Jurrjens Attempts To End Slide

The Braves are on a three-game losing streak and are looking to Jair Jurrjens to help end the road trip on a high note this afternoon against the Nationals.  Jurrjens (3-2, 3.45) has been the most consistent hurler in a rotation that has been severely plagued by injuries already this season.  There’s no reason to doubt why the Braves have high hopes for him in the future of the pitching staff.

The Braves have given the Nationals 4 of their 10 wins thus far this season.  As I said yesterday, they always seem to have our number no matter how each team is doing.  Hopefully today, with Chipper and Yunel settled back into the lineup, we can get the offense going and put some strong numbers on the board.

Hampton….You Know The Rest

Mike Hampton was injured yet again to the point where he might as well legally changed his middle name to “Injury-prone.” Turns out he re-injured the pectoral muscle he injured warming up earlier this year. They had him on a 75 pitch count and Hampton exited his start after throwing just 71 pitches into the fourth inning. He allowed one run on four hits, four strikeouts and two walks before his premature exit. The injury is not believed to be as serious as it was the first time and may only set Hampton back two to three weeks. Of course, with Atlanta’s injury woes at the major league level, that seems like an eternity.

Chuck James replaced Hampton in the fourth inning, leading fans to believe that Jo-Jo Reyes will get the start against the Reds this weekend in place of the fifth starter. Reyes has been spectacular at Richmond, going 1-1 with 1.17 ERA in 23 innings, his most impressive stat might be that he has walked only eight hitters in the 23 innings pitched.

Smoltz Willing To Leave Rotation

John Smoltz is willing to leave the starting rotation and return to the bullpen, the AJC is reporting.

Smoltz, who just went on the DL today with biceps tendinitis, said in a phone interview Tuesday that he was willing to do whatever was necessary to help the team out.

“Right now I’m sitting at ground zero, taking it day by day, looking at every option to help this team get to the playoffs and end my career the way I’d like to end it.”

The rotation would definitely be hurt by the loss of Smoltz, but the bullpen could use his magic closer capabilities right now with Moylan gone for the season and Soriano out for at least a while longer.  Smoltz converted 154 saves in three and a half years as a closer from 2002-2004.

The trick here is that while we want Smoltz dominating for six innings, he may not be able to handle it.  He apparently has aged and his body can’t take the starting job right now.  If he heals up properly and can return to the rotation, he’ll be much appreciated.  But if he can’t start for the Braves, I’d much rather have him in the closing spot than not at all.  His arm is needed whenever he can pitch.

Smoltz promised he won’t rush back and that the Braves would be OK.

“I will be fine. The team will be fine. And the next time I throw will be because I’m ready.”

What do you think?  How is this going to affect the Braves heading into May and beyond?

Nationals Park…..Again….

How is it that, in April, we are already making our third trip to Nationals Park and have only played 4 away games against them so far?  Either way, we’re back in Washington for a two-game series to close out the month against the Nationals.  The Braves are fighting a slew of injuries, but key performers Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar are back in the lineup tonight, which is good to see for all of the fans.

Tom Glavine’s taking the mound for the Braves tonight in his first start off of the disabled list.  Tommy is admittedly rusty after not pitching with his strained hamstring over the past couple of weeks.  Hopefully he still looks good enough to tame Tim Redding tonight.  Redding has more wins personally than the rest of the Nationals’ starting rotation.

I’m hoping for a good two-game series for the Braves, but the Nationals always seem to have our number no matter how well we’re doing.  It’s time to break that streak and get back in the win column.

Smoltz To The DL

John Smoltz was placed on the 15-day DL today after his shoulder was examined and biceps tendinitis was discovered.  Smoltz, who had issues with control and speed in his last start in New York, visited Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, who found a very inflamed biceps tendon and also inflammation in his rotator cuff.

This is Smoltzie’s second trip to the DL this season – and leaves Tim Hudson to ace the staff while Smoltz is recovering.  The Braves hope that a few weeks now will let Smoltz finish out the season strong, assuming the inflammation doesn’t come back.  The problem with that is I’m not 100% confident it’ll go away – it’s been an issue on and off now since the end of last season.

Can the Braves win without Smoltz?  It’s a good question. We need him and Hudson at the top of the pitching staff in order to allow Jurrjens and whatever other starters are healthy to anchor the back end of the rotation.  The good news is that Glavine is ready to pitch tonight and was activated from the DL as Smoltz went down.  Hampton is scheduled to make a start at AAA Richmond tomorrow and may be activated immediately after that if he can stay in one piece.

