John Thomson (finger) pitched two scoreless innings Monday for the Braves' rookie Gulf Coast League team against Detroit at Lakeland.
He's been out for nine weeks and should be ready to rejoin the Braves rotation by the end of next week.

Yay!

Johnny Estrada's back is a big concern for him right now, and the fact he won't play again until Wednesday (off day Monday, Smoltz/McCann on Tuesday) may not be enough to help him.
''I'm not very optimistic at this point,'' said Estrada, who left Saturday's game after six innings and didn't play Sunday. ''To be honest with you, my whole back's been messed up since the collision [June 6 with the Angels' Darin Erstad at home plate]. I've been fooling myself, going out there hurt. I've been playing with pain, and the only way it's going to get better is rest. At this point, I'm not helping the team playing hurt.''

Nay!