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In the Atlanta Braves recent win over the Houston Astros, longtime third baseman Chipper Jones tore his left ACL and will need season-ending surgery to repair it.

Right off the bat, this leaves the Braves (and Jones) with many questions. While the long term question facing Jones may be about retirement (which I go into more detail about here), the short term focus for Atlanta is on finding a capable replacement for Chipper.

With the trade deadline already passed, I’m not sure that the Braves would be able to make a deal for anyone better than the players currently on their bench, and they would be wise to simply look within the organization.

Omar Infante/Brooks Conrad

The obvious solution to Chipper’s injury is to replace him with some combination of Infante and Conrad. For the next week, this would be primarily Conrad (as Infante has been filling in for the injured Martin Prado). In the long run, the two would share time, while Infante would also continue to back up other positions for Atlanta.

The drawback to this solution is that the Braves lose some of the talent off of their bench, which may be the best in the league. Infante is an All-Star utility player who is invaluable to the Braves, and nobody else on the Braves roster would be able to back up so many positions.

Conrad has also been a huge boost to the bench, hitting multiple grand slams and giving the bench a power bat that it has lacked in recent years.

Wes Timmons

Half of you might be saying, “Who?” right now.

Surprisingly, Timmons has been in the organization longer than most of the guys currently on the Atlanta roster. Now in his ninth professional season (all within Atlanta’s minor league system), Timmons has proved himself a capable hitter and on-base machine in AAA.

Thus far in 2010, Timmons has compiled a .289/.397/.402 line in Gwinnett. Although he has little power (the same can be said about Infante), Wes has a great career minor league on-base percentage (.382), something that can’t be said about Conrad or Infante.

Over the past two seasons in AAA, Timmons has proved he deserves a shot at the major league level, and the injury to Chipper might finally give him a chance.

Glaus to Third, Freeman to First

I’ll admit, this idea may be somewhat of a stretch. But first baseman Troy Glaus has spent the majority of his career playing third base, and he might be able to switch back to third and allow the Braves to call up Freddie Freeman.

While many could (and will) make the case that Freeman deserves to be starting over Glaus, it would appear that Bobby Cox will continue to be loyal to Glaus, and this may be the only way to get the Braves top hitting prospect to the majors.

In 2010, Freeman has a .305/.367/.506 line in AAA (and he is only 20 right now) and was ranked 20th in Baseball America’s mid-season prospect list.

What Will Happen

If I had to guess, I would say the Braves will simply let Infante and Conrad split time at third base for the remainder of the season, which probably will be the best for the Braves.

I’m hoping that Wes Timmons will get called up to Atlanta, although the Braves will likely just keep Diory Hernandez on the roster after Martin Prado returns from his injury.

While I like the third option because it gets Freeman to the majors (and the Braves could use a power bat at this point) I don’t really like the thought of putting Glaus at third base. Ideally, Glaus would be benched and Freeman could start at first, but that doesn’t seem to be an option that Braves management wants to pursue.

While nobody will be able to replace the leadership that Chipper had in the clubhouse, Infante and Conrad are capable backups (heck, Infante was an All-Star and Chipper wasn’t) and the Braves would be wise to use this opportunity to give them more playing time.

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The Atlanta Braves have won 16 of their 50+ wins this season in their last at-bat, and a number of those have been dramatic walk-off wins.

This is an ongoing chronicle of those wins, with video from MLB.com

Please check back as the season progresses.

Begin Slideshow

If the recent news and rumors turn out to be true, the Braves have a big question on their hands—who is the Braves’ everyday third baseman after 2010 (or perhaps the rest of this season)?

It’s not a simple question to answer.

Third base is the one position the Braves do not have a long-term solution for. The face of the franchise will be Jason Heyward, who is primed to be in right field and in the heart of the Braves order for years to come.

Despite a rough start to for Yunel Escobar, he and Martin Prado form a solid, if not spectacular at times, combination at the middle of the diamond.

The Braves are flush with veterans and youngsters for their starting rotation, and have the enviable position of having 6 starters right now, with Kris Medlen seemingly supplanting Kenshin Kawakami as the best starter outside the trio of Lowe, Hudson and Hanson.

With rookies Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel making their debuts in the majors this season, the bullpen seems solid for the future when you also consider that Peter Moylan and Eric O’Flaherty have been effective and conceivably have their best years ahead of them.

