Hello, Baseball Fans! Welcome to Turner Field!
Tonight we return home after our most dismal road trip yet. Not only did we get swept by the lowly Reds, to add injury to insult, Tim Hudson and Blaine Boyer both came out of the game in the 7th yesterday with pain in their legs. No word yet on how serious their injuries are.
This is a huge homestand, with the Fish and the Phils. We’ve got a chance to make up the ground we lost in the NL East. But with the way we’re playing on the road, the pressure is on to continue to tear it up at home.
Quick hits for Monday:
- I think we’re setting ourselves up for a letdown with Smoltz’s return. Yes, Smoltz is one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Yes, I hope to see him tonight. Yes, it will be good to have him back, but he’s going to have less of an impact from the bullpen. And frankly, the bullpen has been doing well. Smoltz has said that he doesn’t plan on closing and he’s not going to offer us the durability of a younger arm. Of course, I expect him to be as dominant as he always is in whatever role he takes. I just don’t expect it to be any sort of salve for our various woes.
- Nice piece on the Braves’ announcer at the AJC. He does a really great job. I love when he comes on 20 minutes before the first pitch and welcomes you to the stadium with, “Hello, Baseball Fans!”
- Speaking of the AJC, they’re cribbing my signature piece for story ideas. I’m sure my sources deep inside the AJC are tracking down the responsible parties and bringing them to justice.
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