Rain Delay

Thompson out, Davies in.

First, it seems that "Big Red" has a cranky elbow. He could possibly start the season on the Disabled List.

The Braves sustained another blow to their pitching plans when John Thomson was scratched from his start Tuesday with a tender elbow, effectively ending trade discussions involving the right-hander for the foreseeable future.

The Thompson news came only 12 hours after closer Chris Reitsma strained his left hamstring in the ninth inning Monday night against the Yankees, leaving his status in doubt for the opening day roster.

With that said a Rain Delay favorite will get the start in his place Tuesday night against the Dodgers. Kyle Davies.

Kyle Davies would be the likely replacement for Thomson in the starting rotation, and Oscar Villarreal or Joey Devine would be leading candidates for closer duties unless the Braves trade for someone better suited to the role.

I really hope it's nothing serious as far as Thompson goes. Though in that same article it stated that if for some reason Thompson was able to pitch, that Sosa would be moved back to the bull-pen to make room for Kyle Davies in the rotation.

Reitsma strains a hammy..

Just a reminder, Rain Delay is moving here.

They don't think it's all that serious, and that most likely will heal by opening day.

We don't think it's anything serious, manager Bobby Cox said of the latest injury, which occurred when Reitsma was pitching to Yankees minor-leaguer Luis Garcia with two out in the ninth of a 5-4 Braves win. "We'll see. It's one of those things, you'll know the next day, if it bleeds. Or the day after that. We'll see.;

Reitsma felt a twinge on the first pitch to Garcia, but stayed in the game. When Garcia singled through the right side of the infield, Cox could see Reitsma flinch and went out to the mound to get him.

"I think it's just a little bit of a strain," said Reitsma, who has allowed three hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 4-2/3 scoreless innings this spring, and also pitched for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

This isn't something out bull-pen needs this close to opening day. Though at least we know that if he's not ready to go on Opening Day, Joey Devine is waiting in the wings and more than willing to step back into that closers role. Honestly, I'd rather see Devine close and Reitsma be the set up guy. Like I've said before, I just think Reitsma lacks that closers mentality. Either way, lets hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Thomson subject of more trade talk

It started with Seattle, and now the word is Pittsburgh and the Braves are talking about a possible deal that would include Pirates reliever Salomon Torres. Or at least that's the word from the Pittsburgh Press.

It's believed the Braves have interest in Pirates first baseman/outfielder Craig Wilson, who's due $3.3 million this season and who doesn't figure to play much because of the presence of everyday players Sean Casey at first base and Jeromy Burnitz in right field. 

Emphasis is not mine, unless noted otherwise. The deal could further expand to include:

The Braves also are believed to have some interest in right-handed reliever Salomon Torres. They could ask for him to be included in the deal, and the Pirates could counter that they'd sure like another player back from the Braves in that scenario.

Of course Pirates Manager Jim Tracy didn't have anything enlightening to say either.

But what transpires over the course of the next few days could possibly help that situation along," Tracy said. "I don't know what's going to take place -- or what could take place -- over the course of the next three or four days that could change that."

But could that second-game starter not be in camp yet?

As we're sitting here talking, we are working on making a decision within the framework of the people who come in here to work every day," Tracy said. "That's where we're at -- today.

Thanks, Jim that really clears things up for us. Either way I have a feeling that when the season starts, or shortly there after "Big Red" will not be in a Braves uniform. With opening day only a week away, things should pan out soon. 

Maybe no DL for Boyer?

Sidelined with shoulder problems this spring, Braves reliever Blaine Boyer looked strong today in a 10 pitch,1 inning outing against the Dodgers in the Braves 3-2 loss. He pitched the 8th inning for the Braves getting the Dodgers 1-2-3.

He could pitch right now from what I've seen,Cox said after Boyer retired all three Los Angeles Dodgers he faced in the eighth inning of his belated Grapefruit League debut.

[..]

They weren't just any hitters, either. Boyer, coming back from shoulder problems, struck out Jeff Kent on a wicked curveball, then induced Nomar Garciaparra and Bill Mueller to ground out on a fastball and change-up, respectively.

That's how I wanted it, though," Boyer said. "I didn't want to go against their B team. I wanted to go against the best they have to see what I've got.

"I felt strong and I thought I was compact with my mechanics. It almost felt like I hadn't missed a beat."

Cox gave a similar assessment.

"Blaine looks like he hasn't missed a lick at all despite all this waiting," Cox said. "His control was excellent with all three pitches. That's as good a curveball as I've seen him throw."

Looks like we may have dodged a bullet there. That gives me a little bit of hope as far as the bull-pen is concerned. Though it's been mentioned in the Thomson trade rumblings that the Braves are looking for both Firstbase help (which leads me to believe that not everyone believes in Adam LaRoche who's stll having a terrible time hitting Leftys.) and Bull-Pen insurance.

