Can Chipper Jones hit .400 this year?

Well we've been so busy with summer, the NBA Conference Finals, and the Stanley Cup Finals that we haven't been going a lot of MLB posting. So here's something for you!

So when do we start the Chipper .400 Watch? The Sports Flow is starting now and so should you! Only three times in the past 50 years has any hitter had as high a batting average as Chipper has now (.418), Rod Carew (1983), Rico Carty (1974) and Hank Aaron (1959). So why not start the speculation?

I realize it's been 67 years and counting since Ted Williams hit .400. And it's 28 years since George Brett even became the last man to carry a .400 average into September. But why not Chipper? He's a switch-hitter who's batting .409 left-handed and .431 right-handed. He hit .422 in April. He's stayed hot in May hitting .429. And over the past year, he has had only one month when he's hit lower than .364. This leads me to believe this is no fluke.

In fact, if you look back over that year, Chipper batted .376 (with a .459 OBP and .622 SLG) for a full season. How close is that to hitting .400? Well, if he'd just gotten one extra hit every two weeks, he'd be a .400 hitter for the equivalent of one complete season. So obviously this isn't just coming out of no where.

I'm not going to lie. Sure, I'm a little surprised by Chipper putting up softball-type numbers thus far this year. However, I think it's time we start to watch carefully. Lance Berkman has also been having a great year and does pose some .400 threat. However, I think Chipper has the best chance to do it. As I've stated the stats show that Chipper is locked in from both sides of the plate right now, and has been for a while. This is no fluke. Plus, Berkman has never hit over .318 in a season.

Chipper is for real and I think it's going to be really fun to watch him make a run at .400 this year. My only concern would be his durability being a bit older now. But as for now I'm along for the ride!

Fantasy Baseball Weekly Wrap & Awards

Bat Of The Week: Chipper Jones - .565, 6 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1.773 OPS

Chipper had a monster week, making only 10 outs on the way to hitting 4 homers, driving in 7 and putting up an OPS over 1.700. Buster Olney thinks that Chipper’s approach at the plate right now is the best it has ever been. I think I would have to agree. Jones’ injury history certainly has to scare fantasy owners as naturally none of this means anything he isn’t on the field. Given the gaudy numbers he has put up over the past 3 years (in remarkably quiet fashion) he is simply a risk worth taking at this point. As far as availability I'm guessing he isn't available in most leagues (depending on how deep you league is). If you have him don't trade him away right now. If he cools down substantially or gets a little banged up you could get some worth for him but as for right now definitely keep on riding this.

Arm Of The Week: John Danks – 2 GS, 2-0, 14.2 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

Danks pitched 2 shutouts this week and was dominant in both outings lasting 7 or more innings in each start. Danks also showed excellent control walking only 2 batters over 14.2 inning while striking out 12. If you take out Danks’ awful outing against Minnesota on April 9th, the young lefty has allowed 1 earned run in 21.2 innings spanning 3 starts. Danks will try to build on his big week 3 on Saturday against the Orioles at home and I think you can look for his success to continue. Start him!

Pickups Of The Week: Mark DeRosa - .421, 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, 1.222 OPS

John Danks was also a pretty good choice here but since he already won Arm of The Week I gotta give this one to Mark DeRosa. He has filled in great for Alfonso Soriano thus far. Derosa has seen his ownership rise from 43% to 73% (in CBS leagues) after this week. Another plus is that he is a superutility man who can play a wide variety of positions so even when Soriano comes back if he's still hot they have many options to keep him on the field.

Worst Week: Tadahito Iguchi – 0/21, 4 K, 1 R, 1 SB

The 1 run and 1 steal accounted for all of Iguchi’s production this week as he did literally nothing at the plate going 0/21. I think it goes without saying that if you own him drop him and if you don't then stay away. If this persists the next stop is the bench.

TSF All-Week 3 Squad (If you had this lineup you'd be amazing)

C Ivan Rodriguez - .291, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .916 OPS

1B Conor Jackson - .480, 10 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB, 1.599 OPS

2B Chase Utley – .391, 6 R, 1 2B, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 1.548 OPS

SS Jose Reyes - .428, 7 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 1.305 OPS

3B Chipper Jones - .565, 6 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1.773 OPS

OF Manny Ramirez - .480, 7 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1.475 OPS

OF Alex Rios - .392, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 1.075 OPS

OF Aaron Rowand - .444, 2 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI 1.278 OPS

U David Wright - .521, 5 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB, 1.633 OPS

U Miguel Cabrera - .428, 7 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB, 1.204 OPS

SP John Danks – 2 GS, 2-0, 14.2 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

SP Scott Olsen – 2 GS, 2-0, 14 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

SP Andy Pettitte – 2 GS, 2-0, 14 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

SP Ervin Santana - 2 GS, 2-0, 15 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 14K

SP Randy Wolf – 2 GS, 2-0, 13.3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 16 K

MR Scot Shields – 3 Holds, 1 Save, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

CL Billy Wagner – 3 Saves, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Don't you dare drop any of these guys right now! I'll be back in a week to give out weekly awards and my All-Week 4 squad.

