Braves News World

Mike Hampton was activated from the 15-day disabled list to make Tuesday’s start against the Nationals. Hampton was 4-1 this year with a sparkling 1.96 ERA before being sidelined with a left forearm strain. Raul Mondesi was designated for assignment to make room for Hampton. Mondesi has played his last game as a Brave and it remains to be seen if another team will take a flyer on him or if his career is over.

The Good: Rafael Furcal is finally getting some good wood on the ball, going 6-for-13 with 4 runs scored in the series, and is doing his best Rickey Henderson impression. After stealing 5 bases in the series, he has 19 stolen bases on the season, which leads the National League and puts him on pace to obliterate his previous high of 40 during his rookie season. … First, there was the release of Tom Martin. Then the removal of Dan Kolb from the closer’s role. Now, Kelly Johnson is in and Raul Mondesi is out as starter in the outfield. All three were pivotal events that were necessary if the Braves are going to have a chace at taking their 14th straight division title. It would have been great if Mondesi’s departure had come sooner but the Braves are still tied for first and there is plenty of time to put some distance between us and the Marlins. Johnson made an impact right away, even if he didn’t get a hit in his first major league game. He scored a run, drove in a run, made a diving catch and threw out a runner at the plate. … Tim Hudson was excellent for the second straight start and is now 6-3 on the season. He gave up six hits in seven innings while walking five batters and allowing two runs.

The Bad: The starting rotation continues to disintegrate. John Smoltz could not retire the first 5 batters and gave up 4 runs in the first inning during Friday night’s loss. He has surrendered 17 hits in 10 2/3 innings during his last 2 starts. After the game Smoltz admitted he’s been affected by a strained muscle in his right side since his May 17th start. Kyle Davies has been a godsend but he’ll inevitably come back down to earth. With Hampton a question mark and Thomson out for months (and the offense still in first gear), the Braves need a healthy and consistent Smoltz to remain in first place. … Mr. Hyde returns: Andruw Jones was 2-for-12 in the series.

The Ugly: Horacio Ramirez was lambasted again. This time he gave up 7 runs on 9 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2. All of that in 3 2/3 innings. Interestingly, only 1 hit was for extra bases (a double). Is Horacio still suffering from the aftereffects of last season’s injury or is the league “figuring him out"? The Braves aren’t hitting the panic button yet and they really don’t have that luxury anyway, considering the state of their starting rotation. Methinks he’ll turn it around in the second half and help the Braves pull away from the rest of the East yet again.

Change is in the air and relief is on the way for Braves fans frustrated by the abominable production of their outfielders this season! Left-handed outfielder Kelly Johnson was called up from Richmond after Saturday night’s game. To make room on the roster for him, the Braves designated pitcher Matt Childers for assignment.

Bobby Cox revealed after Sunday’s game that he plans to start Kelly Johnson in left field on a regular basis. Ryan Langerhans and Brian Jordan will platoon in right field though Jordan will spell Johnson in left on occasion. Kelly Johnson was hitting .310 with eight homers, 22 RBIs and seven stolen bases for Triple-A Richmond before the call-up. He also owned the best on-base percentage in the International League so he should provide a big boost to the top of the Braves order (Chipper was moved to the clean-up spot Sunday to make room for Johnson in the 3rd spot in the batting order).

This likely spells the end of Raul Mondesi’s career as a Brave and likely his career, period. The Braves have given him until Tuesday, the day Mike Hampton is due to be activated from the disabled list, to decide if he wants to accept a reserve role. The Braves are likely hoping he’ll retire so they won’t him all of his salary but it’s more likely he’ll be released.

The Good: SWEEP! The Braves now own the 2nd best home record in the majors (and only 1/2 game worse than the Padres record in that department). Of course, that means they’re an unacceptable 11-14 on the road. … Chalk up another win for the rook! Kyle Davies picked up another win, on 3 days rest no less, and has yet to give up a run since being called up. This time he scattered 5 hits and rung up 6 strikeouts and walked just 1 in 5 1/3 innings. … Tim Hudson was no worse for wear either, mowing down the hapless Mets on short rest. The Mets mustered 6 hits, 2 walks and no runs against Hudson Tuesday night. … Chris Reitsma is back on track, making appearances in all 3 games and allowing no runs in 3 2/3 innings. He finished 2 of the 3 wins and may get most of the saves opportunities for the foreseeable future. … I have to admit Raul Mondesi had a good series, going 4-for-8 in games he started and scoring 4 times.

