I've Got Good News!

And it has nothing to do with saving money on car insurance.

Feeling as if he has "a golf ball in his shoe", Braves third baseman Larry Jones was placed on the 15 day DL on Monday. Jones, who once said that Met fans are going home to put on their Yankee jerseys, hurt his foot coming out of the batters box after an eighth inning swing on Sunday against the Pirates. Jones had been playing with pain in the foot since April 24th, and the Braves aren't sure how long he'll be out.

Could this finally be the year the Braves relinquish the throne? Mike Hampton, John Thomson, and Larry Jones are all hurt...the bullpen is a mess, and the Braves are finally back in the pack. It's not July 4th yet so the Braves should always get the benefit of the doubt, but the signs aren't good. They'll need to continue to get great pitching from rookie Kyle Davies, and don't be surprised if they pull another starter out of their hat to either team with Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, or send Smoltz back to the closer role. The performance of Chris Reitsma will chart the Braves course for the rest of 2005. It very well might be safe for the rest of the N.L. East to start being optimistic about overtaking the Braves...of course the Mets would actually have to beat them first for them to be the team to do it.