Braves' News Tidbits

[General]

What if whoever Bobby picks starts to struggle and then they go to the other guy...I think we should stick with this until someone pulls away with the role. Right now, Farnsworth and Reitsma are on even ground.

[Providence A's]

dude, there's always "what if"..."what if" one of them did well and the Braves went on to win it all and made Russians all over the world proud...

From sportsline:

SS Rafael Furcal's brilliant performance since late June has increased the likelihood that he'll be deemed unaffordable by Braves officials this winter when he's eligible for free agency, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

[General]

I said that before the season started. Sadly, Furcal will most likely not be in a Braves uniform next season.

[General]

Rafael Furcal was out of the lineup yesterday with a sore knee.
Furcal said he hopes to play this weekend and the Braves don't think the injury is serious. ''We'll see -- I've got a lot of pain in there,'' Furcal said.

[General]

Mike Hampton, who was placed on the DL after Tuesday's game, has been told to rest three to five days after an MRI showed he has a herniated disc.
Hampton was given an epidural injection. He still figures to attempt a return in a couple of weeks, but the Braves have to be wondering whether they'll get anything more from him this year

[General]

John Smoltz won by surrendering four runs in seven innings tonight aganist the Brewers.
Smoltz gave up just three hits, but two of them were two-run homers from Geoff Jenkins and Bill Hall. Smoltz struck out eight and improved to 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA.

[General]

Marcus Giles had three hits, including his 38th and 39th doubles, tonight in an 8-4 victory over the Brewers.
The Braves managed 17 hits, all but three of them singles. Jeff Francoeur, who along with Giles and Chipper Jones had three hits, picked up the other double. Giles ranks third in the majors behind Derrek Lee and Miguel Tejeda with his 39 doubles

[General]

Rafael Furcal rejoined the starting lineup tonight and went 2-for-5 with a walk.
Furcal didn't start Friday so that he could rest a sore knee.

[General]

Kyle Farnsworth pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning Saturday against Philadelphia in a non-save situation.
In his past 42 appearances for Detroit and Atlanta, Farnsworth has a 1.41 ERA and has converted all eight save chances. Former closer Chris Reitsma hasn't appeared in a save situation since blowing three straight.

[General]

Andruw Jones blasted two home runs and drove in four against Brewers starter Chris Capuano today.
The Braves had just two other hits and scored just one other run, so Jones once again lead the team today. If he keeps hitting in September he'll get serious consideration for the NL MVP award despite the usual big year from Albert Pujols and Derrek Lee's triple crown chase


Rotoworld, I hope you're right.

[General]

Tim Hudson threw a complete game against the Brewers today, allowing two runs on seven hits and picking up the victory in the process.
He didn't walk a batter and struck out four. The two runs scored on solo homers by Brady Clark and Chad Moeller. Hudson threw his first complete game of the season in his last outing, but he needed just 108 pitches to finish the game today so there's no real reason for concern

[General]

Brian Jordan expects to retire this winter because of chronic soreness in his left knee.
Jordan will be activated from the disabled list Thursday when rosters are expanded. ''If it gets down to crunch time, I'm going to be chomping on pain pills and going after it,'' said Jordan. When he is activated, he'll be used mainly as a pinch-hitter and get some starts against left-handers


Good! Retire now!

[General]

Julio Franco has a sore left elbow that he'll have X-rayed today.
''It hurts a lot,'' said Franco. If he's unable to go, Adam LaRoche could be in store for increased playing time.

He's valuable to us off the bench...hope he's alright.

[General]

An MRI exam on Monday showed no bone or muscular damage in Julio Franco's sore left elbow. He was given a cortisone shot.
If his elbow reacts well, he could rejoin the starting lineup later this week


That's really good news for us, as Franco is a valuable asset off the bench and against LHPs.

[General]

Mike Hampton (back) is not giving up on this season, although he says he doesn't want to hurt the team.
''I'm not going to go out there and do something that hurts this team's chances to win a World Series,'' Hampton said. ''It's not fair to myself or this team for me to come back for selfish reasons. If I feel I can be an asset, then I'll definitely pitch again.'' It's about 50-50 as to whether or not he pitches again this season, but is scheduled to play catch today.

Well, we don't need him as we did when he first went down..but it would still be nice to have him.