Braves' News Tidbits

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Yeah two straight games with 2 homers. He will be worth it if he can keep his bat alive.

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News from the 22nd of August.

Edgar Renteria (sprained ankle) impressed manager Bobby Cox during running drills Tuesday and will return from the disabled list and start on Wednesday.
"The last few days he's really come on strong," Cox said. "Sunday in Atlanta he was running and cutting in the outfield, and he was very tentative about doing that. But once he got here, he was better." Martin Prado will be sent to Triple-A Richmond to make room for Renteria on the roster.

Braves optioned infielder Martin Prado to Triple-A Richmond.
Prado was 7-for-15 with three doubles while Edgar Renteria was out, but the Braves didn't want to cut Chris Woodward just so they wouldn't have to go without Prado for 10 days. Prado will be recalled when rosters expand.

Braves activated shortstop Edgar Renteria from the 15-day disabled list.
Renteria is back batting second for the Braves tonight. As a result, Kelly Johnson has been dropped to the eighth spot in the lineup.

Edgar Renteria aggravated his injured ankle in his first at-bat Wednesday in his return from the disabled list and had to leave the game against the Reds.
He didn't even get a chance to put a ball in play before being replaced by Yunel Escobar during his at-bat. It looked like enough of a setback to perhaps put him back on the disabled list. Escobar will keep filling in for him.

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News from the 23rd of August.

Braves recalled infielder Martin Prado from Triple-A Richmond.
Prado was just sent down Wednesday to make room for Edgar Renteria on the roster. He'll play second base against some lefties while Renteria is out.

Braves placed shortstop Edgar Renteria on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained ankle.
Here we go again. Renteria will miss at least another two weeks after aggravating his ankle in his first at-bat in his return Wednesday. Yunel Escobar is going to fill in at shortstop.

The Braves lost even though Chipper Jones had a three-run homer and a pair of RBI doubles Thursday against the Reds.
Chipper has had five games of at least four RBI over the last two months. He's back in second place in the NL with a 1018 OPS. Only Barry Bonds has been better, according to that measure.

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News from the 24th of August.

Octavio Dotel, who was eligible to come off the disabled Thursday, will have his first bullpen session since injuring his shoulder on Friday.
Dotel has thrown long toss the past three days, but will have his first real test on Friday. The Braves will have a much better idea when he might return after Friday's side session.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves have designated closer Bob Wickman for assignment.
This is quite a surprise, but if the Braves don't think Wickman is good enough to close any longer, it's likely the right move. It's doubtful he'd be of use in any other role. The Braves will likely go to a closer-by-committee for now, with Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan becoming the favorite for saves. Octavio Dotel, who is out with a shoulder strain, could take over as the primary closer next month.

Braves optioned infielder Martin Prado to Triple-A Richmond.
Three transactions in two days for Prado, who was demoted to make room for Edgar Renteria on Wednesday, recalled in place of Renteria on Thursday and now demoted again because of the need for fresh arms.

Braves recalled RHP Joey Devine from Triple-A Richmond.
Devine has given up one run in four innings this season. He deserves an extended look this time.

Braves recalled RHP Jose Ascanio from Double-A Mississippi.
Ascanio has yielded three runs -- one earned -- in seven innings for the Braves this season. He'll work in middle relief.

Braves designated RHP Bob Wickman for assignment.
Wickman gets the heave ho after apparently expressing his displeasure about being brought into a tie game on Thursday. Wickman gave up a walkoff homer in the 12th inning, leaving him with a 3.92 ERA in 43 2/3 innings this season. He was 20-for-26 in save opportunities. Braves manager Bobby Cox confirmed that he'd use a closer-by-committee to replace Wickman. He indicated that Rafael Soriano was the leading candidate to pitch the ninth tonight, but he also said that "anybody out there would be a possibility." Soriano is the best option for a pickup in mixed leagues.

Wickman can take his cheeseburger eating fat ass elsewhere. He wasn't doing his job and he wants to complain coming into a tie game. He shouldn't complain at all when he can't fill his position.

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News from the 25th of August.

John Smoltz earned his 12th win of the season by limiting the Cardinals to two runs in eight innings on Friday.
Smoltz gave up six hits without walking a batter. Three of those hits came in one inning, when the Cardinals rallied for both of their runs on a Chris Duncan two-run double. Other than that, Smoltz was flawless while going eight innings for the second straight start. He'll square off against the Marlins next week.

Tim Hudson had two long winning streaks snapped by the Cards on Saturday.
He had won nine straight this year, dating back to June 4, before giving up nine hits and five runs in five innings to fall to 15-6 on the year. Stranger yet, Hudson was unable to protect a three-run lead tonight, his first such occurance since August 2000. He's 95-2 in his career when provided that big a cushion.

