It's probably coincidental that the Braves broke through for 11 runs the day third baseman Chipper Jones was back in the lineup, but it isn't a fluke that they hit more and score more runs when he's batting in the three-hole.
Over the course of the 2008 season, the Braves averaged five runs a game with Chipper in the lineup and four without him. In the four games he missed last week resting and treating the bone bruise in his left thumb, the Braves scored only six runs. They are 0-5 without him. Sunday's offensive outburst against the Pirates wasn't all Chipper, it was about who was hitting in his spot, how that altered where everyone else hit, and what kinds of pitches those hitters saw.
Chipper jokes about getting old, but in terms of baseball, what that really means is that he can't shake off minor injuries as quickly as he did 10 years ago. Even something as routine as fouling a ball off his leg, for example. Once upon a time, he'd ice that after a game and the next day the swelling was nearly gone. Now, that requires three or four days.
A bone bruise is something else again. Manager Bobby Cox can still locate one he got at the base of his thumb that's decades old. For Chipper, it means not having enough strength in his top hand to swing the bat effectively. But at least that's an improvement from not being able to grip the bat at all, which is why he sat out the four games he missed.
Chipper is generally able to hit right-handed before he can hit left-handed when he's injured. That's because he is naturally right-handed. The left-handed swing has more moving parts to it, requiring more work. And more strength.
BRAVES 2, NATIONALS 3: RHP Derek Lowe threw 115 pitches in six innings and gave up only three runs after a start pushed back by a two-hour rain delay. Technically, that's a quality start, and the bullpen held the Nationals right there, but the Braves' only offense was LF Matt Diaz's two-run homer.