The Bad: Andruw Jones took 2 steps forward with 7-for-21 with 5 homers in the Padres and Dodgers series. Now he takes 2 steps back the past 2 sets with the Sox and Mets, going a collective 3-for-24 with a solitary RBI. Will the real Andruw please stand up? … From ageless to aging: Julio Franco continued his struggles going 1-for-8 in the series as his average fell to .218.

The Ugly: It’s rapidly becoming apparent that the Braves’ starting pitchers are cursed this year (make that this month!). Kyle Davies survived a close call when he was hit in the ribs by a line drive off Miguel Cairo’s bat in the 6th inning Wednesday night. He was removed from the game after facing another hitter but luckily x-rays were negative.

The Good: Kyle Davies was just what the doctor ordered, no pun intended, for the Braves’ troubled rotation! He held the World Champion Red Sox (doesn’t that sound weird?) scoreless on 4 hits and struck out 6 in 5 innings to get his first major league win. Now he’ll be called upon to pitch on 3 days rest. He seems poised enough to make the transition but the Braves are asking a lot of their young pitchers (Davies, Bernero, Foster) as the challenges mount for the staff. … Other than that, the best news is that this miserable road trip (during which the Braves went 4-8) is finally over!

The Bad: Roman Colon continues to lob cream puffs (must be taking lessons from Kolb) yet continues to somehow remain with the major league club. Colon gave up 4 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings over the weekend. We can only hope he’s optioned (or waived if he’s out of options) to Richmond soon. … Bobby Cox, somewhat surprisingly, used Julio Franco as DH during the series and he produced all of 1 hit in 10 at-bats. He is now batting just .229 on the season. … Adam LaRoche was 0-for-11 during the series. … Tim Hudson surrendered 4 runs, all earned, on 8 hits and recorded 3 strikeouts in Friday night’s loss. He is now 1-4 with a 7.92 ERA at Fenway Park during the regular season.

The Ugly: Apparently, Rafael Furcal is now having an easier time reaching base on errors than by getting hits. He tied a major league record by reaching on errors three times during Saturday night’s game. In the past, he has tied records for most triples in a game (3) and an unassisted triple play. Furcal managed only 1 hit in 12 at-bats during the series and has seend his average plunge from .248 to .212 over the course of this road trip.

The Braves activated Kevin Gryboski from the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Left-handed pitcher Frank Brooks was optioned to AAA Richmond to make room for Gryboski in the bullpen. Brooks appeared in only 1 game with Atlanta, allowing 1 hit in 1/3 of an inning.

Yet another Braves pitcher has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, Mike Hampton. The injury is now considered to be a sprained left forearm. He had a similar injury at the end of postseason last year. However, as soon as the Braves’ season ended he had knee surgery and stopped normal throwing (so we have no idea how serious it might be or how long it might last). The Braves are hoping he’ll only miss 2 starts as he is eligible to come off the DL May 30th (the move is retroactive to May 15th).

Kyle Davies received a call-up from Richmond to take Hampton’s roster spot and start on Saturday. After an impressive debut against the Red Sox, Bobby Cox has called on him to pitch on 3 days rest Wednesday. Tim Hudson, who threw batting practice Friday for the 2nd straight start, will also come back on 3 days rest to start Tuesday. These moves may tide the Braves over until Hampton is eligible to return. If Hampton’s not ready to return at the end of the month a reliever will likely need to be sent down and another starter called up (and then it would be time for Schuerholz.to wake up!).

The injury parade continues for the Braves but this one may be a boon for the team’s offense. Eddie Perez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with tendonitis in his right shoulder. The Braves called up catcher Brayan Pena from Richmond. At the time of his call-up Pena owned a .417 batting average and .465 on-base percentage, best in the International League in both categories. Take your time coming back Eddie… We don’t want you to rush it and make things worse!