Brian McCann is the NL’s best catcher and Troy Glaus is having a renaissance season since switching to first. Even if he’s not the long-term solution at first, Freddie Freeman is waiting in the wings.

Who’s on first? Glaus or Freeman.

What’s the name of the guy on second? Prado, an All-Star.

Third base? I don’t know.

Chipper Jones is there for now, but for now could mean a few days, a few weeks, or a few months.

Who do the Braves have on their roster who could play third? There are more than a few options.

TROY GLAUS:

Glaus made several All-Star teams and was named World Series MVP while playing third base. However, I think most might agree that part of the reason his bat has thunder in it is because he has less wear and tear defensively playing first base.

ERIC HINSKE:

Most would consider Hinske’s days of being an everyday player over, especially given his struggles hitting lefties. He’s been productive in a platoon role and won AL Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Blue Jays. However, few, if any in the Braves organization, see Hinske as anything more than a role/bench player, a role he has played very well this season.

OMAR INFANTE:

Considering the undersized utility infielder’s size, he’s not your prototypical power hitting third baseman. However, he’s been very productive, still in his prime at 28 years old, and as recently as a week ago, was hitting a robust .328 with 16 RBIs. He’s a solid player, who could be more than just a super-utility guy that the Braves love to plug in at short, second, third or in the outfield.

BROOKS CONRAD:

The 30-year old version of Crash Davis has been waiting for his opportunity for a long time and this may be it. He’s got some pop in his bat for someone standing 5’11” and weighing only 180lbs—as evidenced by his opposite field pinch-hit grand slam against the Reds last month. The Braves right now don’t need Conrad to be a 2nd or 3rd place hitter in their lineup, and being a switch-hitter gives him an advantage over others that he wouldn’t necessarily have to be part of a platoon.

BRANDON HICKS:

While he’s been playing shortstop for a few years, some in the Braves organization hoped the 6’2″, 200 lb glove wizard would have gain some offensive skills. While he’s progressed to AAA, he’s only hitting .211, and his track record doesn’t indicate that he’d be much of an offensive threat in the majors.

DONELL LINARES:

Currently playing with AA Mississippi, he’s probably a name most Braves fans have never heard of. He’s not considered a high-ceiling prospect, isn’t on the Braves’ 40-man roster, and is already 26 years old. However, he was signed as a free agent in June 2008, and only had 79 at-bats at Low A ball in 2008. In 2009 with Myrtle Beach (not a hitter-friendly park) his .287/.328/.444 line (.772 OPS) with 15 HR, 32 doubles and 87 RBIs in 130 games and 505 at bats was decent. The ceiling isn’t very high on Linares, and he still likely needs another year in the minors. At Mississippi, he’s currently hitting .259 with 8 HR and 29 RBIs.

TY WIGGINTON:

He’s not flashy or the first person you’d think of as the Braves’ third baseman, however there are plenty of reasons to think that for this year and possibly a few more to follow, Wigginton is a possible solution until the Braves figure out who they can convert or develop to play 3rd base at the major league level for a long time.

Looking at Wigginton’s career stats—nothing jumps out at you. He’s currently in the midst of a fantastic season with .273/.358/.495, 13 HR and 38 RBIs on a terrible Orioles team, and he’s affordable, with a current salary of $3.5M for 2010. Every full season of his career, the 32 year-old journeyman (Mets, Pirates, Rays, Astros, Orioles) has hit between .258 and .284, and his 162 game averages are 22 HR and 77 RBIs. Considering Chipper Jones got paid $14M for numbers that were no better last year, he is a viable option. The bigger question is however, what would the Braves have to give up to get him.

Would a package of Jo-Jo Reyes, Jordan Schafer and another prospect bring Wigginton to the Atlanta? I know the Orioles need to rebuild and don’t have the talent in their system.

How would the Braves lineup look if the Braves could pull of the trade. Perhaps

2B – Martin Prado

3B – Ty Wigginton or SS Yunel Escobar

RF – Jason Heyward

1B – Troy Glaus

C – Brian McCann

SS – Yunel Escobar or Ty Wigginton

LF – Eric Hinske/Matt Diaz

CF – Melky Cabrera/Nate McLouth

OTHER OPTIONS:

Replacing a Hall of Fame third baseman is no easy task. The Braves could explore other trade options and perhaps target a AA/AAA third baseman in another team’s farm system who has some depth at that position. Who knows what the farm systems of the Yankees, Mets, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays or Rangers are hiding; teams who have answers at the hot corner with All-Star caliber players and no foreseeable need for major offensive help at the time.

