Bring Back Omar Infante: Braves' Best SS.

The Atlanta Braves need Omar Infante starting everyday.  Yunel Escobar, while a good defensive shortstop is a liability at the plate.  The dude can't seem to hit right now, and with most of the rest of our offense clicking right now we could take it up a notch with Omar in.

Yunel went 0-4 last night.  All Omar does it get hits and while he was starting he hit over.300.  With a runner on first and Yunel at the plate you can just about bank on a double play ball.  Seriously, has Escobar hit a flyball all season?  Every ball he hits is a ground ball it seems like.

I'm also sick of seeing Yunel's lack of hustle to run out ground balls.  One thing I respect about Jason Heyward is that he sprints out every ground ball and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense to make a play at first.  Instead Yunel loafs down to first with a stupid smirk on his face.

This article is hard for me to write because I used to be a big Escobar supporter.  I'm not saying Escobar can never be productive but right now I feel like his bat is a liability in games.  In a tight game where we need a hit it's frustrating to see him come up because it's almost an automatic out.

Omar on the other hand is hitting good right now and he's solid defensively.  He always plays hard and has done nothing to deserve a spot on the bench.  With Omar hitting consistently our offense could really be taken over the top.  Right now  our offense is producing with Yunel and McLouth in the line up, and those are two almost certain outs.

I'm not sure what to do about Nate, I don't think we have anyone on our team that could play center right now.  I guess we could call up Schafer.  The answer to Yunel is much simpler: Omar Infante.

I'd also like to see Jason Heyward hitting out of the three hole with Chipper walking...er I mean batting second.  Chipper said himself that a number three should "do a little bit of everything."  Everything includes hitting for power which Chipper seemingly has lost the ability to do.  Chipper can't hit for power and can no longer hit in the clutch, he's just not a number three anymore. 

That said he does get on base a lot due to his knack for drawing walks.  With Prado leading off, Chipper batting second, J-Hey would have men on base more consistently to drive in.  Chipper for his part has endorsed this idea.  Unfortunately as long as we have Bobby pulling the strings he's going to play favorites and look out for veterans.

The good news for Braves fans is we only have the rest of this season with Bobby at the helm.  Perhaps our next Skipper can manage the bullpen effectively and make good decisions for the team even if it ruffles a beloved veteran's feathers.