course, I thought I was having a hip problem initially....

[quick]

Ever notice how often his hips and groins get minor injuries when the Braves go out of town? ;)

Still playing Tiger Woods, huh? I thought he'd learned his lesson.

[-Dr. Brave-]

As a fully qualified amateur medical doctor (;)), I suspect he has a herniated disc about L4/L5 area putting pressure on his sciatic nerve--hence the pain down his leg (been there, done that, had the surgery). He probably got some PT and is going with it. You can play until the pain just overwhelms you, then you try cortisone (and rest), and if unsuccessful, then you get a discectomy. Many ballplayers have this problem because of all the torque on the lower back from hitting. See, e.g., Furcal and Helton.

The hip joint when you're younger (under 60) is very stout for most sports (save football and gymnastics). That is why I doubt this is just a simple hip problem. Of course, I thought I was having a hip problem initially....

I'll put the blame on his obliques, which admittedly could be compensating for other (disc) issues.