Darwin—Nursing a series of minor leg and ankle injuries, Chipper Jones has heard the whispers: the switch-hitting slugger is not a gamer, he sits out too many contests, he’s a complainer, etc. And he’s had enough. Jones, who leads the Finches with a .301 average and has rapped out 19 HR (second on the club to David Ortiz’s BARB-leading 22 round-trippers). Instead, according to Jones, any struggles on the ballclub should be on the veterans—the veteran pitchers, that is, particularly John Smoltz.
Smoltz, who many figured as Darwin’s ace entering the season, has a respectable ERA (3.76) but is just 2-3 in 11 starts, and Chipper wants to know why. ‘Don’t think I don’t know where the rap on me is coming from," Jones said angrily. "Well, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones." It was unclear exactly what was implied by that, but it is known that Smoltz (a serious Christian) has had issues not only with Jones’ fun-loving ways on the road, but with avowed atheist P.Z. Myers, the fiery new manager of the Finches.
Darwin GM Scott Hatfield suggested that all parties have a cooling-off period wherein no one would talk to the media. "This is a pretty typical family feud, under the pressure cooker of contending baseball," Hatfield claimed. "I wouldn’t make more out of this than is actually there."
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