Braves' News Tidbits

[General]

Rookie reliever Blaine Boyer had a cortisone shot in his right shoulder before last night's game and is holding out hope that he'll be ready to pitch in the division series.
Boyer left Monday's game against Colorado after grabbing his right biceps. ''I was thankful that the MRI showed that I just had inflammation in the shoulder, not any structural damage,'' Boyer said. ''If I can get it calmed down, I should be OK.''

[General]

Dan Kolb gave up four runs on six hits in the ninth inning last night.
Kolb has been just awful this year, and last night's performance should be the final nail in his coffin, as it appears unlikely the Braves would put him on their playoff roster.

[General]

Chuck James allowed one run in two innings of relief tonight in his major league debut.
He's already proven that he's better than Danny Kolb. James may get one more chance to pitch this weekend, but he won't be on the postseason roster

[General]

With John Smoltz resting, Kyle Davies started for the Braves tonight and yielded five runs -- two earned -- in 5 2/3 innings against the Rockies.
Davies actually departed with a 4-3 lead, but reliever Anthony Lerew gave up a two-run double to Danny Ardoin with two outs in the sixth to give the Rockies a 5-4 lead. Chris James followed by yielding one run in two innings of work, and Danny Kolb then surrendered four runs in the top of the ninth.

[General]

Pete Orr went 3-for-5 as the Braves' leadoff hitter in a 10-5 loss to the Rockies tonight.
The Braves already clinched the division, so they sent out a lineup of Orr, Brian Jordan, Andy Marte, Julio Franco, Branyan Pena, Wilson Betemit, Ryan Langerhans, and Kelly Johnson. It's unlikely any regular will start each of the remaining three games for the Braves.

[ATLien]

Personally, I am shocked Dan Kolb made it this far.

Should have been let go a long time ago.

John S's only bad move in a while.

[General]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to about half the NL writers and it looks like the Braves could pull off a triple crown in the NL regular-season awards.
Bobby Cox is a lock for manager of the year, while Andruw Jones appears to have a nice advantage over Albert Pujols for MVP. Jeff Francouer leads Ryan Howard for rookie of the year, but his lead is too close to call.

[Kingdom]

Really. At this point, you could just reach in a bag and pull out a rookies name for RoY. I would think Pujols is front running for MvP. Cox should win MoY without a doubt.

[ATLien]

Right now, I have to say Howard & Pujols deserve to win their respective awards.

Cox is a toss up. I don't really care about that award, anyways.

[General]

Jorge Sosa is expected to start Game 3 of the NLDS.
John Smoltz and Tim Hudson will pitch the first two games, and how Smoltz's shoulder feels may determine if Atlanta uses a three-man rotation

[General]

Kyle Farnsworth gave up a two-run homer to Lenny Harris last night.
It was the first time Farnsworth has allowed more than one run in an appearance since July 20. "Just rusty," manager Bobby Cox said.

[General]

John Thomson surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings last night in a loss to the Marlins.
Thomson didn't do much to help or hurt his chances of being in the playoff rotation. If the Braves go with four starters, he'll probably be the fourth over Horacio Ramirez. However, they might be able to go with three starters in the first round. Thomson concludes a regular season ruined by a finger injury at 4-6 with a 4.47 ERA.

[General]

Blaine Boyer, who had a cortisone shot in his right shoulder Wednesday, is scheduled to throw on the side Sunday.
How he looks will determine whether he's included on Atlanta's roster for the NLDS

[Kingdom]

For the love of Ron Gant, don't make Thomson the fourth starter.

[General]

I'm hoping we stick with the good ol' 3 man.