Braves' News Tidbits

[General]

Perez to 60-day; spot open on 40-man:

Braves transferred catcher Eddie Perez from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.
This opens up a 40-man roster spot and creates playoff-roster flexibility. Perez might be done because of his sore right shoulder.

[ATLien]

What are the chances Chuck James is on the playoff roster?

[General]

In my opinion? Slim to none.

[General]

So now they tell us:

Rafael Furcal was a late scratch tonight because of his sore knee.
Wilson Betemit is playing shortstop. Furcal is day-to-day.

[General]

Jorge Sosa took the loss against the Nationals tonight after yielding three runs in five innings of work.
He gave up nine hits and one walk while also hitting a batter. Since he put 11 men on base in just five innings of work, he's quite lucky to leave the outing with just the three runs allowed. Although he hasn't been pitching deep into games, Sosa has given up more than three runs in just one of 14 starts this season. He's still worth using against the Reds on Sunday

[General]

Andruw Jones went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and drove in all five Atlanta runs in a win over the Nationals today.
Jones now leads the NL in homers by four (43 to Derrek Lee's 39) and RBI by nine (108 to Albert Pujols' 99)

[General]

Kyle Farnsworth replaced Chris Reitsma in the eighth inning today and stayed in to pitch the ninth for his second save as a Brave.
Reitsma, who started the eighth with the Braves up 5-3, was removed after a walk, an error that put another man on and a strikeout of Preston Wilson. Farnsworth came in and was helped by Brian McCann's pickoff of Jose Guillen at first base, a play on which the first-base umpire blew the call. After getting a free out, Farnsworth got out of the inning and then retired three of the four men he faced in the ninth. He's the favorite for saves in Atlanta right now.

[General]

Rafael Furcal didn't start either game in today's doubleheader after getting his right knee drained yesterday.
Furcal has irritated cartilage, a problem that has bothered him for much of the second half. He remains day-to-day.

[General]

Chipper Jones left tonight's game after three innings due to a stomach virus.
Marcus Giles, who was to have the second game of the doubleheader off, replaced him.

[General]

Julio Franco, who hadn't played since Friday with a sore left elbow, entered tonight's game against the Nationals and went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter.
He should be fine, as an MRI showed no serious damage to the bone or muscle.

[General]

Todd Hollandsworth made his first start for the Braves tonight and went 1-for-3 with a walk.
But he blew it in the seventh when he wandered too far off second after a failed bunt attempt and wound up getting thrown out when he broke for third. Hollandsworth will steal a little playing time from Kelly Johnson and/or Ryan Langerhans, but it won't be enough to give him any value in NL-only leagues.

[General]

Wilson Betemit went 4-for-4 in the second game of today's double-header with the Nationals.
He went 0-for-4 in the first game. Betemit is batting .302 with 20 extra-base hits in 225 at-bats for the Braves this season.

[General]

John Thomson surrendered two runs over six innings against the Nationals tonight but was not involved in the decision as the Braves lost 4-3.
John Foster combined with a Pete Orr fielding error allowed a run to score in the top of the seventh, but the Braves came back and tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth. However, another error, this time by catcher Brian McCann, allowed the Nationals to retake the lead and eventually win the game. Tonight was Thomson's best outing since returning from an injured middle finger. He'll try and continue the trend against the Mets and Nationals again next week.

[General]

Marcus Giles played third base for the first time since 2002 tonight after Chipper Jones left the game with an upset stomach.
A truly baffling decision, as Pete Orr, who has spent time at third this year, was in the game at second. The odd arrangement might have cost the Braves the game. Orr committed an error in the seventh to give the Nationals a run, and Giles was unable to snare Brian McCann's throw to third on Brad Wilkerson's stolen base in the ninth, allowing Wilkerson to come around and score.

[General]

John Smoltz was bothered by a stiff neck during last night's win over the Nationals.Bobby Cox says Smoltz will be able to make his next start. The neck problem, which he has apparently been dealing with for a couple weeks, helps explain his short outing as he lasted just five innings


Hope it's not serious..we need Smoltzie to stay healthy,