Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Mike Hampton had no difficulty throwing batting practice Sunday morning for the second time in three days. But the pitcher's afternoon wasn't spent as he would've preferred.

Hampton has been in friend Jimmie Johnson's pit area at previous Daytona 500 races, and was offered a helicopter ride to the race Sunday. But the 35-year-old left-hander said he declined because he had to be in meetings with lawyers and financial planners.

Vino Wong/AJC (ENLARGE)

Braves pitcher Mike Hampton tossed batting practice Sunday morning for the second time in three days.

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"I'm [old]," he said. "I know I'm [old] when I'm meeting with lawyers instead of going to Daytona."

Hampton is attempting a comeback after missing two seasons recovering from elbow surgeries. He's in the final season of an eight-year, $121 million contract.

Many around baseball doubt that Hampton, 35, can stay healthy and be anything close to the pitcher he once was. But not Braves manager Bobby Cox.

"It means a lot," Cox said of Hampton's potential impact, "to get an up-at-the-front-of-the-rotation guy back, along with Tommy [Glavine]. To get two of them back."

Cox was asked again, does he really believe Hampton can be that guy?

"Absolutely," he said. "You're not going to forget how to pitch."

Hampton went 22-4 for Houston in 1999, and in his only season for the N.Y. Mets in 2000, he won 15 games and pitched 16 scoreless innings in two NL Championship Series wins.

Since then, the only times he posted an ERA under 5.00 in more than 12 starts were his first seasons with the Braves in 2003 and '04. He went 27-17 with a 4.05 ERA in 60 starts in that period.

Hampton was 5-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 12 starts in 2005 between five stints on the disabled list.

In the early part of camp, he's working to re-establish a curveball that was a big part of his repertoire early in his career. The Braves are holding him out of early fielding drills to make sure he doesn't reinjure the hamstring he strained in his first and only Mexican winter-league start.

Aussie's healthy, hopeful

If a 6-foot-8 Aussie with a 96-mph fastball can be overlooked, Phil Stockman is the guy.

Injuries stalled the right-hander's career after a promising major-league debut in 2006. Now he's finally healthy, and the well-traveled 27-year-old is bidding for a spot in a crowded bullpen.

"I know there's a lot of talent here, a lot of people fighting for jobs," said Stockman, who totaled 41 strikeouts in 36 innings at three minor-league stops in 2007, after spending part of the season recovering from hamstring surgery.

"Here or Triple-A, if I just pitch and stay healthy all year, everything will take care of itself."

After bouncing around the Arizona minor-league system for eight years, Stockman came to the Braves as a free agent in 2006. He had 53 strikeouts in 40-2/3 innings in the minors that season before being called up, then hurt his hamstring in his fourth appearance for Atlanta.

"I'm really anxious to see him in [spring] games," Cox said. "He was really highly thought of when they brought him up a couple of years ago, then he got hurt."

The bullpen appears all but set with closer Rafael Soriano, right-handers Peter Moylan, Tyler Yates and Manny Acosta, and lefty Will Ohman. Lefty Royce Ring also is out of minor-league options.

Others competing for one or two jobs include Blaine Boyer and Chris Resop, both out of options, and Jeff Bennett, who's vying for a rotation spot but could fill a long reliever/spot-starter job description.

Bennett and Stockman each has an option, and could be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.

Cox gave unsolicited rave reviews Saturday for another minor-league free agent, Matt DeSalvo, a right-hander released by the New York Yankees after going 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA in seven major-league games (six starts) in 2007. He was 9-5 with a 2.70 ERA in 20 starts for the Yankees' Class AAA affiliate.