Chipper Jones knows the Mets and New York better than any other opposing player, and he knows what makes a stable organization.
Sandy Alderson & Co. might want to listen to Larry Jones and the wisdom of stockpiling minor league talent, something the Mets finally seem committed to do, if they can find it. That is something the Braves have done so much better than the Mets.
Maybe someday these Mets can be like the Braves. But not anytime soon, as last night’s 4-1 loss at Citi Field dropped the Mets nine games behind Atlanta in the wild-card race. Goodnight Mets, who have lost five straight.
Make no mistake. Jones, like David Wright, misses Shea Stadium.
“Citi Field is a lot bigger than Shea; it doesn’t affect me as much as it affects Wright and [Jason] Bay and those guys,” said Jones, who will return to Atlanta’s starting lineup tonight following knee and quad injuries. “At Shea there was a jet stream out to right-center. I’ve seen David tattoo balls here that sometimes get caught that would have been home runs at Shea. It’s funny to see those guys lace a ball off the wall and get to second base and look at me, like ‘Damn!’ It can be frustrating.”
And so it was in the first inning last night, as Wright blasted a long double off the wall in left-center to drive in the Mets’ only run. Wright crushed the pitch from Tim Hudson, but had no hope of clearing the fence.
“I’ve played here long enough to know that’s not a home run here,” said Wright, a hint of dejection in his voice.
“You better swallow your pride when you walk into this park,” said Jones, who added he has no plans to retire, “and try to hit the ball into the gaps and concentrate on being a .300 hitter instead of a 30-home run guy.”
Added Wright, “It’s a big park, there’s no sense whining about it.”
Just another Mets challenge.
Jones went to the postseason with the Braves every year from 1995 to 2005. Following a four-year absence, the Braves were back in the postseason last year and look to be on their way to October again.
“The one thing the Braves are the best at is stockpiling talent at the minor league level,” Jones said. “We always keep an eye on the future.”
Wright tipped his cap to the Braves’ organization. “There are no glaring weaknesses,” he said. “They develop and they have such a great bullpen.”
Jones pointed to one slip-up, the trade with Texas for Mark Teixeira when the Braves sent Elvis Andrus, Neftali Perez, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Rangers.
“One thing we try not to do is mortgage the future,” Jones said. “I think we can be guilty of that in the Teixeira trade but we still have beaucoups prospects down there. The future looks bright. It’s been proven time and time again that pitching and defense win you a championship no matter what your offense looks like.”
Listen to Chipper, Mets.
Jones underwent knee surgery July 9, and recently got a text from Alex Rodriguez. “We talk,” Jones said of their friendship. “I think his [knee] was probably a little more severe than mine. It’s probably going to take a while longer for him to come back because of that. He texted me and said: ‘How you feeling?’
“I said, ‘I’m rehabbing in A-ball. I just struck out against an A-ball guy and made his whole career.’
“He said, ‘You’re playing and I’m still limping, what’s going on?’ ”
Jones LOL-ingly texted back to Rodriguez: “I just got better genes than you.”
Jones, 39, did caution A-Rod to be careful and not push it, because Jones feels that is why he has a quad problem now.
Remember that Jones named one of his sons Shea after Shea Stadium. Jones owns a .318 lifetime average against. the Mets with 47 home runs and 146 RBIs, but he’s not about to name any of his children after Citi Field.