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Injuries have been a cause for concern among the Atlanta Braves.

With injuries to Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman as of late, the Braves have had a patchwork lineup that has given every player on the Braves bench an opportunity to start.

After going through the numbers, I believe outfielder Matt Diaz deserves to be the everyday starter in left field, at least until Jones comes back from the disabled list.

By putting Diaz in left, you move Martin Prado to third, putting a guy in the lineup who you can confidently put in the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

Currently, Diaz is hitting .298 with two home runs and nine RBI, including three of Atlanta’s four RBI in Friday night’s loss to Washington.

In the 11 games he’s started, Diaz is 11-for-34 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Although, he’s mainly used as a starter against left-handed pitching, I believe it’s time to give him a chance to be the starter and move Prado to third base.

Frankly, Juan Francisco isn’t getting the job done in his starts at third base, and it’s time for a change.

Francisco is hitting .200 with five home runs and 13 RBI, and doing it in the No. 7 spot in the order.

Yeah, he has five home runs, but he’s really been hit or miss. And, his defense isn’t better than Prado’s at third base. So, why is he in there again?

He currently has four errors at the hot corner, while Prado has two total errors and Diaz has none.

So, we have a player who is not only superior at the plate, but also in the field, although the same position is not played.

While Diaz has been considered the left specialist in the outfield, I think it’s time to move him to a full-time starter.

It’s hard to think he’d do worse than Francisco.

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Bryce Harper officially makes his MLB debut for the Washington Nationals, thus starting what many think will be a long big-league career.

Some say that Harper should have started the season in Washington, while others believe he should still be in Triple-A to gain more experience.

In 20 games with Syracuse, Harper hit .250 with one home run, three RBI and four doubles.

Overall, Harper hasn’t been that impressive in the minor leagues, with a .297 average last year, 17 home runs and 58 RBI.

Nevertheless, he’s in the big leagues now and is ready to make his much anticipated debut.

But where does he rank when it comes to the most hyped MLB debuts?

Here’s a look at the top 10 most hyped debuts in MLB history.

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The Atlanta Braves are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, having won nine of their last 10 games.

And, they’ve done it with a combination of pitching and hitting.

With their recent success, and the early-season questions of needing to acquire another outfielder to take the place of Martin Prado, I’m wondering if it’s best for the Braves to stand pat with their lineup.

Currently, I believe the Braves don’t have to make a move since the offense and defense are performing well.

After an offseason in which they tried to trade away Prado and pitcher Jair Jurrjens, the Braves saw nothing interesting on the trade front, bringing both back for this season.

This alone caused crying among Braves’ fans who felt that general manager Frank Wren needed to make a move to improve the lineup.

With the 0-4 start, many were sitting back saying the same things due to the lack of offense.

Then, the bats came alive in the fifth game of the season against the Astros. Since then, nothing has been different at the plate, with the Braves getting the best of opponents’ pitchers.

Those fans who were calling for a move to be made have been silenced and the offense is clicking. And, there’s an old saying that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Well, it’s not broke right now, so there’s no reason to fix it.

Sure, it would be nice if Dan Uggla could display more power, but we all know he struggles at the beginning of the season.

It would also be nice if Chipper Jones could stay healthy and be in the lineup more than he has, but Juan Francisco hasn’t been a disappointment in his place, so there should really be no complaints there. Although, there is no arguing that Jones is a lot better than Francisco.

At some point before the trading deadline or during the offseason, this subject is going to be approached again.

And, eventually, there’s going to be a move that has to be made because guys like Jurrjens and Prado aren’t going to be under contract much longer. Tim Hudson is also getting up there in age, and guys like Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado can’t stay in the minor leagues that much longer.

Sure, Delgado is in the Braves’ rotation right now, but will be sent back to Triple-A once Hudson gets back. But you can’t keep those guys from the big leagues that much longer. They’ve earned big-league opportunities.

So, the lineup and rotation are going to have to be addressed at some point. But now is not the time.

Now is the time to go with what is working, and if that keeps certain guys out of the lineup or rotation, then that’s what it means.

One thing is for sure, the trading deadline and this offseason will be very interesting.

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A dominant bullpen is something every MLB team wants to have.

They want to be able to have the confidence to turn the game over to the bullpen with a lead, knowing they will keep it and secure the win.

During the 2011 season, the Atlanta Braves had one of the best back ends of the bullpen in all of baseball.

With Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel closing games for the Braves, it seemed that all starters had to do was get it to the sixth inning and the trio of “O’Ventebrel” would take care of the rest.

