The main flaw from last night’s All-Star game is that Brian McCann only got one at-bat. Let’s be honest: He’s way better than this Yadier Molina character. It’s just that, well, St. Louis fans apparently voted a lot this year because the All-Star game was in their city. So Yadier started, McCann only got one at-bat, and didn’t really get a chance to win the game for the NL. Obviously, it’s Charlie Manuel’s fault.

Our worst fears are confirmed: When the Braves make a run and outright win the NL East this year (and it will happen, mark my words), and when we sweep the Division Championship against the Cubs, and after we win the NL Championship 4-2 against the Phillies, we won’t have home field advantage in the World Series.

What are the ramifications of this, you ask? I’ll tell you:

• If you want to go to all the games, you’ll have to buy 1 (one) additional round trip plane ticket per person, as well as additional away game tickets.
• Charlie Manuel will laugh at us because he’ll think it serves us right for beating them.
• Brian McCann has a brooding hate for all things Phillies. Which is the way it should be.
• The Mets don’t care, because they’re so old they can’t contend.

In an attempt to soften the blow of the Braves not having home field advantage in the World Series and in a futile attempt to change that to “The Phillies won’t have home field advantage in the World Series,” the Phillies have signed the old and decrepid Pedro Martinez. They immediately put him on the DL. And I’m not making that up – that’s just funny.

Oh, and Yunel Escobar is apparently being shopped around. Maybe we can land a big bat after all. Maybe? Please, baseball gods, please?

Chipper has been nursing a bruised left thumb for the entire season that he reaggravated during a home game against the Marlins last Tuesday.  Yunel Escobar, who has missed two games with a strained abdominal muscle, is a game-time decision today.  Hopefully one, or both, of the two can provide a much needed spark for the Braves’ offense today and avoid the sweep by the Pirates.

Javier Vazquez takes the mound for the Braves today with an 0-1 record and 4.50 ERA.  Vazquez has been dominant with the strikeout this season, but still has been giving up some runs.  Zach Duke will be on the hill for the Pirates with a 2-0 record this season and a non-existent 0.59 ERA.  Chipper however, has hit .500 on his career against the left-hander.

Stay with us for ongoing updates throughout the game.

Jorge Campillo is the first of the Braves pitching staff (a pitching staff that is all too familiar with the DL, mind you) to make a trip to the disabled list since the start of the season.  After yesterday’s game against the Marlins, it was announced that Campillo will be placed on the DL with right shoulder fatigue.  He has complained of having a “dead arm” since pitching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic and playing winter ball.  The outlook for Campillo is a little vague right now and he will be evaluated over the next couple of days.  James Parr will be called up from Gwinnett to replace Campillo on the roster.

Yunel Escobar came up lame in yesterday’s game while running out a grounder to first base.  The injury however, a strained abdominal muscle, happened while he was warming up in the on-deck circle.  Braves fans are accustomed to seeing Yunel jumping up and down in the on-deck circle before heading to the plate, which apparently was the cause of the injury.  I’m sure he won’t stop doing it however.  The Braves think it may be three or four games before Yunel is back in the lineup, despite Escobar’s confidence that he could play tonight against Pittsburgh.

Chipper Jones continues to battle the bruised left thumb that has kept him out of the last two games.  He reaggravated the injury while getting jammed against the Marlins on Tuesday.  He is expected to miss tonight’s game against the Pirates, but could be back in the lineup Saturday.  The thumb only bothers him on his left-handed swing.  His play on Sunday will be dependent on how he feels as the Pirates will be sending right-handed Zach Duke to the mound.

David Ross was activated from the disabled list before yesterday’s game and took the start in place of Brian McCann behind the plate.  Don’t worry though, Braves fans, it was just a regularly scheduled off-day for Mac.  Clint Sammons was optioned to AAA to make room on the roster for Ross.  He had been on the DL since straining a groin muscle in a March 31st preseason game.  Ross gives the Braves a little bit of power in the backup catcher role and he should be a good fill-in for the days when McCann needs to be rested.