Coach or Play?

It looks at though Braves Catcher Eddie Perez is going to have to make a tough choice. Play or Coach? It all depends on what his shoulder tells him, he hasn’t played a game yet nor has he been able to throw until just recently. As it is, he’s in camp as a non-roster invitee. One way or another, be it as a coach or player, he does know where he’s going.

His ticket is already stamped for AA Mississippi.

"One more month, it's that simple," said Perez, 37, who had surgery in October and has improved significantly during spring training. "In one month, if I feel good, I'm going to play. If I don't, I'm going to coach."

He wants to catch and play some firstbase when he gets there, but again it all depends on his shoulder. They (the Braves) want him to give the M-Braves new manager some help. Jeff Blauser former short stop for the Braves is taking the helm of the M-Braves this year, it only makes since, Jeff and Eddie played together.

"They have a lot of Spanish-speaking kids [on the Mississippi team]," said Perez, who is bilingual and popular in the clubhouse among players from all backgrounds.

Either way in my opinion it’s win-win for Eddie. He can play, good let him play and let those kids in Mississippi soak in all the veteran has to say. I think one guy that can and will benefit from this is Salty, who begins the year in AA as thier starting catcher.

Cranky elbow leaves Kelly Johnson on the outside

Braves OF Kelly Johnson had elbow surgery in the off-season, this elbow has kept him out of games since the middle of the month. He's found himself squeezed out of a back-up spot in the Braves outfield, by new comer Matt Diaz.

"It's extremely frustrating," said Johnson, who hit .333 with one double and one RBI in nine games before the pain in his throwing elbow forced him to the bench. "Bad timing. Really, really bad timing."

The Braves haven't made it official yet, but Matt Diaz is the clear favorite for the fourth outfield job. Diaz is hitting .358 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in a team-high 53 at-bats.

Last year as a rookie, Johnson was Atlanta's starting left fielder for much of the summer. The Austin, Texas native bounced back from a 1-for-30 start by going 10-for-24 with 11 RBIs to win NL Player of the Week honors for June 13-19.

He struggled after the All-Star break and lost his job to Ryan Langerhans late in the season, when Johnson's elbow hindered his swing extension. He finished with a .241 average, nine homers and 40 RBIs in 290 at-bats.

His swings not a problem now, but he can't throw without pain.

The emphasis is not mine. Kelly was one of those guys that Bobby believed in, not matter how bad he was struggling at the plate or in the field, Bobby gave him every chance in the world. Though Langerhans IMO was just as ineffective as Johnson was at times.

From what I've seen Matt Diaz is a solid player and should work well in the Atlanta out field. Looking over the Baseball Prospectus site PECTOA has forcasted Matt for a .280/.328/.449, whereas Kelly Johnson came in a bit lower than that, .269/.348/.445. Its a crappy set of circumstances for Johnson, hopefully his cranky elbow will calm down and let him play. Richmond might be just the right place for Johnson once his elbow eases up.

Just as a reminder, Rain Delay is moving here very soon. I've already started posting over there, so feel free to adjust your links and bookmarks. I was going to wait until opening day, but I just can't wait that long. And I know it's not that far off.

Braves, Hanshin Tigers sign agreement

According to ESPN, the Braves and Hanshin Tigers have entered into a working agreement.

The Atlanta Braves and Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League have reached a working agreement which will help Atlanta with international scouting, especially in the Far East.

The Braves, led by Eastern Rim scouting coordinator Phil Dale and international scout Hiroyuki Oya, have worked together informally with Hanshin for several years.

"We have worked hard to develop our international scouting and Phil and Hiroyuki have had a good relationship with the Tigers for some time," Braves assistant general manager Dayton Moore said. "This agreement will help us in building a strong and trusting partnership as we seek and exchange information that allows us to acquire talent."

Smoltz the Chancellor of the Change Up

At the beginning of the Spring, John Smoltz made a promise to take things easy and prolong his career on the mound, and he's made strides all spring to do just that. In yesterdays 8-1 rout of the Cards, showed that Smoltz is shying away from being a pure power pitcher, to one of Finesse.

"I'm ecstatic about the progress," said Smoltz, who has a 2.25 ERA in three starts, three scoreless. He has 11 strikeouts with two walks in 12 innings, while allowing nine hits and three runs.

The veteran relied heavily on sliders and change-ups, again eschewing the hard four-seam fastballs and splitters he featured for so long until this spring.

After four elbow surgeries and shoulder problems late last season, his new mantra is slow down, stay in control, pitch and don't overpower. So far this spring, it's been a virtually seamless transition for the venerable ace.

"I'm pitching, and I'm having fun," said Smoltz. He kept the ball in the park Monday on a warm, windy day when Jeff Francoeur and Edgar Renteria homered for the Braves.

"I like everything I'm seeing," manager Bobby Cox said of Smoltz.

