Braves' News Tidbits

[DravenX]

News from the 7th of September.

Braves activated shortstop Edgar Renteria from the 15-day disabled list.
He's on the roster, but he's not in the starting lineup tonight. Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar will resume platooning at second base once Renteria returns to shortstop.

The Braves will likely limit Edgar Renteria (ankle) to pinch-hitting duties this weekend versus the Nationals.
Yunel Escobar started at shortstop tonight even though Renteria was activated from the DL before the game.

Brian McCann, who was considered day-to-day after suffering a left ankle contusion on Wednesday, was in the starting lineup on Friday.
McCann went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in the contest. He should be fine to leave active.

Chipper Jones went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI as the Braves defeated the Nationals 7-1 on Friday.
Jones doubled and singled in addition to scoring three times in the contest. He now has 24 homers and 85 RBI in 116 games after totaling 26 homers and 86 RBI in 110 games last season. Jones is going to fail to play in 140 games for the fourth year running, but there's still no questioning that his bat is one of the best in the game.

John Smoltz hurled seven no-hit innings against the Nationals on Friday before Ronnie Belliard broke up the streak with a single to start the eighth inning.
Smoltz was immdiately pulled from the game and was later charged with the run after reliever Peter Moylan allowed Belliard to score. The Braves went on to win the game 7-1 anyway, allowing Smoltz to pick up his 13th win. The right-hander also struck out 10 batters in the contest, giving him his third double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Smoltz has 11 quality starts in his last 12 tries and will get the Mets next time out.

[DravenX]

News from the 8th of September.

Brian McCann confirmed Friday that offseason surgery is a possibility to fix the bone spur in his balky left ankle.
McCann occasionally gets sharp pain in his ankle when he stops and starts. The surgery would be a minor procedure and he would be 100 percent in time for spring training.

Ocatvio Dotel (shoulder) had a scheduled bullpen session Friday pushed back a few days.
Dotel threw long-toss rather than the bullpen session. There remains no timetable for his return from the disabled list.

Edgar Renteria is starting at shortstop and batting second Saturday against the Nationals.
24 hours after manager Bobby Cox said he probably wouldn't return to the lineup this weekend. Renteria missed 16 days after aggravating his sprained ankle.

Yunel Escobar homered, singled and scored three runs Saturday against the Nationals.
Escobar got to remain in the lineup tonight against left-hander Matt Chico, but he'll resume sitting against right-handers with Edgar Renteria back. Even if he is hitting .325, he's still no upgrade over Kelly Johnson.

Jeff Francoeur homered and drove in four of the Braves' nine runs Saturday in a rout of the Nationals.
The first RBI came on a bases-loaded walk. He later hit a three-run homer off Matt Chico to blow the game open. Francouer, who is known for swinging at the first pitch as often as anyone outside of Vladimir Guerrero, now has five bases-loaded walks in 43 offical at-bats with the bases loaded. He's always seemed to have a much better approach at the plate when he's up in big situations.

[DravenX]

News from the 9th of September.

Mark Teixeira hit his 11th homer as a Brave on Sunday by taking Nationals reliever Jon Rauch deep for a solo shot.
The move away from the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington figured to hurt Teixeira's productivity, but that hasn't been the case so far. Teixeira hit just 13 homers in 286 at-bats with the Rangers this season, but he's almost reached that mark in less than half as many at-bats. We're still concerned that Teixeira had been significantly better at home than on the road during his time with the Rangers, but it likely won't lead to much of a dropoff in his 2008 forecast.

[DravenX]

News from the 10th of September.

Andruw Jones was scratched from Monday's lineup because of an illness.
Willie Harris is playing center field in his place and hitting eighth against left-hander Oliver Perez.

Chipper Jones was held out of Monday's lineup after straining a muscle on his right side during batting practice.
The Braves had to scratch both Chipper and Andruw Jones (illness) minutes before the start of the series that will determine whether the club has any chance of making the postseason. The Braves are listing both as day-to-day. Martin Prado started in Chipper's place, with Yunel Escobar moving from second to third.

Braves manager Bobby Cox called Chipper Jones doubtful for Tuesday following Monday's game.
Chipper missed tonight's game with what's probably an oblique injury. It sounds like Andruw Jones (illness) has a better chance of returning tomorrow.

[DravenX]

News from the 11th of September.

Chipper Jones is doubtful for the remainder of the series against the Mets due to his strained oblique.
"It could be a couple of days, could be a week," Chipper Jones said. "We're just going to have to take it day-by-day and see how it feels. It was extremely painful when I did it, and it's sore right now." Jones was replaced at third by Yunel Escobar.

Andruw Jones is starting in center field tonight after missing Monday's game with flu-like symptoms.

Braves purchased the contract of catcher Clint Sammons from Double-A Mississippi.
A fourth catcher for Atlanta. Sammons hit .249/.317/.364 between Single-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi. It's unlikely that he'll have a future as a backup.

Mark Teixeira went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer Tuesday in the Braves' 13-5 rout of the Mets.
Since Phildelphia lost, the Mets maintained their six-game lead in the NL East. The Braves are 8 1/2 back, so their only shot of making the playoffs is to win the wild card. Teixeira has 12 homers and 39 RBI in 38 games for Atlanta. Still, he'd do a lot more good if he were able to pitch.

[DravenX]

News from the 13th of September.

Mike Hampton threw off the mound Wednesday for the first time since undergoing surgery last April.
The Braves expect Hampton to be a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for them next season. He will be a free agent after the 2008 season.