Regardless, I’m sure Frank Wren and John Scheurholz are channeling Abbott and Costello to figure out the solution to that riddle.

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All indicators seem to be pointing toward Chipper Jones retiring at the end of the 2010 season, barring some sort of miracle turnaround at the plate.

I’m hoping that he’ll right the ship and somehow manage to salvage the season, but I just don’t see it happening. Though, this is one case where I hope I’m wrong.

It’s too bad, really. The Braves are in first place in the NL East—albeit by the slimmest of margins. Yet, Chipper is in an unfamiliar place.

Yes, he’s still batting third and holding down the fort at third base, but he’s not contributing offensively in the way he’s accustomed to.

Time catches up to everyone (except Barry Bonds, it appears), and there comes a day when the body won’t do what it used to—it doesn’t react as quickly, heal as fast, and the bat doesn’t get through the zone like it once did.

It looks like that day has come for Larry Wayne “Chipper” Jones—now age 38.

He has been the anchor in the three-hole for the Braves for nearly two decades, and he is every bit as important to the team’s past success as Maddux, Glavine, or Smoltz.

He’s a lifetime Brave, and he’s given everything he has to the organization that drafted him 20 years ago.

However, Bobby Cox’s loyalty to the former MVP might prove costly if Jones continues to struggle as he has been since he won the NL batting title in 2008.

In 51 games this season (he’s missed 14 so far), Jones has scored 24 times, driven in 23 runs, and has just four home runs. He’s batting an abysmal .233 and slugging .366 in 172 at-bats—not Chipper-like numbers.

Jones met with Cox and Braves GM Frank Wren to discuss his future with the team. He was supposed to hold a press conference at which he was expected to announce his plans to retire at the end of the season, but he canceled it.

That doesn’t mean he’s not retiring; it just means he’s not ready to announce it to the world, and I’m okay with that.

Will he call it quits after this season? If I had to guess, I’d say yes.

In the meantime, I hope that he can find his stroke and help the Braves make it back to the postseason—something he’s gone on record saying he wants to do before he retires.

The Braves will move on just as all teams do, and the future looks bright with young guys like Martin Prado, Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, Omar Infante, Johnny Venters, and Brooks Conrad.

However, it will be a bit surreal to see the Braves take the field for the first time without No. 10 at the hot corner and batting third.

On a more positive note, Chipper had two hits in five at-bats including career home run No. 430; he also scored twice and drove in a run in a losing effort to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

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When Frank Wren replaced John Schuerholz as General Manager a couple of years ago, Braves’ fans were undoubtedly skeptical that he could come in and make such a difference. I think now that even the skeptics can be silenced by the performance of Frank Wren in building a ballclub that can be defined by words like “deep,” “versatile,” and “talented.”

Tonight showed just how those words ring true about the 2010 Atlanta Braves.

In Bobby Cox’s last season, the Braves wanted to make a run for the pennant. The roster at the start looked tentatively good, but it remained to be seen if this club could do well. The first month of the season was atrocious for the Braves. No one could seem to hit, pitching fell through more times than not, and a couple of guys carried the load for keeping this Braves squad from hitting the bottom of the pond. Boy, has that changed.

Flash to tonight’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Derek Lowe, a pickup by Frank Wren in the free agent market in January 2009, came out of the gate strong, giving up two runs and keeping the big bashers of the Minnesota lineup subdued. His official line was 7.1 innings, six hits, two runs (both of them earned), three walks, and four strikeouts. He left with the game tied at two runs apiece, with Eric O’Flaherty entering and retiring Justin Morneau.

Then Peter Moylan, who owns a nearly 9.00 ERA in his last 10 appearances (8.57), entered and walked Michael Cuddyer, and displayed his frustration by barking at home plate umpire Jerry Layne on a pitch that was proven to be a ball low and inside. The next pitcher to enter could arguably be considered the best middle reliever the Braves have in their bullpen—Jonny Venters.