Buy or Sell: Interleague play

We've really been hitting the NBA hard on TSF so I want to spell you readers a bit with some baseball banter. Although I have an idea on the NBA I'm gunna cut you a little break. Buy or Sell....here we go.

Interleague play is great right? I mean who doesn't love to see the Mets vs, Yanks, Braves vs. Red Sox, and the Angels vs. the Dodgers? But interleague play is definately not fair and I'm not a fan.

As a Brewers fan our "Big" interleague foes are the Twins. Ok, so I consider the Cubs to be rivals and our relationship to the Twins to be something secondary to that. However, I do understand that there are those few great rivalries that I named above which are indeed great for the game. They're wonderfully entertaining matchups and get great attendence. But, the bottomline is that Interleague play messes with records, scheduals, and playoff races. That's why I'm selling interleague play.

Case and Point: The Braves have to play six games against the AL East-leading Red Sox, plus have series against the Tigers, Twins and Indians. In fairness, the Mets have six with the Yankees as well as series against Tigers, Twins and A’s, all four Al 2006 playoff teams, while the Phillies get series against the Royals, Blue Jays, White Sox, Indians and Tigers. Because the Braves have to play the Mets, they have the toughest strength of schedule of any team in baseball; the Mets, unable to play themselves are stuck with the third toughest schedule. In theory. Since the Mets were the best team in the National League, playoffs notwithstanding, they should have the toughest schedule!

"I don't think there's any question it’s not fair, but I don't think Major League Baseball is concerned with fair. If you play the top teams in the American League and everybody else doesn't, it's pretty unfair. If we're going to play the American League Central, everybody has to play all the teams in the American League Central. This split-it-up and we have to play our rival in the American League East stuff, I don't get it. It's unfair for us and the Mets on a year-in, year-out basis to have to play the Yankees and Red Sox when other teams don't.” - Chipper Jones

Yea, and I agree with that too. The NFL finds a way for the worst teams to have easier schedules and I think MLB needs to figure out a way to do this with interleague play. That way maybe they could come a little close to creating some parity in who is contending for the playoffs at the end of the season.

When it comes to interleague play I strongly believe that last place teams should get to play other last place teams and those of similar winning %'s. Either that or maybe there would be a way they could figure it out by payroll (before you kill me on that one it's just an alternative idea). If you don't do that at the very least take Chippers' advice and set it up so every team in the AL East plays every team in the division and not just the Mets and Braves. That would at least begin to even out the divisional races.

It's the whole newly added wrinkle that requires teams to play so-called regional rivals in home-and-home series each season, such as Braves-Red Sox, Yankees-Mets and Angels-Dodgers that makes Chipper mad. I can't blame him. Interleague play is unfair and baseball knows it. But these series, we'll call them "the Big 3" are here for bigtime ratings and bigtime $$$. I would love to sit here at my keyboard and just continue to put interleague play to death but I want to tell you this right now: Interleague play isn't going anywhere and I don't think that MLB has the desire or cares enough to make the changes necessary to make it fair. So, as a result I'll just have to keep on hating Interleague play.

I'm going to leave you with this amazing quote in regards to interleague play. Read it, soak it in, and take it to heart because this is truly wonderful writing.

“Like most sensible people, I hate interleague play. I can describe this hatred, but to explain it would be to do violence to the depth of my contempt for a misbegotten, half-animate monstrosity.

The distinctive and unique qualities of the World Series are gone because of interleague play, as is much of the prestige of winning the World Championship. Interleague play, though, is not to be scorned because it has evil effects. Its evil is fundamental to its nature. By its existence alone, interleague play marks out the rest of the schedule as unworthy of notice — filled with meaningless games of little consequence, mere preludes to the garish spectacles on offer at the beginning and midpoint of summer.

The slow, comfortable rhythm and routine of the long season, into which we should just now be settling as May winds into its final days, is suddenly broken; the charms of small games against minor teams give sudden, abrupt way to games of apocalyptic consequence.

- Tim Marchman- NY Sun

Are you buying or selling Interleague play and why?