Not good for the Braves’ starting rotation, which has seen much more turbulence this season that previously expected.  We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

Braves Injury Updates

It has been a tough season on the injury-front for the Braves already this season, especially when we take a look at our pitching staff.  I figured we could use today’s off-day to do a quick review of where we stand with a lot of the injuries that are plaguing the team on both sides of the ball thus far.  We need most (and preferably all) of these guys healthy if we want to have a hope at returning to the playoffs this season:

Chipper Jones – Chipper missed the last two games with spasms in his lower back.  This is a tricky injury that could be gone in a minute or stick around for a couple of weeks.  Chipper’s tough though and if there’s any chance of him playing, he’s not going to miss a game.  He’s still having some trouble rotating his body though, so we may see him miss another game or two.  He should hopefully be back by the time the Braves return to Turner Field this weekend.

Yunel Escobar – Yunel cracked his fingernail trying to lay down a bunt in Friday night’s game and missed the games on Saturday and Sunday as a result.  Bobby Cox said there’s an outside chance that we’ll see Yunel play Tuesday night.  The swelling in his finger is going down but he’s still unable to really grip a bat and I’m sure he’ll be severely crippled by the injury in the field as well.  I look for him to be back in the lineup by the time the Braves head back to Atlanta as well.

John Smoltz – Smoltz has been bothered off and on by soreness between his neck and shoulder.  He was strong in his two previous starts before coming out of the game after only 3 innings yesterday.  In his postgame interviews, Smoltz gave a less than positive impression of how he was feeling, saying that he doesn’t know if this is more than just muscle tightness.  Losing Smoltz would be a huge blow to our already crippled pitching staff, but if a month on the DL would keep him healthier through the rest of the season, it’s for the best.  I’m sure we’ll hear more on this soon as Smoltz may head back to Atlanta for medical evaluation.

Tom Glavine – Glavine’s expected to return from the disabled list to make his start this Tuesday.  Tommy has been out for a couple of weeks after leaving a game in the first inning with tightness in his hamstring.  His stint on the DL has gone smoothly however and the Braves are confident that he’ll be ready to go against the Nationals tomorrow night.

Mike Hampton – How can there be an injury report without a man by the name of Mike Hampton.  Hampton’s still looking to make his first start in the majors since 2005 after a slew of injuries.  The latest was straining a pectoral muscle while warming up for a start at Turner Field earlier this season.  Hampton made a start with AAA Richmond this past week and went three innings.  I’d look for at least one more rehab start in Richmond before he heads back to Atlanta to make another attempt at starting.  He joined up with the team in New York this past weekend however and spent some time playing catch pregame.

Peter Moylan – Losing Moylan for the remainder of the season is a scary prospect, but is highly likely at this point in time.  Moylan is currently on the 15-day disabled list with a bone spur in his elbow that has compromised his UCL.  Later this week, he will be reevaluated to make a determination as to whether or not he will need to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament.  I say that if this is the determination that is made, they shouldn’t waste any time in getting the surgery done to give Moylan as much time to recover as possible.  Tommy John usually requires a year at the minimum for recovery and rehab.

Mike Gonzalez – Gonzalez made an appearance in extended spring training last week throwing 12 pitches.  He still has a ways to go to be ready to pitch in the majors, but hopefully after a month or so more of rehab, we’ll be able to look to him to take a spot in the bullpen.

Rafael Soriano – Soriano’s elbow troubles continue to plague him.  When his stint on the 15-day disabled list was over, he was definitely not ready to come back to pitch.  We need Soriano healthy to take his spot as the closer, especially with Moylan down and out as well.  We’ll have to rely on Acosta for now until we get Soriano back.  Soriano threw a bullpen session last week and experienced some lingering discomfort in the elbow, but will continue to try throwing over the next week.

So there are the current injuries that are hampering the team.  On the offensive side, we desperately need Chipper and Yunel back in the lineup as they are great producers on that side of the ball.  Most of our problems lie in pitching however; 3 of our 5 starters are on this list as well as a number of key bullpen members.  Without pitching, we’re not going to go very far this season.

Smoltz Tries To Snag Series Win

After falling in another one-run loss yesterday to the Mets (12-11), the Braves (12-12) look to John Smoltz (3-1, 0.78) to capture the series win against the division rivals.  Smoltz is hot right now, striking out a total of 20 in his last two outings combined.   He also leads all of MLB with an average of 7.75 strikeouts per game. With the 3000K milestone behind him now, he can just focus on getting the wins.

The Braves are still lacking the offensive and defensive prowess of Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones today, which was visibly a problem in yesterday’s game.  The lineup today as a result is a little strange, with Francouer moving up into the three-spot ahead of Teixeira.  We’ll see how this pans out compared to yesterday’s offense, which struggled to put runs together.

A win today would move the Braves to 4-1 against the Mets this season and back above .500 (and the Mets in the division standings).  Of all pitchers to have on the mound, Smoltz is the one you want to have to close out a rivalry series.  The Mets are bringing Nelson Figueroa(1-1, 4.05) to face Smoltz.  Figueroa has struggled at times this season, giving up 9 earned runs in 20 innings of work.

