During interviews over the past couple of days, Chipper Jones has said that the downside to hitting over .400 is that he’s become too cautious at the plate. Instead of waiting for the that perfect pitch to step on at the risk of a strike out, Jones finds himself more concerned with hits than home runs (with his numbers Chipper still leads the Braves in HR’s with 12).

What no one can figure out though is why the Braves aren’t leading the NL east. Beyond Jones’ unbelievable season so far, the Brave’s pitching has been pretty good, including relievers, despite an injury ridden roster. Brian McCann is having a great year while Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, Mark Kotsay and Gregor Blanco are all around .300. Plus, after slow starts, Mark Teixeira and Jeff Francoeur are starting to warm up. Yet the Braves are stuck in 3rd place with a horrendous record in both road games and one-run games. What’s the problem? No clutch hitting to provide some instant offense when it’s needed. That’s what Chipper Jones is known for, and in spite of his great numbers, neither he nor anyone else on the team is providing it. Someone needs to step up and deliver – whether it’s the beefed up Francoeur (who added 17 pound of muscle in the off season only to have a horrible start) or through a trade for a big time power hitter.

While Chipper Jones is taking up all the ink in the sports pages, it’s natural to wonder who else in the lineup is helping Atlanta. Lost in the shadows, Brian McCann is having a strong season at the plate. While players like Jeff Francoeur and Mark Teixeira are inconsistent at best, McCann is batting .320 and slugging .520. Looking at Atlanta’s batting stats, the couple of area’s not lead by Chipper are solidly held by McCann. He leads the team in doubles with 18 and extra-base hits at 28 while he’s got the second most home runs (9) and is tied with Gregor Blanco in RBI’s with 32. In Brian’s second year, 2006, he managed to end the season with an strong .333 batting average. But last year he struggled a little with a .270 average. The question is who is the real Brian McCann? Is he currently playing above his head or was last year a fluke? It’s hard to say at this point, but with all the focus on Chipper I’m sure Brian feels a little less pressure than the second best hitter normally would.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that John Smoltz’s Thursday night outing for the Rome Brave’s went well. Pitching two innings against my local minor league team, the Asheville Tourists, Smoltz gave up no runs, no walks, one hit and struck out three. Smoltz is continuing to use a three-quarters delivery that allows him to throw without causing pain in his banged up shoulder. Smoltz will pitch again for the Rome Brave’s this Saturday. If all goes well we should see Smoltz in Atlanta’s bullpen soon.

Matt Diaz didn’t escape unharmed from Tuesday nights knee first slide into the Brewer’s outfield wall. After landing on the DL, Diaz was sent back to Atlanta on Wednesday where he had an MRI on his left knee. Doctor’s discovered that Diaz had torn his ligament and will probably be out four to six weeks while he rests the knee and undergoes rehab. The braves started Omar Infante in place of Diaz Wednesday night.

After a great road stand that included a sweep of the Met’s and a 2 – 2 series against the NL West leading Diamondbacks, the Braves hoped to finally end the road curse they’ve suffered from when they boarded the plane to Milwaukee. With Tim Hudson on the mound, the Braves looked like they were on the way to victory as they carried a 2 – 0 lead through the 6th inning. Then, Brian McCann reached out to catch a fastball which nicked the edge of his glove, bounced off the dirt, and hit him squarely in the balls. Though his cup kept this from being a career ending injury, it was a bad omen for things to come. Shortly thereafter, Matt Diaz slid into the left outfield wall while trying to chase down a hit (he didn’t catch it) and had to leave the game due to a strained left knee and laceration that required stitches. The Brewers preceded to score in both the 7th and 8th inning’s to tie the game. When the Brave’s failed to score in the top of the 9th, Milwaukee got Bill Hall to third base with only one out. Mike Cameron sealed the deal when his sacrifice fly allowed Hall to cross home plate. This was a tough loss for the Braves. Add they’re poor road record and history of one run loses and one wonders if Atlanta has any hope of overcoming the tough breaks away games are giving them. I guess it all depends on how much of an emotional toll it takes out of the players. Hopefully, they can keep their heads up and continue to play hard.

Gregor Blanco just slipped onto the Braves roster and then proceeded to bat .371 during April. Just like Willie Harris last season fans have fallen over themselves to join the Blanco bandwagon. But before everyone declares Blanco the find of the century lets not forget that after Harris had a great two months when he was called up last year, he then batted .205 during the rest of season. Blanco’s had a big drop in offense since April. His current batting average during May is .226. But there’s more to worry about than just a low batting average from a rookie. Chop-n-Change has a great article on this issue which points out that despite Harris’ return to more realistic numbers during last season, Bobby Cox seemed to not care, believing Harris’ big numbers were more than just a statistical blip from a player who could never sustain such great play. Now we may be seeing a replay with Blanco. The Braves are entering a really difficult stretch of games that will show us how good, or bad, this year’s team is. If Blanco can’t improve let’s hope management hasn’t been fooled by his run during April, keeping him around in hopes of a return to those huge, but unrealistic, numbers.

Last night, Atlanta handed the hated Met’s a 11-4 defeat in the third straight win over the division rivals. Highlights included the end of Jeff Francoeur’s home run drought and the panic-inducing pitch that hit Chipper Jone’s shin and caused him to leave the game early. Fortunately, Chipper plans on playing tonight and the injury’s not serious. Unfortunately, Braves fans woke up to read that a 25 year old man fell 150 feet down a stairwell during the eighth inning and subsequently died. According to Atlanta police, the Braves fan had been drinking alcohol before he fell after sliding on a handrail. The Braves and police continue to investigate the accident.

It looks like Rafael Soriano will beat John Smoltz and Mike Gonzalez back to the Brave’s active roster. Last night Soriano pitched one inning in AA for the Mississippi Braves allowing 1 hit, one strike out, and one walk. Reports are everything went well and Soriano’s elbow felt good. He’s scheduled to pitch for the Mississippi Braves again tomorrow night. Afterwards he’ll be evaluated to see if he’s healthy enough to return to Atlanta.

Adding to the good news, Bobby Cox told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he thinks Smoltz, Soriano, and the long-disabled Gonzalez could all be back on the active roster within two weeks. With a mediocre start for a team that’s starting to heat up a beefed up bullpen could further push the Braves up the NL east rankings.