So the left side of the infield is a little battered and bruised aready, with Chipper and Yunel both missing time, but the Braves aren’t expected to call up another infielder. Infante and Prado are quite capable and handling the load and we should see the starters back in the lineup soon.  Let’s just hope this is nothing serious for Campillo and that he recovers quickly.  I don’t want the pitching staff to start getting too familiar with being injured yet again.

What does Escobar do in 2009? I think he bats second. We’ll throw Josh Anderson / Gregor Blanco in the leadoff slot and let Escobar hit second. Chipper is third, and it’ll go on from there. Escobar’s average jumped up .40 points batting third last year, but that’s Chipper’s spot as long as he wants it. Escobar will continue to mature as a player and hopefully we’ll see an improvement over last year – which wasn’t really a sophomore slump – but it wasn’t as phenomenal as his first year. Bobby Cox deemed Escobar a future all-star last offseason, and we hope he turns into that player in the coming couple of years.

So now the time comes to pull numbers out of my keister. Once again, don’t bet on this. I’m not qualified to be doing this, but neither is anybody else. My prediction for Yunel Escobar in 2009 is as follows:

.298 BA, 16 HRs, 73 RBIs, 55 strikeouts, 65 walks, 30 doubles, and… oh I dunno, 80 runs scored.

Go ahead, tell me how you disagree. Then pull numbers out of thin air and we’ll argue. I’m looking forward to see Escobar this coming year – I hope to see him improve as he matures. Give him another few years and we’ll see the All Star player we hope to see.

Option 1

We have the most awesome double-play combo in the history of baseball. Watching Furcal and Yunel up the middle will be wicked-sick. Imagine the range and speed you’ll see displayed this season. That’d be ridiculous-awesome. Don’t know where Kelly Johnson would go, though.

Option 2

Yunel Escobar is now trade bait. He was the cornerstone of the Jake Peavy discussions and could potentially be used if the Braves made another offer to the Padres for Peavy. Furcal would play up the middle with Kelly Johnson, and maybe we’d see a pitcher come to Atlanta via trade. Escobar has quite a future in front of him, and many teams would love to see him on their roster.

Either way, I’m not sure how I feel about Furcal signing. If we’d already traded Escobar for someone else, I’d feel a lot better, but it feels like we’re signing Furcal with nowhere to put him. I’m sure Frank Wren and his genius staff have a plan, so I can trust them on this, but I want to know what they’re going to do to make our pitching staff not suck. This sure doesn’t fill the role of the power bat we need either.

What do you think? What are your thoughts?

“The Jake Peavy sweepstakes will proceed concurrently with the World Series, and the expectation of major league executives polled over the past two days is that the Braves are going to end up with the Padre right-hander… The Braves…have the base from which to make a deal and a history of packaging youngsters to get veterans they crave such as Mark Teixeira and Tim Hudson. They also are willing to move quickly, as exhibited by the Oct. 29 deal made last year in which they obtained Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez from Detroit for Edgar Renteria, the first major trade of the past offseason. And the Braves appear more motivated than the Cardinals, Cubs or Dodgers to jump out for Peavy.”

That’s what I like to hear. Only question now is how many prospects we have to get rid of to land Peavy for four years.  Yunel Escobar or Kelly Johnson (or both) will likely have to go.  Other names mentioned include Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, possibly Tommy Hanson, and even Jordan Schafer.  Who knows what the Braves will be willing to part with, but there are hints they are going to try and keep the carnage as insignificant as possible.  The bottom line with any of the pitching prospects is that we hope they turn into someone like Peavy, and getting Peavy for four years is a pretty good return on a prospect that may not be that good for that long.

Chipper Jones has described Peavy as the “perfect fit” according to the AJC, and also would love to see the Braves go after A.J. Burnet, who will be a free agent.

How you like us now, NL East?

Smoltz, Soriano, Gonzalez – Bobby Cox believes that all three of these guys could be off the disabled list and in the bullpen in the next two weeks.  Smoltz has been rather quiet about the condition of his shoulder.  Soriano has made the first of two planned rehab assignments in AA Mississippi.  Gonzalez has been throwing in extended spring training and is expected to be evaluated in Atlanta next week in preparation for rehab assignments.  These three will change the face of our bullpen a lot; the question at this point is, who will be moved to make room on the roster?