Braves Look To Stay Perfect Against Mets

The Braves (12-11) are a perfect 3-0 against the Mets (11-11) so far this season and they look to stay on this course today. Tim Hudson (3-1, 2.93) has looked sharp thus far this season as the front end of our great 1-2 punch in the rotation.  Today he’ll face off against John Maine (1-2, 3.57) who has been streaky this season but is very capable of putting together a good outing.

The Braves’ll be missing a few key players today however.  Yunel Escobar is out with his injured hand from a bunt-gone-bad in last night’s game.  He’ll be replaced by Brent Lillibridge who was called up from Richmond last night.  Chipper Jones has also been scratched with back spasms.  He will be replaced by Martin Prado.  These could be key offensive and defensive injuries for the Braves.  We’ll see the effect it has.

The Mets are struggling right now so hopefully we can keep on them.  It’s time for Saturday afternoon baseball!

Hampton Makes Rehab Start

Let me just say before I start that no parts fell off, and preliminary reports are that it went really well.

Mike Hampton made a start at AAA Richmond, and apparently he looked and felt good.  He surrendered only three hits in three scoreless innings – and managed to get off fifty pitches without his arm completely detaching from his shoulder and hurtling towards the plate.  Hampton, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since *checks his history book* 2005, will likely make another rehab start on his way back to the majors.  He’ll be evaluated by the team as he joins them in NY today.

Now, you may find me too negative towards Hampton – and I’m sure he’ll pitch in Atlanta at some point this season – but I can’t find myself counting on him for any number of starts or wins.  I hope against all hope that he’ll be able to start 20 games and will stay healthy the remainder of the season, but it’s a little bit hard to expect that after he randomly injures himself repeatedly.

Mike, get well soon, we’ll see you in Atlanta, and we can’t wait for it.  But please, please, please – have someone else drive you places, have someone else tie your shoelaces, and don’t shave.  It’s just too dangerous.

Young Talents Open Mets Series

Jair Jurrjens (2-2, 3.20) faces off against Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 3.18) tonight in the first game of a three-game series against the division rival Mets.  This is the first trip to Shea Stadium for the Braves this season and they’re looking to get above .500 with a win tonight (11-11 right now).  The Mets are 11-10, half a game ahead of the Braves right now.

The key for the Braves in this series is the offense.  With Jurrjens, Hudson and Smoltz on the mound, we should be able to rely on some solid starts from our pitching staff.  It will come down to the offense getting on the board early and the clutch hits when we have scoring opportunities.  With those, we have a great shot at taking a series win.

Braves Knock Out Fish 7-4

The offense has two positions – on and off.  They tore out of the gate yesterday – scoring five runs in the first inning while batting through the order.  That included a 2 RBI double from Francoeur and a massive fly ball from Chuck James – had he not gotten under it, we would have seen the first hit from a Braves pitcher be a home run.  Chipper added his own touch on his birthday, hitting his seventh bomb of the year in the second.  Francoeur knocked in McCann in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.  McCann had just tripled (with the most awkward slide in history into third) – had everyone laughing.  That’s right, McCann tripled – may be the only time in his career.

James pitched a good five innings of ball – he was solid, but not lights out.  Gave up four runs, struck out three, but walked five.  Campillo and Acosta each pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game out.  Great to see some solid relief out of the bullpen.  James got sent down to Richmond after the game in exchange for a fresh bullpen arm – we’ll find out who today.  Good to see the 7-4 win over the Marlins, who are at the top of the division.

Some great defense in center field yesterday for Gregor Blanco, who started in place of Mark Kotsay.  He had a great catch against the wall and made a second interesting catch going back towards the wall.  He’s fast – there were a couple he got to simply because of his speed.  He ran out a groundball at first base – and beat it out too.  Great to have him in the lineup.

It’s a good thing the offense was firing yesterday – we have to score runs as long as James and Bennett are starting – but can’t we get Smoltzie just a couple runs next time, fellas?

Chuck James Wins….A Trip To Richmond

Chuck James pitched 5 innings tonight against the Marlins, giving up 4 runs and earning his second win of the season.  After the game however, Chuck was optioned back to AAA Richmond.  James was making starts in place of the injured Tom Glavine who is set to come off the disabled list with a strained hamstring this coming Tuesday against the Nationals.  The Braves made the move today instead of on Tuesday to call up a fresh arm for the bullpen to have over the weekend.  This announcement should come sometime tomorrow.

Guesses as to who may be called up are hard to formulate now, but I’d say Jo-Jo Reyes has a chance.  The roster doesn’t have room for more starters right now, but Jo-Jo is having a hot season for Richmond thus far. He has 24 strikeouts and only 6 walks in 21 innings thus far this season.  He’s also sitting with a 0.43 ERA.  It looks like the time spent on his mechanics thus far this season have been a big help for Jo-Jo who walked 11 in 11 innings in spring training.  We’ll let you know as soon as we hear about who’s getting called up.