1. Braves replacing Chipper Jones » The 38 year-old third baseman — the face of the Atlanta Braves throughout his career — has likely played his last game of the season and maybe of his career after tearing his ACL on Wednesday.  With the Braves in first place of the NL East, it’ll be important to find a replacement who can help fend off the Philadelphia Phillies for the division. Enter Omar Infante, utility man who questionably made the All-Star team this season. His .330 batting average and 29 RBI is impressive coming primarily from a backup role. Also expect to see some of Brooks Conrad to help fill the gap at third base. Neither Conrad or Infante provide the power that Jones did, which will be a concern moving forward.

2. The Buck stops here » It didn’t take long for Buck Showalter to energize the players in Baltimore. In his first week as manager, the Orioles won eight of their first nine games and at least slightly resembled the team some prognosticators pegged as a year or two away from building a contender in the AL East. That still seems a ways off, but at least Baltimore has a core group of talented young players already in place at the major league level with the potential to get better quickly. No guarantee that will happen, of course. But even short-term during another lost season it was nice to see Camden Yards show some life thanks to some late-inning wins over the Angels and White Sox.

3. Red Sox bullpen meltdowns » Boston suffered a tough loss on Thursday when closer Jonathan Papelbon was battered by the Blue Jays, en route to a four-run blown save. Papelbon wasn’t even around for the final dagger, giving way to Daniel Bard before Toronto scored the winning run. It was the sixth blown save of the year for Papelbon and he’s had a few beauties in recent years — including a blown two-run lead against the Angels last October that led to a series sweep. But should he lose his job to Bard and his 1.89 ERA? The rope might be getting shorter. Boston more than any other playoff contender can’t afford to let wins slip away while chasing the Yankees and Rays in the American League East.

SERIES TO WATCH
White Sox at Twins, Tuesday-Thursday
Both teams currently sit atop the AL Central mid-way through August. The Twins have gotten the better of the White Sox, beating their division rival eight of 12 times head-to-head this season. After signing an eight-year, $184-million extension with the Twins this offseason, reigning AL MVP Joe Mauer has a measly seven home runs, compared to his 28 from 2009. Mauer’s production will be crucial in competing with the White Sox for the remainder of the season.

By Examiner Staff Writer Brian McNally and Special to the Examiner Nabeel Ahmadieh