Yunel Escobar – Yunel missed last night’s game against the Mets after a collision with Ryan Church on the last out of the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.  Escobar still has some pain and swelling below his knee and is questionable for tonight’s game.  He’s currently planning on being back for the wrap-around series against the Diamondbacks this weekend.

Chipper Jones – After taking a pitch of the shin in last night’s game, Chipper is experiencing a bit of soreness but says that it feels a lot better today than it did as he left the game yesterday, hardly able to put any weight on it.  He’s questionable tonight, but we need him in the game.  We all know how the offense performs when he’s out of the lineup.  Losing Chipper and Escobar against the Mets seems common this season.

Turner Field Death – As we talked about through the night, Justin Hayes has died from the injuries suffered in his 150-foot fall from the stairwell in Turner Field last night.  As part of the Braves community, we are saddened by this news and offer our condolences to his family and friends.  This is the first non-medical death at Turner Field since it was constructed for the 1996 Olympic Games.

Hank Aaron Is Awesome -  Just to reiterate the fact that I think Hank Aaron is one of the greatest baseball players ever, I’ve decided to close this article with a recent Aaron quote.  “But seriously, I think Bonds has done wonderfully. I think he had a marvelous career. I had it for a long time. Seven-fifty-five was there for a long time.” Hank went on to say what we all already know is true, “I still consider myself the home-run king”.

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.

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.

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!

At this point, one has to ask – will the Braves ever win a one-run game?  After the loss to the Marlins, the Braves are 0-7 in one-run games.  That’s right, 7 out of our 9 losses were lost by one run.

Tim Hudson, normally the stopper when we’re on a losing streak, did not look good after giving up four runs in just three innings of work.  His fastball was topping out just over 85 mph, and his control was not there.  Cox pulled him after just three innings because, “His arm was kind of dead.”

The Braves plated a run in the first, and then Yunel Escobar hit a two run home run in the fifth inning to bring the game to 4-3, but even a two-run rally in the eighth couldn’t help the Braves get out of the hole they dug early.  On the bright side, Jorge Campillo pitched three hitless innings and he’s looking good.  Not a bad guy to have in the ‘pen – and if he can keep it up, he’ll be one of the go-to long relievers.

Of course the worst part of all this is the loss.  The Braves are now 5-9 and in fourth place in the NL East.  They’re 0-7 in one-run games.  And something has to turn around soon.

It’ll happen, but one has to wonder how long we wait before the Braves look the way they should in our minds.

I was really impressed by Jurrjens.  In the post-game interview, he kept beating himself up for the one walk.  He didn’t seem happy or self-absorbed with the win or the five strikeouts.  He didn’t mention the nasty changeup he throws without hesitation.  He was upset with himself for the one walk and kept saying how he needs to limit the walks this season.  Jurrjens didn’t even get in trouble until the sixth inning.  And his fastball was around 93-94 all night long.

The bats weren’t silent either.  Martin Prado started the evening at second in place of the injured Kelly Johnson (knee, day-to-day), and kicked the game off with a triple.  Chipper knocked him in.  Prado would go on to reach base 3 out of 5 times to the plate, scoring each of those times.  Matt Diaz added a homer in the fourth.

Going into the 8th, the Braves led 3-2, before the floodgates opened.  Both Yunel Escobar and Mark Teixeira broke out the long ball – Tex launching a two-run homer and Yunel going yard to put a three spot on the board.  Add a few singles here and there, and the Braves ended up putting seven runs on the board in the eighth.  Will Ohman came in and closed out the game in the ninth.

Great to see the Braves get their first win on the board – especially with the offense really clicking in the eighth.  Jurrjens is going to be something special.  He’s soft-spoken and modest, and has nasty stuff to back it up.  He is willing to learn from the older guys and will really benefit from that throughout the season.  Hopefully we’ll continue to have Teixeira break out the bat, as he had a slow spring.  Also good to see our bullpen pitch 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.  We’ll take that.

