Baseball Guru
06-28-2001, 11:02 PM
Jones Apologizes to Rocker
by PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) -- Chipper Jones, who was called ''white trash'' by former Atlanta Braves teammate John Rocker, said their lingering feud ended Thursday with a 45-minute telephone conversation.
Jones said he called Rocker to apologize for comments made after the controversial reliever was traded to the Cleveland Indians last Friday. According to Jones, Rocker also apologized for criticizing the third baseman in a radio interview on Wednesday.
''We got a lot of things off our chest,'' Jones said before the Braves met the New York Mets in the opener of a four-game series. ''None of us knows what it's like to walk in John's shoes on a daily basis, and none of us ever will.''
Rocker was ticked off that Jones made a ''flippant comment'' about the pitcher's actions during a bench-clearing brawl between the Braves and Toronto Blue Jays two weeks ago. After the trade, Jones also pointed out the impact of Rocker's wildness late in the game, even though the left-hander saved 83 games during his four seasons in Atlanta.
''We held our breath in the ninth inning the last two or three years,'' Jones said. ''That's kind of unnerving.''
Rocker struck back during an interview with WKLS, a rock station that was about the only Atlanta media outlet Rocker would talk to after disparaging gays, immigrants and minorities in an infamous Sports Illustrated article in December 1999. The pitcher served a two-week suspension at the beginning of last season and never regained much respect in the Braves clubhouse.
''Chip's white trash anyway,'' Rocker said. ''He's never had much respect for me, so I don't have much respect for him.''
Egged on by 96-Rock disc jockeys Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler, Rocker said Jones is ''as two-faced as they came. ... I never thought he was my pal.''
Rocker actually broke his silence with New York reporters Tuesday, saying this about his stay in Atlanta: ''Unless you're one of their golden boys like (Greg) Maddux and (John) Smoltz and Chipper or (Tom) Glavine, you know that a series of messups might get you a ticket out of there.''
Jones sought to defuse the situation by making a telephone call to Rocker, whose new team had an off day Thursday.
''I'm sorry about any critical comments I made about John Rocker,'' Jones said. ''I wish him luck with his new team. Hopefully, we can both go about our business and not talk about each other any more.''
While Jones refused to discuss the specifics of the conversation, he did say, ''We both needed to get some things off our chest.''
Jones, whose defensive abilities have been questioned at third base, said he made light of himself during the phone call.
''I told Rocker today, 'Certainly there have been times in the ninth inning when a ball was dribbling down the third-base line and people held their breath,''' Jones said. ''John had certain points in the season when he made everybody a little nervous. But I shouldn't have said that.''
Jones also said his comments were plucked from an interview in which he had many positive things to say about the reliever.
''That was a 10-second blurb out of a 10-minute interview,'' Jones said. ''But they don't show all the good stuff about John Rocker because that doesn't make news. They only show the bad things.
''The media did a good job of getting John and I at each other. There should have been a lot more no comments coming out of this clubhouse.''
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"Man may penetrate the outer reaches of the universe, he may solve the very secret of eternity itself, but for me, the ultimate human experience is to witness the flawless execution of a hit-and-run."
LETS GO METS!!!
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by PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) -- Chipper Jones, who was called ''white trash'' by former Atlanta Braves teammate John Rocker, said their lingering feud ended Thursday with a 45-minute telephone conversation.
Jones said he called Rocker to apologize for comments made after the controversial reliever was traded to the Cleveland Indians last Friday. According to Jones, Rocker also apologized for criticizing the third baseman in a radio interview on Wednesday.
''We got a lot of things off our chest,'' Jones said before the Braves met the New York Mets in the opener of a four-game series. ''None of us knows what it's like to walk in John's shoes on a daily basis, and none of us ever will.''
Rocker was ticked off that Jones made a ''flippant comment'' about the pitcher's actions during a bench-clearing brawl between the Braves and Toronto Blue Jays two weeks ago. After the trade, Jones also pointed out the impact of Rocker's wildness late in the game, even though the left-hander saved 83 games during his four seasons in Atlanta.
''We held our breath in the ninth inning the last two or three years,'' Jones said. ''That's kind of unnerving.''
Rocker struck back during an interview with WKLS, a rock station that was about the only Atlanta media outlet Rocker would talk to after disparaging gays, immigrants and minorities in an infamous Sports Illustrated article in December 1999. The pitcher served a two-week suspension at the beginning of last season and never regained much respect in the Braves clubhouse.
''Chip's white trash anyway,'' Rocker said. ''He's never had much respect for me, so I don't have much respect for him.''
Egged on by 96-Rock disc jockeys Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler, Rocker said Jones is ''as two-faced as they came. ... I never thought he was my pal.''
Rocker actually broke his silence with New York reporters Tuesday, saying this about his stay in Atlanta: ''Unless you're one of their golden boys like (Greg) Maddux and (John) Smoltz and Chipper or (Tom) Glavine, you know that a series of messups might get you a ticket out of there.''
Jones sought to defuse the situation by making a telephone call to Rocker, whose new team had an off day Thursday.
''I'm sorry about any critical comments I made about John Rocker,'' Jones said. ''I wish him luck with his new team. Hopefully, we can both go about our business and not talk about each other any more.''
While Jones refused to discuss the specifics of the conversation, he did say, ''We both needed to get some things off our chest.''
Jones, whose defensive abilities have been questioned at third base, said he made light of himself during the phone call.
''I told Rocker today, 'Certainly there have been times in the ninth inning when a ball was dribbling down the third-base line and people held their breath,''' Jones said. ''John had certain points in the season when he made everybody a little nervous. But I shouldn't have said that.''
Jones also said his comments were plucked from an interview in which he had many positive things to say about the reliever.
''That was a 10-second blurb out of a 10-minute interview,'' Jones said. ''But they don't show all the good stuff about John Rocker because that doesn't make news. They only show the bad things.
''The media did a good job of getting John and I at each other. There should have been a lot more no comments coming out of this clubhouse.''
------------------
"Man may penetrate the outer reaches of the universe, he may solve the very secret of eternity itself, but for me, the ultimate human experience is to witness the flawless execution of a hit-and-run."
LETS GO METS!!!
HELP BE AN ADDICT AND CLICK ON AN AD!!