Chipper Jones had another great game on Saturday
night (May 5) in the Atlanta Braves 13-9 win over the Colorado Rockies as he
drove in a season high five runs. The five RBI game matches Chipper’s career
best.
The Braves were down 6-0 to the Rockies before Jones
really got them kickstarted. In the top of the fifth inning, Chipper doubled in
pitcher Mike Minor for his first RBI of the night at Coors Field in Colorado.
In the top of the sixth inning he drove in shortstop Tyler Pastornicky and
pinch hitter Juan Francisco on a single to center for RBIs two and three. RBIs
four and five came in the top half of the seventh inning when another single
scored right fielder Jason Heyward and pinch hitter Martin Prado.
Despite, Jones’ career-tying game the thing that
possibly stood out the most from Saturday’s game was a controversy that brewed
between Jones and the Rockies 49-year old starting pitcher Jamie Moyer, who
earlier this season became the oldest starting pitcher to win a game in
baseball history. Moyer accused Jones of stealing signals.
After the game Jones mentioned that Moyer’s
accusation of him stealing signals “woke up a sleeping giant” and led to the
Braves comeback after starting the game down 6-0 to the Rockies.
Jones told MLB.com: “He accused me of relaying a sign down 6-2 with a 3-0 count to Brian McCann. I have never relayed a sign to anyone while I’m on second base. You question our integrity, that’s wrong. I’ve never accused him of doctoring a baseball. I’ve never accused him of over-milligraming, nothing. That’s (garbage) and he woke us up. I didn’t see any signs on the 900-foot homers that were hit.”
Jones also told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s
David O’Brien on Sunday: “I
told (Todd) Helton and Tulo (Troy Tulowitzki) to tell him he could meet me in
the tunnel to discuss it if he’d like, and I never heard back.” I love that
Chipper
Jones still has that kind of fire at age 40 in his final season.
I really
don’t get why Moyer and other players and baseball people view stealing signs
as such a big deal/bad thing in the first place. Sign stealing should be viewed
as a great strategy/skill and not breaking one of baseball’s unwritten rules.
So, Moyer was essentially making a huge deal out of something that baseball
folk need to desperately get over.
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It is now less than five days before I get to go to Busch Stadium up in St. Louis to see the Braves take on the Cardinals. I desperately hope that Chipper Jones is in the lineup for Friday night's game.
It is now less than five days before I get to go to Busch Stadium up in St. Louis to see the Braves take on the Cardinals. I desperately hope that Chipper Jones is in the lineup for Friday night's game.
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