Braves are 1-2 and showing signs of life.  Hampton on the mound tomorrow for Atlanta.  Here’s praying he can stay alive through it.

What did I love about last night?

The feeling of walking up into Monument Grove at 4:30, hours before the game started and seeing the crowd of Braves fan. Looking at those statues of Aaron, Spahn, and Niekro…it felt like…history.  Looking at the Phil Niekro statue. Knowing that, like his fellow Grove-mate, Warren Spahn, he’s not going to be with us forever.

The smell of the ballpark food.

Batting practice. Where any slob (myself included) can, for a moment, be a big league outfielder.

The Braves showing the ultimate salute to one of their own. Asking Javy Lopez to throw out the first pitch. You gave us your best years, Javy. And, most recently, you gave us everything you had. Yeah, it wasn’t enough, but we love you for the effort.

And catching Javy’s pitch? In a beautiful and timeless role-reversal: One John Smoltz.

Tom Glavine. Not only was he wholeheartedly cheered when announced in the roster, but at his first pitch, the stadium stood and screamed encouragement and approval.

But how about the game itself?

A couple observations:

When your two best hitters (Chipper and Tex) go 2 for 12, everybody else has to contribute. Do we have depth and not just a couple of super-stars? That’s where you see if all the time that Frank Wren spent roster-planning worked. So, despite the whole 2 for 12 from Chipper and Tex, if the team still scores 11 runs, you are doing something right.

And if you were a Braves reliever who *didn’t* get to pitch last night, you really must feel dejected. Partly because the bullpen was flat, partly because Bobby Cox kept trying to inject some offensive pop with designated hitters, the Braves used every card-carrying member of the relief corps.

We were running through relievers the way Elizabeth Taylor used to run through husbands. (Really sorry if I lost you on that little hyperbole.) By the end of the 12^th inning, I was expecting to see Jeff Francoeur on the mound.

Dude, I’m serious. Who made rubber appearances?

After Tommy Glavine took us through a very respectable 5 innings with just two earned runs, we begin our relief journey with Chris Resop. Join me , won’t you?

You don’t want Resop? Ok, here’s Will Ohman.
You don’t want Ohman? Ok, here’s Peter Moylan.
You don’t want Moylan? Ok, here’s Royce Ring.
You don’t want Ring? Ok, here’s Manny Acosta.
You don’t want Manny to give up a third home run? Ok, here’s Jeff Bennett.
You don’t want Bennett? Ok, here’s Soriano.
Tired of him? Ok, here’s Blaine Boyer. (Throwing 97 MPH, I might add)

Yes, it’s still early in the season to make too many judgments.
Yes, the team is still getting its legs underneath it.
Yes, we had three throwing errors.

But, based on one game, we also had two huge nagging questions answered.

1)  Escobar can handle himself. Mi ese Cubano (See? I am so groovy and cosmopolitan that I just called him “My Cuban Brother”-which I will henceforth declare him to be. I’m not Latino, even on my best days, but that’s just how I roll, amigo.) made six plate appearances and got on base five times. That included a triple, two singles, and 2 walks. Is it me, or is Mi ese Cubano showing some hardcore plate discipline?
2)  What’d you say? KotSAY. Dude is a stud. A single, a double and a walk doesn’t begin to tell the story. Given that he was the offensive catalyst for both late inning (game-tied) rallies, the fact that he recorded an assist by throwing out a runner at home, and the fact that he waived off an eager (and semi-inexperienced) Escobar from a crucial fly-ball and potential collision, I am thrilled to see this guy here. Andruw who? (I know, I know, that isn’t fair.)

In closing, do you know what the best part of last night was?  Knowing that, despite scandals, wars, crime, greed, White House turn-over, and Old Yeller dying (hey, tell me you didn’t cry and I’ll call you a cold-hearted hoser), the game of baseball continues to reflect the best, and at times, the worst, of America.