He has thrown change-ups frequently and effectively, after using the pitch sparingly last season and hardly ever in 3 1/2 seasons as a closer through 2004.

His arm feels fresher with his new approach. "To me that's the biggest pleasure," Smoltz said. "I feel like I could go back out and pitch tomorrow."

It's good to see that Smoltz is sticking to his word, and its showing promising results. I wish there were a few more 'older' Major League pitchers, or players for that matter realize they can't do what they did when they were younger. Smoltz knows he's no longer a young gun and that to stay in the game and pitch effectively that he's going to have to make some changes, and those changes are suiting him well.

Two weeks out, closer race heats up

It's getting down to the wire now, and a slew of names are being tossed around for the Closer job in the Braves bull-pen. There are three candidates, there were four but Anthony Lerew has had a horrible spring and will likely not make the team, and head to AAA Richmond. So now it's Chris Rietsma, Joey Devine and now a name that's being thrown around now is Oscar Villarreal.

His strong pitching for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic made the Braves coaching staff sit up and take notice. Even if he doesn't get the closer job, Oscar will be a valuable part of the bull-pen if his pitching from the WBC carries over to the regular season.

According to Bobby Cox though, it's Rietsma's job to loose.

"Reitsma was really popping it," manager Bobby Cox said after the right-hander struck out pitcher Taylor Buchholz and Mike Lamb and induced a Chris Burke flyout to end the inning. "He was throwing bullets and had good location."

Since his Canadian team was eliminated from the WBC, Reitsma has pitched in two Grapefruit League games and allowed one hit and one hit batter with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings.

Cox said the closer job isn't decided yet. Joey Devine (15 strikeouts, no earned runs in eight innings) and Villarreal could challenge, but the manager indicated Friday it was still Reitsma's job to lose.

"No reason not to use him right now, the way he's throwing," Cox said.

Before Friday's game, there was a buzz in the clubhouse about Villarreal's performance the night before in Mexico's 2-1 win against the U.S., which effectively eliminated both teams from the WBC.

"Awesome," general manager John Schuerholz said of Villarreal's two perfect innings with two strikeouts, including Jeff Francoeur. "That's not just another guy setting up. That's a guy who could be an important piece of your bullpen."

While the Braves played the Mets on the road Thursday, John Smoltz and others were back in Orlando. Some saw Villarreal pitch in the televised WBC game before a boisterous Anaheim crowd that included flag-waving fans of each country.

"He looked good under those circumstances," Smoltz said. "It was good to see."

Pitcher Tim Hudson had a succinct assessment of Villarreal's work: "Nasty."

Emphasis is not mine. I can't even begin to explain whats wrong with Rietsma closing, didn't anyone pay attention last year? When Rietsma would pitch, was Bobby closing his eye's? Riet's as a set up man? Sure. I just don't think he has the mentality of a closer, which can and will hurt him. Pressure doesn't suite Rietsma. Then again, really Joey Devine an unknown factor at this point.  Things will flesh themselves out in the next couple weeks, I guess we're all going to have to wait till the team breaks camp to see who lands the closer job.

Braves sign Aussie side arm pitcher.

As mentioned in my game wrap, Braves sign former pharmaceutical salesman to a minor league contract. It was his performance in the World Baseball Classic that got him noticed.

He was a former Twins minor-league pitcher who never got above the rookie ball level, never threw a fastball as hard as 90 mph, and had undergone two back surgeries since being released nine years ago.

But six months ago, on a whim, Moylan dropped his arm from the conventional position overhead and starting throwing sidearm. Hard.

Now, the 27-year-old right-hander has a 93-96 mph fastball and a second opportunity to become a major league pitcher — with the Braves.

"It's crazy," the amiable Aussie said Saturday, after allowing one run and four hits in two innings against Cincinnati, his first spring training appearance since 1997. "It's a head trip, even now, to be here."

He sat at a locker Saturday, still in his sweaty Braves uniform, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, a buzz cut and tattoos over much of his arms.

"The Australian looked all right," manager Bobby Cox said after Moylan's debut before a crowd of 9,069 and a bunch of Braves who had no idea who he was, where he came from, or when he was signed.

The Braves are going to give him a look in the next two weeks, then probably assign him to Class AAA Richmond.

The Braves signed him March 11, two days after Moylan pitched 1 2/3 innings for Australia against Venezuela in a World Baseball Classic game. He struck out four, including Bobby Abreu and Magglio Ordonez, but also walked five and gave up a single in an erratic outing.

Moylan attributed the wildness to it being his first game in front of a crowd in nine years. The Braves, Red Sox and Royals were among the teams that saw enough potential in Moylan to try to sign him afterward.

They also mention in the article about signing his team mate from the WBC, Daimian Moss. Who spend time serving a steroids suspension in the M's farm system in 2005.