Trey Hodges is back in the Braves system. The right-handed pitcher spent all of 2003 with Atlanta and part of last season with Richmond before defecting to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League. The Richmond Braves activated Hodges when Pena was recalled. He started the season in the Twins’ system, Rochester to be exact. He had tallied a 5.63 ERA and no decisions in 17 innings with the Red Wings this year before signing as a minor leage free agent with the Braves.

The Good: Believe it or not, the Braves still have some starters that are not injured. John Smoltz was magnificent again, allowing 1 run on 4 hits in 8 innings (before Kolb botched it again in the ninth). … Andruw Jones is sizzling but one man does not an offense make. Andruw clubbed two home runs in the series and his 11 homers are tied for second-most in the National League. … Wilson Betemit was 5-for-8 in the series.

The Bad: Dan Kolb blew another save (and another of John Smoltz’s wins) and has been appropriately dismissed from closer’s duties. … Horacio Ramirez was lit up for 7 runs in 4 innings Wednesday. … Rafael Furcal continues to ensure the Braves get few rallies going. He was 1-for-12 in the series and is now hitting .222 on the season. Is it time for a sister site to FireDanKolb.com? FireRafaelFurcal.com… … Trust No One. That’s the motto for both The X-Files and the Braves bullpen now. The one reliable Braves reliever, Chris Reitsma, faltered again when he surrendered 3 earned runs in 2/3 of an innings to lose a game. As speculated previously, overuse may be the culprit. … YAI (yet another injury): Chipper Jones missed Tuesday and Wednesday’s games with a left oblique (side muscle) strain.

The Ugly: The “pop” heard round the world… OK, just the diamond. Adam LaRoche heard the pop in the tendon of John Thomson’s finger halfway across the diamond. An MRI has now revealed a “partial tear to the supporting structure of the tendon". It’s now thought Thomson will miss two to three months. Just lovely… Kyle Davies will start Saturday but it’s not known if he’ll become a permanent fixture in the rotation until Thomson is back.

After allowing 2 runs in the ninth inning Tuesday night to blow another John Smoltz win, Dan Kolb has finally been demoted from the closer’s job by Bobby Cox. The Braves will employ a “closer by committee” and move Kolb to middle relief. The committee may include any or all of the following: Chris Reitsma, Adam Bernero, Jorge Sosa and John Foster who has looked sharp since being recalled from Richmond. Kolb has the second-highest walks rate (16 in 16 2/3 innings) and the fourth-highest ERA among NL relievers!

Upon hearing the news, Atlantans apparently staged a parade. Check out this hilarious website: FireDanKolb.com.

When it rains, it pours! On the heels of Mike Hampton’s injury (it now appears he’ll miss at least one start) John Thomson went down Monday with a strained flexor tendon in his right middle finger. He doubled over in pain after throwing a 1-0 fastball to Mark Loretta in the fifth inning of the Braves’ 5-3 loss to the Padres. His finger apparently popped so loud that Adam LaRoche heard it over at first base! It doesn’t look good. He is back in Atlanta being examined by a hand specialist. Hopefully surgery won’t be necessary but I don’t have a good feeling about this one.

Horacio Ramirez seemed ready to step into Thomson’s sizable shoes in the 4th (or even 3rd if Hampton’s injury in serious) spot in the rotation before Wednesday afternoon’s horrendous performance. He had allowed only 2 earned runs in 14 innings in his 2 prior starts so let’s hope this was a fluke!

Matt Childers was called up from Triple-A Richmond to fill Thomson’s roster spot and help the Braves’ beleaguered bullpen. He was 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA in 15 games for Richmond this season. Kyle Davies is likely to be called up to start in place of Hampton.

Also on the injury front: Kevin Gryboski was scheduled to make a rehab start for the Single-A Rome Braves today and is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday, May 22nd.