And, it worked last year as O’Flaherty had a 0.98 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 78 games. Venters had a 1.84 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 84 games, and Kimbrel had a 2.10 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 79 games.

There’s no doubt those numbers were great and we’re still waiting to see Kimbrel and Venters can continue on that trend.

However, my question with O’Flaherty is: Was the 2011 season a fluke on the mound?

Did O’Flaherty overachieve?

As we’ve seen thus far in the 2012 campaign, O’Flaherty has struggled, giving up four earned runs in his last two appearances, including blowing a three-run lead in Friday’s eventual victory over the Brewers.

Whether it was a case of manager Fredi Gonzalez still overusing the back end of the bullpen when he has other capable relievers (even Kris Medlen, who was already pitching in the game and could have likely gone another inning) who could take care of business, or O’Flaherty struggling, I’m not sure.

One would think that having a 0.98 ERA means there was no fluke involved and that he is simply a great relief pitcher who is struggling to begin the season.

Let’s go back to the seasons before and take a look at the left-handers numbers.

Used mainly as a lefty specialist prior to last season, O’Flaherty had a 2.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 44 total innings (56 games) in 2010, while 2009 saw him garner a 3.04 ERA in 78 relief appearances with 39 strikeouts.

Prior to that, O’Flaherty was in Seattle, where he wasn’t even close to those numbers as he had a 5.91 ERA in 78 appearances over the course of three seasons.

So, until last season, O’Flaherty wasn’t doing particularly well at the major-league level.

Even though this season is still early, the skeptics will continue to grow if O’Flaherty continues to struggle.

Maybe all of this is due to the fact that he’s already being overused by Gonzalez this early in the season, which is one of the things that needed to change for the Braves to make it to the postseason this year.

Who knows what the reasons are and who knows if it’s too early to be bring this up?

One thing I do know: Braves’ fans aren’t going to be patient with O’Flaherty nor Gonzalez, if he is continually sent out there and struggles.

My hope is that he turns things around and gets some rest.

Chris Stephens is a featured columnist for the Atlanta Braves on Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @chris_stephens6.

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The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets will open the season Thursday at Citi Field with both teams looking to forget about the 2011 season.

Both teams come into the 2012 season with high expectations.

The Braves believe they can overtake the Phillies in the division and start a new streak of division titles, while the Mets believe having Johan Santana back in the rotation will give them confidence that they can make it back to the playoffs.

Regardless of what the beliefs are, it all starts Thursday at 1:10 p.m. EST.

Starting Pitching:

Thursday: RHP Tommy Hanson vs. LHP Johan Santana

Hanson gets the Opening Day nod with Tim Hudson on the disabled list to start the season. The right-hander is expected to be the Opening Day starter for years to come, so it’s no surprise manager Fredi Gonzalez gave him the nod here. He’s a strikeout guy that has been known to struggle when he gets behind hitters.If he can keep the count in his favor, he should have success against the Mets’ lineup.

Santana is a bit of a wildcard, since he hasn’t started a regular season game since September 2010. I think it will take a few starts for him to work the kinks out, but by May, he should be back into the All-Star form he once had. 

Saturday: RHP Jair Jurrjens vs. RHP R.A. Dickey

Jurrjens had an excellent first half last year, but struggled and was injured in the second half. The Braves tried to trade him in the offseason, but to no avail. It’s obvious Jurrjens is pitching for a contract for the 2014 season, so he’s going to have to impress another team enough to either make a trade for him or pay the money to sign him as a free agent.

Dickey is a knuckleballer that will get you the first time through the lineup. After that, he struggles, so the Mets will need to have a lead by the second or third time through the order.

Sunday: LHP Mike Minor vs. LHP Jon Niese

Minor is officially the No. 5 starter for the Braves, but gets the nod here against a left-handed heavy Mets lineup. He’ll be an exciting pitcher to watch and should keep the Mets’ hitters off-balance.

Niese, on the other hand, is a roller coaster of a pitcher. When he’s on his game, he’s on it real well. But when he’s not, he’ll be out of the game by the fourth inning.

Starting Lineup: (Tentative)

When looking at the lineup, the Braves have an advantage throughout. At leadoff, they have a guy in Michael Bourn who gets on base more, has more speed and will steal more bases. The only place where the Mets compare to the Braves is at third, fourth and eighth in the order.

David Wright is better in the No. 3 spot than Freddie Freeman, while Ike Davis and Brian McCann are relatively similar at the plate, although Davis can get further on the basepaths with a hit into the gap. And, the only reason Tejada has an edge over Pastornicky is because of the Braves shortstop’s inexperience at the MLB-level. Juan Francisco is a wild card for the Braves because it’s hard to gauge how a new player will mesh with a lineup that had all of spring training to get used to each other. 

