Changing Sites

I will be changing sites with the new one opening up most likely on Friday. The new url will be chop-n-change.com and it will be myself as well as two other writers. This is going to be a great blog because we will have lots of different perspectives. Come check it out when it opens.

Redman Strong as Braves Top Jays

Newly signed Mark Redman definitely put down some of my fears about Hampton's replacement with a very solid game yesterday. Redman went 3 innings, gave up 3 hits, walked no one, and struck out two while holding the Blue Jays to only run. Those three hits came off of two bunt hits and a triple that a diving Andruw Jones failed to catch. The only concern was his command after hitting two batters with a new cutter that the veteran southpaw has been trying to add to his arsenal. In all this was a very good performance for a pitcher that has spent the last few weeks throwing in his basement. The pitching was just all around solid beyond Redman also. Rafael Soriano continued to put down the off-season worries after he was reported to be topping out at 91 mph and got rocked in winter league, by pitching one perfect inning with a strikeout. Cormier added 4 innings with 3 hits and 5 strikeouts and McBride nailed it down with a perfect inning and 2 Ks. At the plate, Andruw Jones and Brian McCann went back to back off of Dustin McGowan in the sixth with a two-run and solo homer, and TJ Bohn added an RBI single in the 8th inning. The Braves, who improved to 7-3 will take on the defending champion Cardinals behind Kyle Davies on Sunday.

Schuerholz Finds Hampton's Replacement

Just a day after the news first broke that Mike Hampton had set himself back at least two months, the Braves agreed to terms with 2006 All-Star starter Mark Redman, signing him to a minor league deal. Don't get too excited about the All-Star part, he went 11-10 with a 5.71 ERA for the Royals last season so making it was merely a formality. This may not be too bad though. Between Cormier and Redman, we should be able to find some quality starts and in 2003 he did post a 3.59 ERA in 190 innings on route to a World Series ring for the Marlins. A switch to the NL should help although he is going into the toughest hitting divisions, but if he can keep his ERA under 4 we should be fine. The contract will pay him $750,000 if he is on the major league roster, and he can earn an extra $500,000 in start-based incentives. Redman is slated to throw 3 innings tomorrow versus the Blue Jays.

James Looks Good as Braves Down Pirates

The Braves improved to 6-2 in the Spring with Friday's 8-5 win over the Pirates (Laroche didn't play). Chuck James, Ryan Langerhans, Kelly Johnson, and Chad Paronto all made good impressions in the game. James threw 3 shutout innings with 2 Ks and 0 BBs, while Kelly Johnson and Ryan Langerhans continued their bids to start at their respective positions. Johnson went 2/4, Langerhans went 2/3, and both added homers to the win. Willy Aybar went 3/5, but it seems like no matter what he does, he will be backing up Chipper and not starting at second. Chad Paronto may have done the most so far this spring to solidify a spot. He was a fringe player that had an advantage as a ground ball guy out of the pen, but the circle change that he added over the off-season is making him look like more and more of a lock for one of the spots in the pen. He has now thrown 5 innings in the spring with 5 Ks, no BBs, and only 3 hits.

Hampton Out Until at Least Mid-May

We were all hoping it wouldn't happen, but it did. Mike Hampton strained his oblique today, while taking a swing in batting practice and in the best case scenario, he won't be back until mid-May. The team has said that the veteran lefty will need at least a month of rest, before building up his arm strength, and Hampton thinks that will take another month. At least it wasn't the elbow that got injured, and he'll actually have quite a bit more time to rest his surgically repaired elbow, which could help. Both Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson felt the effects of a strained oblique during 2006.

If you have been reading recently, I predicted pretty average stats for Hampton, so this probably shouldn't hurt too much. Without looking outside the organization to fill the whole, there are 5 options.

1. Lance Cormier- He was already in the running for the fifth spot, so this could give him a shot. He did well in a couple starts at the end of last season and has a 3.60 ERA with 5 Ks in 5 IP this spring.

2. Oscar Villareal- It would surprise me to see this considering how well Villareal did as our long man last year. He did make a couple of emergency starts last season and pitched well, but his place still seems to be the long man, who can fill in for one start here and there.

3. Anthony Lerew- I don't know if his endurance is still there after relieving last year, but he has been mentioned in the competition for the fifth spot. He re-worked his mechanics and brings a mid-90s fastball but I don't think his secondary stuff warrants a spot in the rotation until he proves otherwise.

4. Macay McBride- Bobby recently toyed around with the idea of moving the lefty back to the rotation, but there are two factors that make me skeptical. The first being he just gets smacked around by righties, and the second is how rare it is to have a lefty capable of holding left-handers to a BAA below .180, but he is one of two in our pen. That gives Bobby an incredible way to mix and match in the end of games.

5, Matt Harrison- People said he would only get a shot if there was an injury and here we are. He only has around 80 innings outside of A-Ball, but his command is what would carry him. He did get smacked around in his first Grapefruit League action, but Bobby seems to like what he has seen so far from the 21-year old. He is definitely still an underdog.

I personally think that the amount of time he will be out doesn't warrant a trade with the options we have. Mark Bowman mentioned that it could be an option though. The Dodgers, Tigers, and Phillies all have starters to trade and Mark Redman is a free agent option that could probably be picked up on a minor league contract. He was an all-star last season, but I doubt he will provide the results of some of our other options.

Smoltz Has Close Call

The Braves season, for a few precious moments looked like it was going to take a serious turn for the worst. In Wednesday's spring training game against the Tigers, John Smoltz was hit in the chest by a rocket off the bat of Carlos Guillen. Very fortunately, John was able to get up and keep pitching with only a bruise to show for it. After the game he was sporting dual ice packs; one on his right shoulder like normal, and the other covering the bruise. The only problem he said, was he wouldn't be swinging a golf club for a while. Bobby Cox seemed optomistic that Smoltz won't miss any starts, but it seems he will miss a couple of his workouts over the next week. This is the second time this spring that one of the Braves was smashed in the chest without any serious injuries as Kelly Johnson was hit in the chest by a Pete Orr liner earlier in the week. Hopefully we make it to opening day with all our players alive.

Tomahawk Mania Merging

I have been invited to join in a conglomerate of three bloggers to make a Braves "superblog" of sorts. I will be doing it with two other Braves fans, one who writes a weekly column for Hardballtimes.com . I haven't yet decided whether or not to continue this site, but when I get the details about the other site I will make sure to post them up here so you guys can check it out.