The Good: It was the Jonestown Massacre in L.A. this weekend! OK. Not quite. But it’s a cool way of saying Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones each homered in each of the Braves’ (modest) victories Saturday and Sunday. Andruw actually tallied 3 home runs in the series and leads the team with 9 on the season. … Starters Tim Hudson (1 earned run in 6 innings pitched, 9 hits and 5 strikeouts, now tied for team lead with 4 wins) and Horacio Ramirez (7 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 innings but got no decision) were effective. … John Foster continues to impress. With Gryboski disabled Foster will be in much more pressure situations.

The Bad: The top of the order continues to sputter. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles were a collective 2-for-24 (.083) with only 2 runs scored in the series (the heart of the order went 14-for-32 for a cool .438 average during the series to compensate; now how about some balance going forward?). … Chris Reitsma gave up a heartbreaking grand slam to Milton Bradley to negate Adam LaRoche’s comeback slam in the top of the eighth Friday. Last season Reitsma wore down towards the end of the season because Bobby Cox used him in 84 games. This spring Cox lamented his folly in overusing Reitsma and vowed he would not do the same this season. Guess what – Reitsma is on pace to appear in 85 games this season! Get the man some relief pitchers or he’s going throw what few decent ones he has until their arms fall off! This issue becomes even more imperative with Gryboski and starters facing injuries. … Brian Jordan was 0-for-the-series in 8 at-bats.

The Ugly: Mike Hampton left his start Saturday in the third inning because of stiffness in his left forearm. That’s just what we need now – some uncertainty in the rotation as well as the bullpen. The Braves anticipate he’ll be able to make his next start. Cross your fingers!

On Tuesday May 10th the Braves placed right-handed reliever Kevin Gryboski on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday May 7th, due to a viral infection. He will be eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday May 22nd. He went back to Atlanta to be examined by a doctor. He had apparently been ill for almost a week before being put on the DL.

Left-handed relief pitcher Frank Brooks was recalled from the Triple-A Richmond Braves to take Gryboski’s spot in the bullpen. This gives the Braves two lefties in the bullpen (Brooks and John Foster) for the first time this season.

The Good: What a game and what a comeback! The Braves pulled one out with some clutch 2-out hitting in the 9th inning and haven’t lost a series in almost a month. That’s the only kind of strikeout Dan Kolb is good for these days. … The Braves had no trouble scoring runs, averaging six per game during the series, but that’s to be expected in Colorado. What wasn’t expected was them scoring all nine of their runs with 2 outs on Tuesday. That is definitely a welcome change. … Ryan Langerhans may have just played his way into the lineup with a two-homer performance in the final game of the series for the second straight series. … John Smoltz, no stranger to being victimized by the bullpen, pitched eight terrific innings (4 runs, 3 earned at Coors) considering his back injury the prior start before Kolb blew his lead again.

The Bad: How high and how low can you go in one inning? We found out during Wednesday’s demoralizing loss. It’s becoming readily apparent we’re going to have our share of letdowns at the end of games this year. It’s still too early to say if we would have been better off with Smoltz closing again and someone like Jose Capellan (he was part of the trade for Kolb) as the fifth starter. If Smoltz continues his dominance and Kolb becomes Mr. Anything-But-Automatic it will be quite a debate. … Tim Hudson was rudely welcomed to Coors Field with 7 Rockies runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings (his shortest stint of the season).

The Ugly: Just losing a series to the Rockies is embarrassing. Colorado has only 9 wins (22 losses) and 2 of those are courtesy of the Braves. This latest debacle must be a wake-up call that the Braves need to start addressing these closer and right-field problems sooner than later. It’s time to stop coasting into the playoffs every year, ignoring glaring weaknesses just because they can (due to the inept NL East), and then wondering why you can’t compete once postseason arrives.

