Chipper Jones Out of WBC?

photo from:  www.philliesnation.com

Story By - Mary Clausen

March 9.  Chipper Jones' days in the World Baseball Classic might be numbered.  On Sunday March 9, he suffered a small injury to his right external oblique muscle.  When he was batting, he went after a pitch.  Jones said regarding the injury Sunday, "I got a good pitch to hit and tried to came out of my shoes to hit it.  I'm a switch hitter and this has happened dozens of times."  USA Team Manager, Davey Johnson, says that he will be re-evaluated Monday and he wasn't sure if he would still be in the lineup.

Chipper Update - Sunday and Monday - Jones was looked at by doctors and he has what is listed as a mild oblique strain.  As Johnson predicted, he had to take him out of the lineup for Team USA.  A usual dynamo at the dish, Chipper was having a tough time so far at the Classic in the hitting department  He was 0 for 7 so far in the tournament and has five strikeouts. 

Major League Baseball fans are speculating that Chipper might have been playing "for real" too soon.  The type of play in spring training is serious, but it slowly gets baseball players ready for "real play."  At the World Baseball Classic, they are playing harder ball - "for real" baseball. Of course the baseball players want to do well for their country, but many MLB fans just want their players to be healthy for the start of the long-awaited baseball season.

He's now back in spring training and joins five other Braves with mild injuries.  They are all just going to take it easier, play a better type of low-key baseball, and let their injuries heal.  This will have them ready for the beginning of the baseball season that is coming very soon. His manager thinks that this injury might have happened at the right time for his star player, since the World Baseball Classic is really classified as an exhibition-style baseball tournament.  He can now take a pace that is better suited for a player with an aging body  (sorry Chipper, they said it) and be totally ready to play for his MLB team, the Atlanta Braves next month.