Braves Wheeling and Dealing

Josh Anderson for RHP Rudy Darrow

AtlantaBraves.com reports the Braves had determined the centerfielder race came down to Jordan Schafer and Gregor Blanco. Josh Anderson was given every chance this spring to win this job, hitting .280 however, wasn't the way to win it outright. The Braves had a hard time finding a suitor for Anderson because he was out of options. The Braves would not have been allowed to send Josh Anderson to the minors without revealing him to the waiver wire. Josh Anderson will now be the 4th or 5th outfielder for Detroit, backing up Curtis Granderson in center.

Gregor Blanco has a tough road a head of him if he wants this centerfield job to be his with the hot spring Schafer is having. Blanco may have hurt himself playing for Venezuala in the World Baseball Classic. Gregor Blanco did not impress last year in his 144 games for Atlanta and Schafer was slapped with a 50 game suspension for Human Growth Hormone and set his ETA in Atlanta back a little bit. Flip a coin-heads Blanco wins the job; tails-Schafer wins the job.

RHP Rudy Darrow is a 25 year old relief pitcher who is slated to begin the season in the minors at either AA Mississippi or AAA Gwinnett. Darrow is a side-armer who is compared to a Pete Moylan type. (I smell another Tommy John candidate for Atlanta, but I hope I'm wrong).

Hanson Set For Return To Atlanta

Tommy Hanson will be back in Atlanta to pitch the last 4 innings on Saturday, April 5th. The last exhibition game of the season will be played at Turner Field. The Braves open the season the next night in Philly. Bobby Cox does not want to use any of his relievers Saturday night, who knows who he'll need to throw on Sunday. I have complete faith in Sunday's opening night starter, Derek Lowe, however once the bullpen enters the game, it could be a round robin to get through the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.

Tommy Hanson will begin the season at triple-A Gwinnett. Hanson's first scheduled start at home for Gwinnett would be April 20th.

Kenshin Kawakami is scheduled to start the exhibition game on Saturday. Kawakami's first regular season appearance, based on speculation, would be Saturday, April 11th.

Hopefully the weather cooperates for the exhibition game on Saturday night.

Braves Release Lefty Reliever

No, not Boone Logan or Eric O'Flaherty.......Jeff Ridgway.

Jeff Ridgway was the odd man out from the beginning of spring training and the few bad outings he had only solidified the Braves decision.

Good luck to you in the future Jeff Ridgway.

Lowe Gets Opening Day Nod

According to MLB.com the Braves have announced Derek Lowe will get both opening day starts. He will start the first game of the season in Philly on April 5th. Derek Lowe will also start opening night in Atlanta on April 10th.

Jordan Schafer's Big Day

Jordan Schafer had 3 hits in the Braves loss yesterday. His days are numbered despite the excellent spring. The Braves will ultimately go with Josh Anderson as their centerfielder. Josh Anderson is out of options and the Braves do not want to risk losing him to another team via waivers. Schafer will be a pleasant mid-season call up when Garrett Anderson gets hurt.
I do enjoy being wrong at times and injury predictions are always one of them. However, Garrett Anderson is scheduled to play today for the first time since early March, due to a strained calf. I hope Garrett Anderson doesn't catch Chipper Hampton (Chipper Jones and Mike Hampton) Syndrome, where he gets hurt or has a nagging injury once every 15-20 games.

Braves outfield:
Jeff Francoeur
Josh Anderson
Matt Diaz
Garrett Anderson

Odd men out:
Jordan Schafer
Brandon Jones
Gregor Blanco

Utility man:
Greg Norton

McCann Injured

According to AtlantaBraves.com Brian McCann left Saturday's game with a cut on his right ring finger. The unfortunate accident occurred when Mark Teixeira fouled a ball that was tipped into McCann's finger. Brian McCann had a scheduled day off tomorrow and is listed as day-to-day.

Brian McCann has probably had the most difficult spring of any of the Braves. The only thing it seems McCann doesn't have on his mind is whether he's the starting catcher. The spring began for McCann starting for team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He had to familiarize himself with the likes of Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt before the tournament even started.
Once Team USA was bounced from The WBC McCann had to then familiarize himself with the Braves brand new starting rotation. The Braves added new starters Kenshin Kawakami, Derek Lowe, and Javier Vazquez.