OK, so “Omar Infante, All-Star” isn’t quite as funny now

I was among the many people who mocked Omar Infante’s presence on the All-Star team and I’ll stand by that mockery, because at the time he was a 28-year-old career-long utility man who wasn’t even playing every day for the Braves. However, he’s been on fire since the All-Star break and after going 4-for-6 with two homers yesterday to help give Lou Piniella a horrible send off Infante is now hitting .378/.422/.546 in 33 second-half games (including 27 starts). That works out to a nifty .968 OPS, which is 206 points higher than the .762 OPS that got him picked for the All-Star game in the first place. Atlanta needs Infante more than ever in the wake of Chipper Jones’ season-ending knee injury and he’s responding by actually, you know, playing like an All-Star.