Despite personal and national disappointments, the death of dreams, and human beings constantly letting you down, Opening Day still whispers hope. A hope that your team has a chance. That it’s your cheering that will be the spark plug that the batter needs to put him over the edge and extend that long-fly ball into a home run. That the collective will of tens of thousands of maddened fans can, by their very passion, turns the poor fortunes of a game into an indescribably adrenaline-laced rally-that you are part of.

So, yeah, welcome to 2008, Braves fans.

I’ll be the one with the Braves cap on.

Smitty

Jair Jurrjens got the start, giving up two runs in over three innings of work.  However, one of those runs should be charged to Boyer, who did not look good at all in the fourth after he came in.  Some other quick observations:

• Yunel made some great plays defensively, including a nice leaping catch.  I’m excited to see him play a full season.
• Kotsay made a diving grab in the outfield that scared me a little bit – he seemed to catch his arm a little bit but he came up fine.
• I was impressed by Kotsay on the basepaths.  He stayed alert and stole second when the catcher simply dropped the ball.  Caught everyone off guard.  It resulted in Atlanta’s only run of the day.
• We had a “Andruw would have gotten that” moment tonight – but it was later in the game and I think Gregor Blanco was in center, not Kotsay.  So we won’t pop that counter yet.  At least not until the regular season.
• Chipper still won’t run out infield ground balls.
• Fernando Nunez looked good today.  Never heard of him before today, but he looked good.
• Acosta looks good – he’ll be an important part of our bullpen this season.
• The Kelly Johnson / Yunel Escobar double play duo this season will be fun to watch.  They’re getting in the groove and should be really smooth here soon.

Next up, Hampton starts against the Indians at 1:10 tomorrow.  The Braves will have their 25-man roster done tomorrow at some point too.  They have to have it set before Sunday’s game against the Nationals.

Getting back to the team at hand though, the Braves should have little to worry about offensively from their starting nine. Yunel Escobar is hitting a cool .400 this spring after last year’s .326 (319 ABs); more importantly for Escobar, he slugged .557, second only to Chippers’ .658. Of course, this is spring training we’re talking about and stats don’t translate to the regular season, but Escobar’s work ethic and hitting discipline has never been questioned since he was drafted by the Braves.

Other surprises included included Martin Prado (.318 in 66 ABs, most on the team) and Gregor Blanco (.400 in 35 ABs), both of whom have a chance to make the team. Prado more than Blanco, but at this point I think Bobby’s seen enough from Anderson and Blanco offensively to make the decision based on defense and whether they will be proficient in all three outfield spots.

As far as the rest of the cast goes, Francoeur is projected to have a breakout year by many “experts” and fantasy gurus. McCann is healthy again and could potentially put up the numbers he put up in 2006. Teixeira hit just .188 but, again, this is Spring and isn’t really a preview of things to come. He’s been warming up as of late, anyways. Most of the players seem to be getting into form quickly, but to be successful this year, the Braves need to do better against left-handed starters. The team should have little problems manufacturing runs and may even be better with Tex in there from the get-go.

The rest of the Braves’ infield got a piece of the action as well – Escobar and Timmons knocked in a run each, McCann got his RBI, Lillibridge knocked in two, and Prado added three.  Lillibridge and Prado are making the last bit of spring interesting as they battle for the backup infield slot.  If I had to guess, I’d say Prado has the upper hand because Lillibridge would benefit from playing full-time in Richmond.  Either he or Yunel is going to become trade bait before too long.

Will Ohman got the win, despite giving up the Nationals’ only two runs in his inning of work, in which he gave up three hits.  Soriano, Moylan, Acosta, and Ridgway all added a scoreless inning of their own on the mound, though they each walked one and struck out nobody.

Good to see the Braves’ offense moving heading into the season.  I’m glad Tex had a big day – he’s had a slow start and I for one want him to have the biggest contract year anyone’s ever had.  And then I want to re-sign him.

Tom Glavine pitched five innings today, allowing two runs and six hits – he looked good.  Jeff Bennett also pitched two innings and looked great – he only allowed one hit and kept his balls down for lots of ground outs.  Solid pitching from the Braves today.

