Andruw

Jones

Jones is not expected to miss any more time. ''If it was the regular season, he’d have been in the lineup,’' Braves manager Bobby Cox said.

That’s been the predominant theory most of the spring. Andruw should be in the No. 4 spot on Opening Day vs. Tom Glavine.

At this time last season, Andruw was leading the league in RBI. This year he has just 14 so far, and his average has fallen to .260. He’s been hurt by a weaker lineup this season, made weaker by injuries to Chipper Jones, J.D. Drew, and Rafael Furcal. The good news is Jones has walked 18 times, putting him on pace to shatter his career high of 83. He walked only 53 times last season. The return of Chipper to the lineup tonight should help Andruw get it going.

''He can swing up and it doesn’t bother him,’' trainer Jeff Porter said. ''It’s the swings down, because of where the strain is located below the ribcage.’' The Braves admit to playing a risk by starting Jones, which seems unnecessary given their large lead in the NL East.

''He’s hard to keep out of there,’' manager Bobby Cox said. Maybe so, but the Braves are entering a four-game series on the turf in Montreal. There is no reason a team with baseball’s best record should let a less-than-100 percent superstar take any chances on that field.

We’d love to believe Bobby, since that would mean Jones’ second half would be quite a treat. However, Jones is hitting just .200 with runners in scoring position, and seemingly can’t handle being the biggest bat in the lineup with Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez gone, and Chipper Jones, J.D. Drew, and Marcus Giles suffering numerous injuries.

Hopefully a minor blip. The return of Marcus Giles can only help Jones and the entire Braves offense.

He broke a tie with Derrek Lee for the major league lead in home runs. With 35 now, he’s just one away from matching his career high. The grand slam was the fourth of his career and the multihomer game his 26th.

That sets a new career-high in homers for Jones, whose previous best was 36 in 2003 and 2000. Adam Dunn, Derrek Lee, and Alex Rodriguez are tied for second in the majors with 33 homers.

It’s not like the guy didn’t need a break. He now has a career-high 39 home runs to go along with 94 RBI. While Albert Pujols will likely win the MVP award, Jones certainly deserves serious consideration this year, especially after getting off to such a poor start this season.