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News from the 26th of August.

Octavio Dotel (shoulder) said he still believes he can come back this season, but he just doesn't know when.
With the Braves designating Bob Wickman for assignment this week, it would have been the perfect time for Dotel to return to assume the closer's job. However, he felt pain in his right triceps during a side session Friday and is without a timetable now. "September is the money month," said Dotel. Rafael Soriano is the best candidate for saves in the meantime.

Chipper Jones is getting Sunday off after tweaking his groin Saturday against the Cardinals.
The Braves are also sitting the banged up Andruw Jones, though that's not due to any specific injury. Chipper is expected back on Monday or Tuesday. Light-hitting Chris Woodward is filling in at third base today.

Jo-Jo Reyes surrendered four runs -- two earned -- in six innings against the Cardinals on Sunday to fall to 0-2 on the season.
Reyes struck out six and walked none, but the Cardinals scored one run before and two runs after a pivotal Chris Woodward error in the fifth. Reyes then gave up a solo homer to Juan Encarnacion in the sixth inning for the Cardinals' final run. Today's outing ensures that Reyes will remain in the rotation for at least one more turn. He'll head to the bullpen once Chuck James is ready in early September.

Filling in for Chipper Jones, Chris Woodward went 0-for-4 and committed an error that led to two runs in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals.
Woodward is arguably the NL's worst player right now. We'll give the Braves the benefit of the doubt and assume they wouldn't have kept him over Martin Prado last week if we weren't so close to the September roster expansion. They should be regretting it anyway. Not only does Woodward have a 523 OPS in 123 at-bats, but he's committed six errors in the equivalent of about 25 full games on defense. That's simply brutal.

Willie Harris went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his average under .300 for the first time since May 2.
Harris is hitting just .227 this month, though that does come with five triples and 11 walks in 75 at-bats, giving him a respectable OPS. He's still not a major league left fielder or leadoff hitter.

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News from the 27th of August.

Chipper Jones is back at third base for Monday's game versus the Marlins.
Jones didn't play Sunday after tweaking his groin the previous day.

Braves optioned RHP Joey Devine to Triple-A Richmond.
We wonder just how Devine would have done had the Braves carried him out of spring training over Tyler Yates or Chad Paronto and left him in the pen all year. Our guess is that he would have been an upgrade. He's served five stints in the majors this season, allowing one run in five innings.

Braves recalled infielder Pete Orr from Triple-A Richmond.
Martin Prado is ineligible to return, so Orr is returning to the majors and bringing his .179/.207/.196 line with him. Amazingly enough, that might make him a better utility option than Chris Woodward.

Chipper Jones had three hits, three runs scored and two RBI before leaving Monday's game in the fifth inning.
Jones, bothered by a groin injury, was pulled with the score 11-2. It seemed like a good time to steal him some extra rest.

Brian McCann hit his fourth career grand slam -- his second in eight days -- Monday versus the Marlins.
The slam tonight came off Scott Olsen. McCann is still hitting righties quite a bit better than lefties, but seven of his 16 homers have come against southpaws. Last year, all but three of his 24 homers came off righties.

Lance Cormier picked up his first win of the year by allowing two runs over seven innings Monday against the Marlins.
Cormier was 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance. He remains a poor bet for fantasy purposes.

Matt Diaz went 4-for-6 with a homer, two doubles and two RBI to help the Braves crush the Marlins 13-2 on Monday night.
All three extra-base hits came off lefty Scott Olsen. Diaz, though, is still batting .331 in 121 at-bats versus righties this season. If Willie Harris continues to fade, perhaps there's still a chance Diaz will get to play fairly regularly next month.

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News from the 28th of August.

The Braves have moved up John Smoltz to Tuesday and will go with Buddy Carlyle in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Smoltz will be going on three days' rest for the first time this year. The main reason the Braves are making the move is to separate Smoltz and Tim Hudson in the rotation. With those two going back-to-back, it often meant three straight long days for the bullpen.

Jeff Francoeur was ejected from Tuesday's game in the 11th inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Francoeur had just struck out for the fifth time in the game, so it's easy to see why he was frustrated.

Chipper Jones belted a two-run homer off Marlins reliever Armando Benitez to tie today's game with the Marlins at 3-3 in the eighth inning, but the Braves ended up losing the game in 11 innings.
Jones is going to fail to play in 140 games for the fourth straight season, but his bat isn't slowing down despite the fact that his body is. Jones posted the third best OPS of his career in 2006, and his current 1016 mark would knock last year's ranking down a peg. He'll turn 36 next spring and he's going to have to stop hitting so well eventually, but we're not ready to bet against him just yet.

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News from the 29th of August.