Yunel Escobar is still swinging a ridiculously hot bat – hitting a two-run homer today and  going 1-3 on the day.  He’s on fire.  Chipper Jones added his first homer of the spring for the Braves’ third run of the day.

Next up we have Mike Hampton going back to the mound.  Since Hampton has been more fragile than John McNamara’s temper lately, we’ll hope he can keep any pieces from falling off when he’s pitching against the Cards tomorrow.

He’s young, he’s moved through the minor league system very quickly (he was drafted in 2005), and now he has a starting job at the major league level. His manager and batting coach, both legendary baseball figures who have seen their fair share of players, praise his maturity and ability. Cox said “For me, he could make the All-Star team.” His teammates have taken notice too. McCann said “Escobar is one of the best players I have ever seen. What he did last year was phenomenal. That wasnt a fluke. He’s the real deal.” Chipper even chimed in with “I’m not worried about him at all… At all.”

So he’s got the hype and he’s got big shoes to fill. And Teixeira knows he has an arm that can burn holes in leather after this week. But what will he do in 2008?

Yunel is a great hitter. He hit his first home run of the season – a grand slam – Friday. He’s has good bat control and hit .326 in 319 at-bats last year.  This spring he’s hitting .485 – that’s 16 hits in 33 at-bats.  That’s three doubles and ten RBIs.  He is a hitter – even though he’s not a slugger – and is definitely capable of holding down the top of the batting order if necessary.

Defensively he’s got range – just how much we’ll see this year.  I’m no expert on range at short stop, but everything I’ve heard from the announcers and other analysts is positive so far.  His arm is very strong – possibly as strong as Rafael Furcal’s was – that’s to be seen after we see him throw from deep short a few times.  He sure can muscle it over to first when turning double plays.  Mark Teixeira joked that Yunel may break Tex’s hand before the end of the season with his throws.  Please, Yunel, take a little off.  We don’t need Tex with a broken hand.

I think that Yunel is going to fill in nicely for Renteria.  If I had to guess (and I do), I’d say this is the most seamless transition between a veteran and a rookie since we saw some young whippersnapper by the name of Larry “Chipper” Jones take over for Terry Pendleton in the 1995 season.  Chipper picked up right where TP left off, and I think Escobar can do the same for Renteria.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The Braves got on the board early and strongly in the game.  With two outs and the bases loaded in the 2nd inning, Yunel Escobar continued his hot-hitting preseason with a grand slam, his first home run of the preseason.  Scott Thorman added a 3-run home run of his own in the third inning to top off the Braves scoring for the day.  Neither team touched the scoreboard after the 3rd inning.

Some quick notes from the game:  Escobar is now batting .516 on the preseason (16-31).  Brent Lillibridge was hit by two pitches.  Brandon Jones added 2 RBIs to his preseason total with a 2nd inning single.

The Braves face off with the Astros and the Rays in a split-squad pair tomorrow.  John Smoltz will make his preseason debut for the Braves in the home matchup against the Rays and is expected to pitch 5 innings.  Closer Rafael Soriano will make his first preseason as well against the Rays.  Jair Jurrjens will start the road game versus the Astros.

Backing up Hudson, Peter Moylan pitched an inning to test out his elbow soreness – and did a great job, striking out one in a perfect inning.  Manny Acosta closed the game out with a scoreless inning, and Chris Resop contributed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, giving up two hits.

We’ll continue our Yunel Escobar soapbox by mentioning his 1-3 effort with one run scored.  That leaves him at a petty .520 batting average this preseason.  Another one of our favorite infield prospects, Brent Lillibridge, continued to impress with  one hit and an RBI after taking over for Chipper at third base.  If you don’t know about Lillibridge, look him up.  He came to Atlanta, along with Mike Gonzalez, from the Pirates in exchange for Adam LaRoche, and he’s a good prospect at that.

Next up is the Cardinals again – with Jair Jurrjens hoping to continue his very impressive start.  We’ll keep a close eye on the game and keep you updated.