The Good: Where do I start? Ryan Langerhans definitely turned some heads (hopefully one of which belonged to Bobby Cox) with 2 home runs, a double and 6 RBI in Sunday’s 16-0 pummeling of the hapless Astros. As I remarked Thursday, it’s high time Raul Mondesi (currently batting .202! ) rode some pine while we get to see what this kid is made of! … Don’t look now but it appears Andruw Jones may be coming out of his season-long slump. He was 6-for-13 with 5 RBI in this 4-game series. … Mike Hampton sparkled in statistically the best performance of his career (though this year’s Astros aren’t exactly the Bronx Bombers), a complete game two-hitter during which he faced just one more batter than the minimum on Sunday. … Horacio Ramirez shut out the Astros for 7 innings. John Smoltz gutted it out for a win, allowing only 1 run in 5 innings despite a back strain. Not to be left out, John Thomson went the distance Thursday night, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and walking none.

The Bad: Every fan’s favorite whipping boy (and deservedly so), Raul Mendoza , went 2-for-11 in the series. … Despite a homer, the ponch-less Johnny Estrada was 1-for-12 in 3 games and is not batting .226. … Roman Colon gave up another 2 runs in 1 inning. There should be a ticket to Richmond with his name on it.

The Ugly: I must admit I felt sorry for the Astros pitchers. Who knows how many runs the misfits in the outfield cost the Astros (though I, for one, won’t be staying up nights figuring it out).

The Good: Chipper Jones returned to the starting lineup no worse for wear and promptly deposited the first pitch he saw from A.J. Burnett on top of (and over) the right field wall. … Adam LaRoche seems to be coming out of his doldrums with 3 doubles and 3 RBIs on Wednesday. … Tim Hudson was brilliant as usual (no jinx please), scattering 5 hits and 1 run while striking out 5 and walking only 1 in 7 1/3 innings on Tuesday. … Dan Kolb continues on the straight and narrow with another save, though he did veer off for another walk (seven of his first eight pitches were balls in fact) in one inning pitched.

The Bad: Mike Hampton turned in his first non-quality start in 6 outings this season. 5 earned runs in 6 innings. … The bullpen also broke down in that game with Roman Colon (who hadn’t pitched in over a week) gave up 3 earned in an inning’s work. … Adam Bernero was also burned for 2 runs in 1 inning of work. … Marcus Giles was 0-for-8 in the series. … Raul Mondesi was 1-for-4 Tuesday making him 3 for his last 27! It seems every time he’s hitting bad enough for Cox to think about some kind of platoon he hits a home run and all is forgotten; until he goes 2 for his next 20 that is – then the cycle begins again.

The Ugly: It’s hard to believe the Braves are 5 games above .500 (16-11) and essentially tied for 1st place in the division when they are batting .207 with runners in scoring position (worst in the majors) as a team this year. The worst offenders include Andruw Jones (.143, 5-for-35 with RISP), Raul Mondesi (.208, 5-for-24 with RISP) and, surprisingly, Chipper (.211, 4-for-19 with RISP).

The Good: As much as I have lamented the bullpen’s woes early on I must give them kudos for their work this past week. Perhaps they’re turning this ship around. Over the past 7 days, the only Braves reliever to give up an earned run was Dan Kolb (who gave up 2 insignificant runs in the Braves win over the Mets on the 26th). Of course, Kevin Gryboski lucked out on Saturday when Albert Pujols was hit by Jim Edmonds’ single but there’s no denying the relievers’ improvement of late.

The Bad: The bats are still anemic for the most part but solid pitching continues to make up for it. … Rafael Furcal is tied for the league lead in stolen bases. Imagine how many he’d have if he got on base once in a blue moon! … Raul Mondesi hit a walk-off home run on Saturday but was hitless in his other 8 at-bats in the series. … Just when Chipper was ready to start again he was plunked on the foot. Who knows how long he’ll be out of the starting lineup now… To add insult to injury, the umpire didn’t even call it a hit-by-pitch.

The Ugly: Tony LaRussa was quoted by the AP after Saturday’s game as saying:

“Sooner or later, they’re going to beat the umpires down. … They argue everything. They are a class organization, but they fuss and moan about everything. Maybe that’s their strategy, but that’s not to be admired.”

Would you like some cheese with that whine Tony? Lots of weird happenings during the 2nd game… But the Braves have no influence over the umpires (this isn’t Yankees stadium where they have umps on salary) no matter what LaRussa thinks. They make their own decisions, even if they were the wrong ones too often at home plate on Saturday.