NEW YORK -- Chipper Jones wasn't exactly capable of doing anything much more than simply walking early Sunday morning. But the veteran third baseman and young shortstop Yunel Escobar are both hoping to return to the lineup on Tuesday, when the Braves begin a two-game series against the Nationals.
While getting dressed before Saturday afternoon's game against the Mets, Jones was felled by the enormous discomfort caused by back spasms. As for Escobar, he bruised his right ring finger in the first inning of Friday's series opener at Shea Stadium and has since been limited to one appearance as a pinch-runner.
"I feel better," said Jones, who leads the Majors with a .433 batting average. "I'm still having trouble with my rotation [of the torso]. But as far as being able to stand here and carry on a conversation, I'm fine."
While Jones' back spasms had disappeared and he was able to breathe better than he did most of Saturday, there was never any question that he was going to have to miss Sunday afternoon's series finale against the Mets.
"If they want to cart me off the field in the first inning, I'll go out there and play," Jones said. "But I don't think anybody wants to see that."
Given that he would have been playing in front of the Mets fans that love to hate him, there might have been some people who wanted to see Jones attempt to play on Sunday. But the Braves were content to have him rest another day with the hope that he can play on Tuesday.
Escobar, who cracked his fingernail while laying down a sacrifice bunt in Friday's first inning, said that the swelling in his finger had decreased and he expected to play on Tuesday. But Braves manager Bobby Cox wasn't able to confidently say his 25-year-old shortstop would be able to return that soon.
"Maybe," Cox said when asked about Tuesday. "He can't even hit right now."
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