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Being that he pitched for an AL team, your comment is entirely unsurprising.

Hopefully he'll get an AB at some point so the Mets can have Reyes, Reyes, Reyes due up in an inning.


After looking at this guy's stats, he's better than I thought. Converted 26/30 save opportunities in '07 and didn't allow a run in 20/26 appearances this season. Good numbers against righties. Considering the state of the Mets bullpen, this move has no downside.

Chipper Jones is sad to see Shea Stadium go after this season

BY ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS

Jones' favorite New York stadium slated for demolition sits in Queens. Jones went so far as to name a son Shea after the Flushing ballpark, where he has a career .310 average with 19 homers and 53 RBI in 84 games. During an All-Star media event at the Grand Hyatt Monday, Jones even asked Mets PR man Jay Horwitz to make sure some memento from the ballpark is set aside for him.

"I was like, 'You've got to hook me up - whether it's a seat, whether it's a sign, something that I can put in Shea's room,'" Jones said. "I'm going to try to get him up here this summer and walk him around before they tear it down.

"I hit my first major-league homer there," he continued, referring to a blast 13 years ago off Josias Manzanillo. "The Mets and the Braves have had so many epic battles over the years. It's just been a special place. It's been a place where I've really enjoyed playing. It just made sense. I love the name."

Jones hasn't done that bad in the Bronx, either, with a .368 average and four homers in 14 regular-season games in the House That Ruth Built. But Jones hit just .211 (4-for-19) in five World Series games at Yankee Stadium in losing two Fall Classics to the Bombers.

After two years of David Wright starting at third base for the NL, the 36-year-old Jones is back as starter for the fifth time, and first time since 2001. He had a .400 average as recently as June 18, though he's now at .376.

"When he's healthy, he rolls out of bed and just hits," Wright said. "He finds a way to go up there and produce. It's amazing to have that kind of consistency over the course of his career."

Jones admires Wright, too.

"I'm a huge David Wright fan," Jones said. "I mean, he's the next big thing, if he's not already there - a guy who can hit for power, average. He's got a 'Web Gem' on ESPN almost nightly. More importantly, he's a good kid. He's not letting the stage that he plays on get the best of him. He keeps everything at arm's length. It seems like he's got a really good head on his shoulders. That's probably what I admire most."

The Braves make two more trips to Shea, Aug. 19-21 and Sept. 12-14.

"I love the stage," Jones said. "I love the atmosphere of playing here in New York. The fans make it awfully hard walking back to the dugout with your tail tucked between your legs, so it gives you a little extra motivation to make lefthand turns when you get to first.

"Shea is one of my favorites. You just have a couple of parks that you see the ball really well in. You get pumped up, obviously, being a division rival. All of our games against them are important, so you're really jacked up to play there. And on the flip side, there are your Wrigley Fields that absolutely kill you (.203 career average there). You just can't get up to play there. I'm one person who will be sad to see Shea Stadium go. Really."