Glaus a 'no-go' at third

By Charlie Muff

San Francisco Times-Gazette

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – After approximately two months of riding the pine on the Atlanta Braves bench, it has been confirmed that former World Series MVP Troy Glaus can no longer field the hot corner.

“He just doesn’t have the agility for it,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said. “We’d love to see Troy play in this series, but frankly, his defense at third is a mess.”

Glaus, who hit a scorching .330 in May with six home runs and a frightening 28 RBIs, has experienced an extremely reduced role with the major league organization since hitting the DL just hours after the Bravos traded for veteran first-sacker Derrek Lee in August.

This inactivity is believed to be a result of both the Lee trade and his ineffective play since July. The slugger has hit just .200 with only two home runs since July 1. It was thought at the time of the trade that Glaus could potentially fill in at third base after Chipper Jones’s season-ending ACL tear, but a short stint in the minor leagues and continued fielding practice with the major league club has left the organization without hope of Glaus returning to the position he manned during 12 of his 13 professional seasons.

Wren did not dismiss the possibility of Glaus filling in for Lee at some point during the series.

“Yeah, I guess it’s possible,” Wren said. “Meteor.”

Glaus has taken the news in stride, trying his best to cheer up his fellow teammates in the clubhouse while playing a reduced role with the club. He even sought out Lee to offer him a few pointers.

“Yeah, I was taking fielding practice the other day and Glaus stopped by to give me some pointers,” Lee said of the pep talk. “I reminded him of my three Gold Gloves and told him to sit his [rear-end] on the bench like Bobby told him.”

Bobby Cox had nothing but kind words to say about Glaus despite his lack of effectiveness on the diamond or at the plate.

“Glausy’s just having a rough go of it lately,” Cox said. “All players have rough stretches. Troy will snap out of it eventually. He’ll take it day by day, keep plugging and swinging away.

“What the hell else can he do?”

Cox said Melky Cabrera will bat in the fifth spot in tonight’s match-up against the Giants with righty Matt Cain on the mound.

“Melky’s got his number, I can feel it,” Cox said. “Just when everyone gives up on Melky, he comes through and gets a much-needed hit.”

Cox also noted that Cain’s BABIP is lower than average and that he is not a WINNAR.

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Braves beat writer Craig Dwyer of the Macon Telegraph contributed to this report.