Bench:

The Braves have the advantage here as well with Jose Constanza, Eric Hinske and Matt Diaz available to pinch hit. The Mets counter with Justin Turner and Ronny Cedeno. Turner might be able to do some damage, but I don’t see much else happening with the Mets bench.

They’re in a tough position considering the ownership situation, so I don’t see much in terms of bench depth coming to Queens anytime soon. But, that’s good news for minor league guys who are looking for a chance to play in the major leagues.

Bullpen:

No comparison. Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch are really it in the Mets bullpen, while the Braves counter with Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters, Eric O’Flaherty, Kris Medlen and Livan Hernandez. Cristhian Martinez likely could be suspended after DUI). If it gets to the seventh inning and the Braves have the lead, you can pretty much consider the game over.

Prediction:

Braves sweep.

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Atlanta Braves fans just got some news that is not all that pleasing–Chipper Jones will have arthroscopic surgery on Monday and miss the start of the regular season.

While the fact that Jones is injured is not that surprising to fans, as we’ve seen that happen many times over the last few years, it’s the fact that he’ll start out the season on the disabled list in what is his final season as a pro ballplayer.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution David O’Brien, the injury happened about an hour before Jones’ Thursday news conference in which he announced he would retire at the end of this season.

In this, his 19th season with the Braves, Jones hopes to return for the Braves home opener against the Brewers on April 13.

The injury is to the meniscus in his left knee and will force him to miss the Braves first two road series against the Mets and the Astros.

So, what does this mean for the Braves as they open the season?

For starters, Martin Prado will begin the season as the starting third baseman with Eric Hinske or Matt Diaz starting in left field, although don’t be surprised if Jose Constanza or Jordan Parraz get to start the year in Atlanta and earn some starts.

This could also open the opportunity for both Tyler Pastornicky and Andrelton Simmons to start the year in Atlanta, regardless of who wins the starting job at shortstop out of spring training.

While most think the injury does hurt the Braves, it’s better his time on the DL happens at the beginning of the year against the Mets and Astros, rather than later in the year.

Even if he’s not ready by the home opener, there’s not too much to be concerned about with the Brewers and Mets opening the Braves home slate in the next two series.

Without Jones, the Braves will still have a good opportunity to start the season off with a good record. It will be their two road series next against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers where it will be important for Jones to be back in the lineup.

All-in-all, I don’t believe Jones starting the year on the disabled list is going to be that big of a deal.

The team has gotten used to that happening over the last few years and has made due with replacements while he was out with injury.

If anything, this give manager Fredi Gonzalez an opportunity to see what having Prado start at third base does for a period of time, while having another player in the outfield.

Depending on the outcome, it could go a long way in determining if the Braves go after any big name free agents after this season.

Should these players do well, maybe the Braves won’t make as big of a splash in the free-agent market as we believe they’ll make.

Regardless, this isn’t what Braves fans wanted to see happening to Jones at the start of his final season.

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The 1990s were the start of greatness for the Atlanta Braves.

It was the start of 14-straight division titles, where the staple for the Braves was pitching.

Throughout the decade, the Braves won a total of 925 games.

After a dismal 1990 season where they went 65-97, the Braves went worst-to-first in 1991, making it all the way to the World Series where they lost to the Minnesota Twins in seven games.

The next year, the Braves saw the same kind of success in the National League, again making it to the World Series. However, the Braves fell again, this time to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games.

Many players made their mark on the Braves throughout the 90s. Here’s a look at the 10 best.

Note: This is the fourth in a five-part series on the best Braves of each decade.

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Growing up, a lot of young men want to be a professional athlete.

With that comes countless hours in the backyard honing your sport and doing a play-by-play with you at the plate, the three-point line as the clock hits zero, or catching a winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

After that comes the dreams of being a superstar in that sport and becoming one of its best.

Then, comes the speech you’ll give when you’re being inducted into the Hall of Fame. You got through countless drafts as a young kid, dreaming of how cool it would be to live in immortality.

For a few baseball players, that dream will become a reality in just a few short days. They will be announced as the 2012 Hall of Fame class for Major League Baseball, living what most kids dream of.

All through their playing days, some felt they were destined for greatness, while others feel honored to just get Hall consideration.

Undoubtedly, many big-league players will watch or listen to that announcement with much anticipation. Because for many, it’s a dream that they hope becomes a reality for them years down the road. Some, are shoo-ins, some we’re still not sure of.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players who are shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame at this point in their careers.

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