Where it all began for Chipper

This isn't a piece of trivia that I had tucked away in my brain, but if you'd asked me which team surrendered Chipper Jones' first Major League home run, I'd have said something along the lines of, "It would have to be the Mets."

And it was. It came, naturally, at Shea Stadium, where he hit 19 long balls in his career. The only places where he hit more were his home ballparks. He has one at Citi Field, hit last September, in 11 career games there to this point. The Marlins' home ballpark (the name keeps changing, so why bother putting one in when it could be obsolete in another year?) has yielded 16 homers to Chipper, a native Floridian, so he's got a chance to hit three or four more there in, presumably, 18 games this year and next before the team moves into its new home in 2012.

It might be worth noting, too, that Chipper's seven homers off of Steve Trachsel are the most he's hit against any pitcher, but three of those came when Trachs was a Cub. The four Trachsel allowed as a Met equal the four Bobby Jones, wearing orange and blue, allowed to Chipper. Rick Reed also allowed four homers, but one was with the Reds.

Photo flashback: Enjoying the meat of the sweep

Frenchy's follow-through

A busy weekend has made this look back at Saturday's win over the Braves a little outdated by now, but it's still fun to look back on the middle of a sweep sandwich involving one of the Mets' biggest division rivals -- especially when one Larry Wayne Jones Jr. played such a big part in two of the losses.

We had a friend visiting from California for the weekend and four free tickets from my wife's dad, so we invited a fourth who was also making her Citi Field debut (more for Shake Shack and the company than the baseball, but I always enjoy explaining the game to others) and were treated to a gorgeous day and dozens of pooches for Bark in the Park. I couldn't help but think of the fans' criticisms of all the nods to the Dodgers while bringing Lauren, a UCLA grad like Jackie and Dodgers fan, in through the rotunda and snapping her picture in front of the big No. 42. To top it off, Steve Garvey -- who works with the Bark in the Park sponsor, Natural Balance Pet Foods -- threw out the first pitch.

This team sure isn't perfect and this run of six wins in seven games -- coinciding with Ike Davis' arrival -- could be little more than the yang to the yin of the first two weeks to put this team one game over .500, but it is nice to be one game on the good side than one on the bad. Another series win against L.A. would be a nice springboard into a weekend in Philadelphia and a Sunday night series finale with Roy Halladay on the hill.

And, hey, look at this: Monday's rainout, which pushed Oliver Perez back to the second game of today's doubleheader, means that both Ollie and Johan Santana will have four days of rest between now and Sunday. So it's Jerry Manuel's choice of who goes up against Halladay and the Phillies on Sunday night on ESPN. Had Ollie pitched on Monday, it would've been his turn in the rotation and Johan would've been left to open the series in Cincinnati on May 3. Hmm, which would you choose for Sunday night? [2:51 p.m. update: YES!]

Here's hoping the good fortune keeps coming.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The Mets are Wright on the Braves

Back in 1999 -- as much as I hate to admit it -- Chipper Jones won the National League MVP award with what he did against the Mets in September. Atlanta beat New York by 6 1/2 games that year, but on Sept. 21, the teams began a three-game series at Turner Field with the Braves holding a two-game lead. They played six times in the next nine days, and Atlanta won five of them.

Chipper batted .300 with four home runs, six runs and nine RBI in those six games. He hit .556 in the three-game sweep of the first series in Atlanta and homered in each of the games, going deep twice in the first one.

In his career, Chipper has played the Mets 160 times and has the following stats: .330 average. 422 OBP, .574 SLG, .996 OPS, 116 runs, 29 doubles, 35 homers, 107 RBI, 94 walks, 88 strikeouts and 19 stolen bases. That's an MVP year in itself. He's enjoyed Shea Stadium, too, hitting 17 of those 35 homers in Queens. No wonder he named one of his children Shea.

But the Mets may now have their answer to Chipper. While Atlanta's third baseman may never again get through a season without a nagging injury or a disabled-list stint, the Mets have David Wright only beginning to emerge. OK, he's probably emerged, but he's still developing, still getting better.

The best part, however, is that he's turning into the Mets' version of Chipper, not just overall, but in this NL East rivalry as well. He's off to a good start. In his 41 career games against Atlanta, Wright is batting .301 with a .385 OBP, .589 SLG, .974 OPS, 19 runs, nine doubles, 11 homers, 24 RBI, 18 walks, 27 strikeouts and four stolen bases without being caught. And, like Chipper, he's doing slightly better on Atlanta's home turf -- six homers and 12 of his 24 RBI have come at Turner Field. All those women who show up to Shea with "Mrs. Wright" t-shirts had better get used to the thought of a son named Turner Wright.

Conveniently, Wright's 41 games against Atlanta are just about one-fourth of Chipper's 160 against the Mets. Extrapolating Wright's career numbers against the Braves gives you: .301 average, .385 OBP, .589 SLG, .974 OPS (the averages won't change when you simply multiply the numbers that make them up), 76 runs, 36 doubles, 44 homers, 96 RBI, 72 walks, 108 strikeouts and 16 stolen bases. With a 44-homer pace, you have to figure the runs and RBI will come up, particularly if the Mets can keep a strong lineup in front of Wright over the next 10 years. He's also got a few years to truly settle in and cut down on the strikeouts and bring up his walks -- plus, you figure the Braves will walk him intentionally more often. The point is, I have a feeling that once Wright hits the 160-game mark against Atlanta, his numbers will be very similar to those Chipper has put up against New York.

Here's hoping Wright continues the trend this weekend in Atlanta.