Venters came on to face the lefty Jason Kubel and, after running the count to 2-2 and Kubel fouling a couple of balls off, Venters whizzed a 94 mph fastball by Kubel middle of the belt and away to end the inning. The top of the ninth held all of the suspense as the Braves sought to take the lead and keep the game from going into extras. The Braves did not fail to deliver.

After Melky Cabrera popped out, Gregor Blanco walked on four straight pitches. With Martin Prado hitting, Bobby Cox pulled a trick out of his hat and called for a hit-and-run. Prado singled to left and the hustling speedster Gregor Blanco went from first to third easily.

The next play displayed the genius of the man who is calling it quits after this season and shows just why Bobby Cox will be sorely missed next year.

With emerging star Brooks Conrad hitting, Bobby Cox called for a suicide squeeze, sending Blanco from third; Conrad made the perfect bunt and got on base himself, preserving the inning and scoring the go-ahead run from third. Jason Heyward, nursing a sore left thumb, fouled out to third and Brian McCann was blown away by an angry Jose Mijares.

Billy Wagner closed out the ninth to pick up the save and to preserve the win by Jonny Venters.

Key elements to the game included Eric Hinske (free agent this year), Eric O’Flaherty (waiver, 2009), Melky Cabrera [home run] (trade, offseason), Jonny Venters (draft, 2003 [Wren was the senior assistant GM]), Martin Prado (undrafted free agent, 2001), Brooks Conrad (free agent, offseason), Gregor Blanco (undrafted free agent, 2000), and Billy Wagner (free agent, offseason).

This team is chock full of talent that Frank Wren has either directly or indirectly been instrumental in bringing to Atlanta. Wren signed Troy Glaus, who has been exceptional for Atlanta. He signed Eric Hinske, whose clutch performances have vastly improved this Braves’ ballclub.

Brooks Conrad was mired in a Houston Astros organization that just had no room for him; he has since proven the Astros wrong. Eric O’Flaherty was left to die in the Seattle Mariners organization and then placed on the waiver wires; Atlanta deftly snagged this talented lefty at no cost to them. Billy Wagner has bounced back from surgery to regain his fastball and his dominance, going 11 for 13 in save opportunities.

This isn’t Wren’s first rodeo. He was instrumental, with Dave Dombrowski, in constructing the Marlins farm system and the 1997 team that won the World Series. Under Dombrowski, the Marlins’ front office was considered the best in baseball for several years (completely blameless in the firesale by Wayne Huizenga).

Wren was demonized in Baltimore for signing Albert Belle to such a massive contract, but Belle carried a reputation that warranted such a contract. All in all, Frank Wren has amassed a team that is rich in talent, incredibly deep, and, if all elements stay working together as they are now, just might give Bobby Cox the going away present of a lifetime: a World Series ring.

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If Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox does not start Brooks Conrad at third base for tomorrow’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he may have lost his mind.

Admittedly, I am still heavily under the influence of the euphoria that ensued after Conrad hit an opposite-field, game-winning grand slam in a 10-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds today, which capped an eight-run Atlanta rally Thursday.

However, it’s not crazy to at least entertain the idea of putting today’s ninth-inning hero in the starting lineup at the hot corner.

Of course, to start Conrad, Cox would have to bench Braves legend Chipper Jones, something that the Atlanta skipper would never even think about doing.

Cox’s loyalty to No. 10 in this case is unfortunate for the Braves, seeing as Conrad now has three homers compared to Chipper’s two, and nine RBI, which is two fewer than the future Hall-of-Famer’s 11.

By the way, just a footnote, Conrad’s stats have come in just 28 at-bats, while Jones has made 111 trips to the plate this season.

Conrad, who sports a .977 career fielding percentage (Jones: .952 at 3B), also offers Atlanta a better option defensively, seeing as Chipper’s hamstring and foot problems limit his flexibility in the field.

Granted, Conrad’s recent surge could just be a fluke and his .204 batting average last season isn’t anything to cheer about, but this recent offensive explosion has earned him a better chance of cracking the starting lineup.

Now, strong arguments will contend that Jones has the track record and the talent to break out of his slump—heck, he knocked in two runs in Wednesday’s 5-4 win over Cincinnati—but sadly, any good day he has offensively should be considered an aberration at this point.

Also, there’s the issue of benching the team leader, which has the potential to demoralize his teammates who look up to said leader for motivation and inspiration.