Octavio Dotel (shoulder) felt good after a 20-pitch side session Tuesday and he thinks he might be able to pitch in a game by Sunday.
Dotel is eager to pitch again this season after posting a disappointing 8.31 ERA in five appearances for the Braves after they got him from Kansas City in a July 31 trade for Kyle Davies.

Chipper Jones took batting practice Wednesday and thinks his oblique will be healed enough so he can return to the lineup on Friday.
"It feels good [hitting] left-handed," said Jones. "Right-handed it's still a little sore. ..hopefully I'll be ready Friday. I want to play. There's been a lot of improvement, to the point where left-handed it [soreness] is nonexistent. But right-handed I still feel it a little."

[DravenX]

News from the 15th of September.

Chipper Jones, who had been out of the lineup since straining his oblique during batting practice on Monday, returned to action and reached base five times against the Nationals on Friday.
Jones singled twice, doubled once, and drew a pair of walks. Despite playing in just 119 games so far, Jones is only 12 RBI short of his first 100-RBI season since 2003. He's got a shot to get there if his oblique doesn't act up again, and he certainly looked plenty healthy tonight.

Jeff Francoeur drove in the go-ahead run of an 8-5 win over the Nationals with a two-run single in the top of the 13th inning on Friday.
The Braves were down 5-3 entering the eighth inning in this one, but they rallied with a run on a Matt Diaz single in the eighth and then tied the game on a Chipper Jones double in the ninth. The two clubs exchanged three straight scoreless innings before Jesus Colome yielded two singles and a walk Jto set up Francoeur for his go-ahead single. Jose Asciano picked up his first big league win in relief.

[BuckFoston]

Glavine close to re-signing....

The Atlanta Braves offered Tom Glavine a contract Friday, the first attempt to reunite the free-agent left-hander with the franchise he broke into the majors with 20 years ago.

Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, said Friday that Glavine would take less money to join the Braves. Clifton did not reveal terms of the contract. It is believed to be a one-year deal.

"Now, our intention is to prepare a counteroffer that we will give them by tonight," Clifton said.

Clifton was pleased with the first offer from the Braves.

"The proposal was certainly a good starting point, and now we'll be countering back, and we're anxious to see what their response to our proposal is," the agent said.

The Mets are interested in keeping Glavine as part of their rotation but have not offered him a contract. The Mets would likely offer Glavine, who likely will command somewhere between
$8 million and $10 million for the 2008 season, more money than the Braves.

"We've made it clear that we want Tom back," said Braves general manager Frank Wren, reached on his cell phone while attending a high school football game. "We made an offer, and they're in the contemplative stage. We're waiting for their response. They wanted to discuss it over the weekend and get back to us."

The primary reason Glavine wants to return to Atlanta, according to Clifton, is so he can be near his wife and children year-round. They live in Georgia.

ESPN - Reunion? Braves offer free-agent Glavine contract - MLB

[DravenX]

I would love to see this and I'm sure it will happen.

[DravenX]

David Ross suffered a strained right groin during Tuesday's game.
Ross, slated to backup Brian McCann at catcher this season, has hit .175 with three home runs during Grapefruit League play. If he's not ready by Opening Day, Clint Sammons will probably be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Casey Kotchman hit a two-run homer Wednsday in the Braves' 9-3 win over the Tigers.
Kotchman has three homers in 38 at-bats this spring after hitting just two in 152 at-bats following his acquisition from the Angels last season. It's still unclear just where he's going to bat to start the year. He's hit second the last couple of days, but that might just be to get him an extra at-bat after he missed some time with the flu. He could hit as low as eighth if the Braves opt to lead off with their center fielder.

Both Ross & Sammons are alright as a backup. However, at this point I would pick Ross over Sammons. Kotchman is not that a good replacement from Tex but I liked what I've seen from the Angels games I watched. I hope he can rebound from last season.

[DravenX]

In his first appearance since Tommy John surgery, Peter Moylan led the way as the Braves' bullpen imploded Wednesday, giving up four runs without retiring a batter.
He allowed two runs and walked two in an eight-run seventh inning for the Phillies. Eric O'Flaherty, Blaine Boyer and Jorge Campillo were also involved in throwing away the Braves' lead. The plan was certainly to ease Moylan back into action this season, and entering a 10-2 game today seemed to be part of it. Moylan was a valuable fantasy setup man in 2007, but he's clearly not an option in NL-only leagues right now.

We have seen this for the past several seasons. The Braves have a lead and the bullpen comes in to blow it but this is beyond understanding. There are no excuses for this to happen with a 7 run lead (RotoWorld has it 10-2 but it was 10-3). This is just unacceptable.

[General]

Kenshin Kawakami held the Dodgers scoreless over seven innings Saturday to help his Braves grab a 2-1 victory.
Kawakami won a fantastic pitcher's duel against Dodgers youngster Clayton Kershaw. He was left with a no-decision, but the Japanese import allowed just four hits while striking out four batters and lowering his ERA to 4.12. The Braves are 57-54 this season -- 5.5 games behind the Phillies.


F*ck yeah, Kawasaki or whatever the f*ck his name is has a decent outing after that FLA disaster 2 starts ago.

[DravenX]

Hopefully the Braves can pull a sweep over the Nats. That will help greatly.

[ljshorty89]

Hopefully the Braves can pull a sweep over the Nats. That will help greatly.

The Nats are hot though....8 game winning streak.

[bcshorts]

The Nats are hot though....8 game winning streak.

And they own us. We're one of like three teams Manny Acta had a winning record against..