Chipper Jones is True Gentleman About Hating Phillies

The problem with the Braves is that they refuse to start a classless volley of mean-spirited rabble-rousing.  You think you’re so mature, don’t you Braves fans, with your blogs that maintain a positive attitude and your team that won’t insult their rivals even when prompted to by questions from the press.

This is beating a dead horse that I’ve dragged into the room many times before amidst a sea of disgusted groans, but remember that time when Jeff Francoeur said the Phillies don’t get injured enough and that’s why they’re so successful?  Now that they’re injured every day (and Jeff Francoeur will never see a playoff race again), its interesting that one of the faces of our chief divisional rival at the moment is saying the exact opposite; that the Phillies could easily overcome this hurdle and still win.

"“Those pitchers are gong to keep them in 80 to 90 percent of the games.  We lost Smoltz for an extended period of time one year to arm troubles.  We lost Andres Galarraga one year to cancer, and we persevered through that.  Somebody always stepped up for an injured person.”—Chipper Jones"

Granted, those stretches of time Chipper’s talking about only once ended in a World Series title.  But that was such a nice tip of the cap from a guy who is hoping to utterly destroy us starting in less than a week.  There was a time when we would be hucking garbage at Mets players for starting trouble in the papers (and vice versa), but with the way the Braves have been in recent years, its like trying to start a shouting match with a penguin.

Me:  “BOOOOOO YOU SUCK FOR PLAYING ON A DIFFERENT TEAM.”

Penguin:  Flaps flippers.

Me:  “WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY.”

Penguin:  Waddles around; is adorable.

Me:  *Breaking down emotionally* “I HATE… YOU… BOO… B…”

Penguin:  Falls over on stomach.

So I guess the appropriate thing to do is… accept it?  I don’t know, I still consider this concept pretty foreign; that somebody says “Good luck” instead of “We are going to kill you while you are weak.”

"“One thing you want coming out of Spring Training every year is that confidence, and I’ve got it.”"

Thanks, Chipper!  We’re fairly confident, too, but it always helps to know you’ve got our backs.

"“Its a tremendous load off my mind to run out there on the field and not have to worry about whether or not my next step or next swing is going to be my last.”"

Oh.  You meant you’re confident about yourself.

Whatever.