The Braves are planning on activating Chuck James and starting him Saturday versus the Mets.
He'll likely replace Jo-Jo Reyes in the rotation. James has missed two starts with shoulder tightness.

Matt Diaz enjoyed another huge night, backing Atlanta to a 7-4 win over Florida Wednesday.
He homered twice and added a double, accounting for three RBI. This marks the second time in three games that Diaz has put three extra-base hits on the board. He's up to .354 with 19 doubles, both career bests, in 111 games.

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News from the 30th of August.

Matt Diaz, who homered twice off Dontrelle Willis on Wednesday, is getting the start over Willie Harris on Friday even though the Mets are throwing a right-hander.
Diaz has been in the lineup strictly against lefties ever since Harris was called up four months ago. This isn't necessarily a permanent change, but it could become one if Diaz keeps hitting.

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News from the 1st of September.

Julio Franco will be called up on Saturday to join the major league roster.
Franco, who remained with the Braves organization after they waived him in early August, will see time as a pinch-hitter. Catcher/utility man Brayan Pena, and LHP Royce Ring are also expected to join the expanded roster on Saturday.

Braves recalled LHP Royce Ring from Triple-A Richmond.
Ring had a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings for the Padres before being acquired at the deadline. The Braves can try him as a specialist.

Braves recalled catcher Brayan Pena from Triple-A Richmond.
The Braves picked Corky Miller over Pena last month, so Pena will serve as third catcher and an emergency backup at third, first and in left field.

Braves purchased the contract of first baseman Julio Franco from Triple-A Richmond.
Franco will be one of the Braves' top pinch-hitters the rest of the way.

Braves activated LHP Chuck James from the 15-day disabled list.
James will rejoin the rotation and face the Mets today.

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News from the 2nd of September.

Yunel Escobar sat out Saturday's game after getting hit on the left elbow by a pitch on Friday.
Escobar could return Sunday. Chris Woodward started today.

Yunel Escobar is back in the starting lineup on Sunday after sitting out Saturday's game with a bruised elbow.
He's leading off versus the Mets.

John Smoltz took a loss against the Mets on Sunday after giving up three runs in seven innings of work.
The Braves entered the three-game set with the Mets still having a chance to make a run at a playoff spot. However, the club's bats failed to show up as they scored just four runs in the series while being swept. The loss drops the Braves 7 1/2 games out in the NL East and seven games out of the wild card race. They're going to need to heat up in a hurry to have any chance of making a run, but it just doesn't seem all that likely.

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News from the 3rd of September.

Lance Cormier limited the Phillies to one run in 5 2/3 innings to pick up a second straight win on Monday.
Cormier had given up 13 home runs in 32 innings and he was facing the team that ranked third in the majors in homers, but he kept the ball in the yard today. The only extra-base hit against him was Chase Utley's double. While Cormier has solidified his spot in Atlanta's rotation, it remains a good idea to avoid him in NL-only leagues.

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News from the 4th of September.

Braves recalled infielder Martin Prado from Triple-A Richmond.
Ideally, this would mean that Chris Woodward won't ever be in the starting lineup again for the Braves. Prado will serve as a backup at second and third.

After taking live batting practice Tuesday, Edgar Renteria said he will be ready to come off the DL when he is eligible on Friday.
Renteria has been out since Aug. 22 with a sprained ankle.

Buddy Carlyle lasted just 1 2/3 innings Tuesday as he suffered his sixth loss of the year.
He was ripped for four hits and three runs, striking out one and walking three -- one intentionally. Carlyle also gave up two homers and saw his ERA soar to 5.21. Carlyle's early results were clearly unsustainable and now he's been getting rocked regularly since early August. It's time for the Braves to think about other rotation options.

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News from the 5th of September.

Willie Harris went 0-for-5 on Tuesday and is in an 0-for-22 slump.
So, what's he doing still playing? He's hitting .193 since the beginning of August, and he's just 3-for-10 stealing bases since the All-Star break. At this point, he shouldn't be anything more than a defensive replacement for Matt Diaz.

Matt Diaz, who was out of the starting lineup again, contributed an RBI single in the eighth and a game-winning three-run double in the ninth as the Braves stole won from the Phillies on Wednesday, winning 9-8.
The five people that stuck around Turner Field with the Braves down 8-2 after seven witnessed the team's best comeback of the season. Diaz was on the bench again today even though Willie Harris was in an 0-for-22 slump. Harris, though, did bust out of it with just his second homer of the season, a single and a bases-loaded walk. Diaz took over in left after Andruw Jones was removed in a double-switch and drove in four runs, helping the Braves win for just the second time in six games.

Brian McCann is day-to-day after suffering a left ankle contusion in the eighth inning Wednesday.
The Braves are off Thursday, so McCann might not have to miss a game because of the injury.