I would respond to the latter argument with two questions:

“Has Chipper’s veteran presence significantly helped the Braves so far this season?”

“Wouldn’t the fact that Chipper is ‘unbenchable,’ no matter how much he struggles, demoralize bench players (e.g. Omar Infante, Conrad) who are fighting for at-bats?”

In baseball, it’s crucial to play the hot hand, especially when doing the opposite is detrimental to a team’s playoff chances.

Benching Jones in favor of Conrad could possibly serve another purpose, like lighting a fire under the 16-year veteran.

Maybe the challenge of fighting his way back into the lineup will unleash the skills that made him the National League Batting Champion in 2008 with a .364 average.

Additionally, sitting for a few games could give the veteran third baseman a chance to rest from his injuries or work out a few of the kinks in his swing.

Now, I neither intend to disrespect Chipper by my thoughts nor declare that Conrad should become the permanent starting third baseman for the Braves.

I believe Jones will eventually break out of his slump, but until then, you have to go with the better guy, who, in this case, is Conrad.

If you asked for Chipper’s thoughts, he would tell you that he wants what’s best for the Braves—he even offered to give up his No. 3 spot in the lineup to Jason Heyward (a great idea).

And right now, starting Conrad at third base is the best way to go for Atlanta.

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Talk about a turnaround.

Just six games ago, the Braves were shut-out by the No. 2 man on the all-time homers allowed list.

Now, they find themselves dumping a high-powered Brewers attack out of a dust pan and into the trash after outscoring the Brew Crew by an unbelievable (keep in mind we’re talking about the team ranked next-to-last in runs in the NL coming into this series) 21-run margin over three games. 

The heroes of this series (outside of the usual suspects Jason Heyward, who returned to the line-up for game two of this series and went on to steal two bases, and Martin Prado, who hit a grand slam in game one) may be surprising, though.

Troy Glaus, Brooks Conrad, and Eric Hinske played out of their minds (the latter two in only the two final games).

Glaus went 5-for-13 (.385) with two homers, five RBIs, three runs scored, and also tacked on two walks. 

Hinske, while manning what had been a massive left field hole for the Braves, went 3-for-6 (.500) with three doubles, four RBIs, and only one strikeout to two bases on balls.

Brooks went 4-for-9 (.444) with two homers (both off of Carlos Villanueva to right field), five RBIs, and some pretty slick fielding over at the hot corner.

Wow.

Not bad for two guys that have been riding the pine all year, (though Hinske has shown all season that he has deserved better) and another that for the month of April was being called “washed up” by many in Braves Nation.

But, the question remains: can the Braves keep it up?

After all, they dazzled us with the bats in the opening series and have been putting up eight- nine- and ten-spots at various points over the course of the ’10 campaign–what makes this series of gappers, drives, and lucky bloops any different?

Well, I’ll tell you—it comes down to the personnel.

And with the group that was thrown out for the Milwaukee series, I really, honestly, believe that this is for real (knock on wood).

Add to that the fact that this line-up has been lacking two cogs in Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones that have been vital to the team’s success over the past few years, and this thing looks downright scary come their expected returns this Saturday (I’m referring to them being “in there” together—Chipper will be back sooner).

Just imagine…

R 2B Martin Prado
L RF Jason “Manchild” Heyward
S 3B Chipper Jones
R 1B Troy Glaus
L  C Brian McCann
L LF Eric Hinske
R SS Yunel Escobar (yeah, I believe the ’09 Escobar is the real Escobar) 
L CF Nate McLouth

With the performances in the month of May for those guys, there is plenty to support a Braves starting staff that only gave up three earned runs (Hanson with zero, Hudson with one, and Lowe, typically with the highest, with two) to the Brewers in this past series.

Now, there will be a hitch here and there (after all, this is baseball we’re talking about), no doubt about it (and with Conrad swinging a big bat, I’d almost be willing to give him Jones’ position for a while and stick with the Infante/McLouth-Prado-Heyward set-up…but we all know that’s not going to happen).

But there is no way that this group can be as anemic as the Leche/Diaz-packed order we saw at the start of this most recent road trip (which the Braves managed to finish up 5-4 in spite of those awful orders).

I’m not going to call a 15-game win-streak for the Braves right now—not by a long shot.

But, I am going to call for some good success on the horizon (if that makes sense) since this team finally seems to be coming around.

See all you needed was a little…

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