Braves.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com

Cardinals 7, Braves 2

Top of the Order: The beat goes on for the beaten-down Braves, as news broke that Tim Hudson needs Tommy John surgery and Atlanta lost its fifth straight to drop a season-worst nine games under .500.

The Good: Let’s start with the much-maligned Jeff Francoeur, who went 2-for-4 – just his second multi-hit game of an abysmal July. Frenchy also made a nice catch crashing into the wall with the bases loaded, and got a good ovation from the crowd at Turner Field – maybe Braves Nation and Frenchy can kiss and make up during the final two months. Omar Infante continues playing well while filling in for Chipper Jones, going 3-for-5. Since coming off the DL, Infante is 11-for-33. Kelly Johnson finished with two hits. Jair Jurrjens didn’t pitch poorly, giving up three runs and seven hits in seven innings. Will Ohman – who most likely will be traded before today’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, pitched a perfect 2/3 of an inning in his final appearance as a Brave. Good luck, Will! Off the field, finally some good news on the injury front, as Tom Glavine threw well in a three-inning simulated game and, if all goes well Friday, will head to Class A Myrtle Beach to begin a rehab assignment.

The Bad: It’s likely Hudson has pitched his final game of 2008 and probably will miss most – if not all – of 2009, as two doctors have recommended Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery. A devastating blow for Huddy – one of the better right-handers in the NL – and the Braves, who now will undoubtedly have to go after a big-time starter in the offseason. After Jurrjens left with the Braves trailing by one, the bullpen did its thing in agonizing familiar fashion. Blaine Boyer’s nightmare of a July continued, as the right-hander allowed a two-run homer in 1/3 of an inning. Royce Ring allowed yet another run, the ninth run scored on Ring in his last four outings. Ouch! Julian Tavarez joined in on the fun, allowing a run as well. Casey Kotchman’s first game as a Braves: 0-for-5, including a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to end the bottom of the eighth. Kotchman was robbed of an extra-base hit, though, and made a really nice play on a ball to his right in the ninth (in case you’re curious, Mark Teixeira went 0-for-4 with a walk in his first game with the Angels). As usual, the Braves had their chances but didn’t capitalize, leaving 14 on base. Finally, your Corky Miller update: 0-for-2, his average dropping to .093, and a passed ball thrown in for good measure. Brutal.

View from the Sports Garage: Hope you have plenty of batteries and canned food in the shelter, Braves Nation. The nuclear winter has started in earnest. Between the news about Hudson and the fact another close game got out of hand thanks to the burned-out bullpen, I just don’t know if this franchise can sink any lower than it is this morning. That’s 48 runs allowed in the past five games. Remember once upon a time, when the Braves almost never seemed to suffer a major injury to the pitching staff? Well, you can read about it in the history books, because the ol’ injury karma has come back to bite this team in the fanny like nobody’s business this season. The news on Hudson is the toughest of all to take. It’s highly possible he won’t pitch at all in 2009 – accelerated comebacks from Tommy John surgery (like Mike Gonzalez’s recovery) take 12 months. Typical time to return is 14-17 months, which takes us into next winter. Hudson has told a couple of media outlets he wants to wait a week or so before making a decision, but surgery seems unavoidable. Wow. An epic season for all the wrong reasons marches on, and there still are two months to go. Fortunately, July is nearly over. August can’t be as bad, right? Well, Chuck James probably will be promoted from Triple-A Richmond to start the first game of the month. Great.

On deck
Braves vs. Cardinals
7:10 p.m. today, Turner Field

The Skinny: Nearly four months after straining a chest muscle while warming up in the Turner Field bullpen, Mike Hampton (0-0, 13.50 ERA) is scheduled to make his first regular-season home start. Hampton didn’t pitch bad in his first appearance in nearly three years Saturday in Philadelphia. Although he gave up eight hits and six runs, he threw 55 of his 91 pitches for strikes. The Redbirds send right-hander Joel Pineiro (3-4, 4.79 ERA) to the hill. Pineiro has allowed 10 or more hits in five (yes, five) of his past six starts, and sports a 5.01 ERA in his last 10 appearances. With Adam Wainwright of St. Simons Island (coastal reference for those good people down that way in Southeast Georgia) slated to return from the DL next month, Pineiro is likely to be making his way out of the rotation soon.

Programming note: We’re getting ready for hockey season in Atlanta – yes, there is a hockey team here. I invite you to follow the Atlanta Thrashers all season long on a new blog launching today – Thrashers.Today.Com. Similar to Braves.Today.Com, Thrashers.Today.Com will feature daily blogs, game recaps and analysis, news and commentary. So lace ‘em up and skate on over to Thrashers.Today.Com. And of course, thanks as always for reading.

Bud.

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