Former Braves all-star Dale Murphy is a well-known Twitter fanatic, sharing his insights into the Braves, art and his favorite band, the alt-country outfit Wilco. But Murphy lately has used the social media tool to share his thoughts on the Republican presidential primary.

Away from all the noise, all the tweets, all the reminders of his rough 2011 season, Jason Heyward stepped into the batting cage at Turner Field earlier this month for a quiet moment between hitters. Chipper Jones looked him in the eye and initiated a little back-and-forth before Heyward picked up his bat to take his first swings, with Jones, new Braves hitting coach Greg Walker and his associate Scott Fletcher looking on.

The Braves built so much minor-league depth at shortstop that by last fall they moved a couple of prospects to new positions. Edward Salcedo, 20, a prized international signee two years ago, moved from shortstop to third base at Class-A Rome, and 2010 first-round draft pick Matt Lipka switched from shortstop to center field last fall at the instructional league in Florida.

The Braves have set a player payroll budget of $94 million for this year, leaving them with several million dollars still to spend, the team’s chairman and CEO said. Terry McGuirk, in a wide-ranging interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in his Turner Field office, also said team owner Liberty Media has expressed no intention of selling the club in the near future.

The Georgia State Patrol trooper involved in the New Year's Eve crash that killed the wife of Braves trainer Jeff Porter had been put on notice by an internal review board following a wreck last February, his fourth accident since November 2008. Trooper 1st Class Donald Crozier, who was fired Friday, received a "letter of concern" following the February incident.

Braves icon Dale Murphy knows that time has nearly run out on him to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by writers. After this election there will be one more year on the ballot for “Murph,” who admits being surprised by the low percentage of votes he’s received in the past 13 years.

Four former Braves are among 13 first-time candidates on this year’s National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, and it’s safe to assume that Javy Lopez, Brian Jordan, Vinny Castilla and Terry Mulholland won’t be elected. Not now, probably not ever. But what about two other ex-Braves, holdover HOF candidates Dale Murphy, in his 14th — and next-to-last — year of ballot eligibility, and Fred McGriff in his third year? Neither has previously received even one-third of the writers’ votes required for election.

New Year's Eve wreck killed wife of Braves trainer; State Patrol says investigation continuing.

The Braves 400 Fan Club will host its annual winter banquet and fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Grand Ballroom of the Atlanta Marriott Century Center Hotel. A gala reception, silent auction and raffle of Braves memorabilia begins at 5 p.m., with the awards dinner and program following at 6:30 p.

The Atlanta Braves and their spring landlord are at odds, not over the team's accommodations in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., but over the title of an upcoming Walt Disney movie. Though it won't be released until June 2012, Team Walt has already begun promoting "Brave," a Pixar production about a Scottish princess who has to rely on her archery skills (and ability to sing syrupy ballads, no doubt) to save her kingdom from a beastly curse.

Braves players, coaches and other personalities will greet fans and sign autographs on the team’s two-week caravan through the Southeast beginning Jan. 27. The third annual event will include meet-and-greets at schools, children's hospitals, military bases and businesses, and autograph sessions at Academy Sports + Outdoors locations.

Reliever Peter Moylan and infielder Brooks Conrad are free agents after not being offered contracts by the Braves. The move doesn’t preclude a return to the team, particularly for Moylan. General manager Frank Wren said last week the Braves could non-tender the Aussie pitcher before Monday's deadline and try to re-sign him this winter if Moylan kept progressing in recovery from late-September shoulder surgery.

The Braves weren’t expected to tender a contract to pitcher Peter Moylan before the league-imposed deadline, but that wouldn’t necessarily preclude the Aussie reliever from returning to the team. General manager Frank Wren said during last week’s Winter Meetings the Braves could non-tender Moylan and try to re-sign him as a free agent later in the offseason if he continued to progress from late-September shoulder surgery.

DALLAS -- With memories of the Braves’ September collapse still lingering, and the Marlins scooping up expensive free agents, and other NL East teams making moves, Frank Wren knows Atlanta fans want to see him wheel and deal. But the Braves general manager leaned back in a chair in his suite at the Hilton Anatole on Monday, the first day of baseball’s annual Winter Meetings, and said he would only make a trade if and when the Braves think it’s to their benefit.

Some general managers predict an eventful four days of wheeling and dealing at the winter meetings that start Monday in Dallas, and the Braves will be involved in plenty of rumors — whether they like it or not, and regardless of whether the reports have validity.

Braves pitcher Tim Hudson underwent back surgery for a herniated disc on Monday, but doctors said the 36-year-old right-hander should be ready for spring training. His back bothered him to varying degrees for the past two seasons, though surgery wasn't necessitated until the pain increased during Hudson’s offseason workouts.

PHOENIX — Eight months after Sean Gilmartin pitched his first game of 2011 for Florida State, the Braves’ first-round draft pick was still pitching, for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. It was late October and there were maybe 150 people in the stands at Surprise Stadium, including 27 major league scouts.

His was not a typical childhood, and not because of a surname that might have been problematic for someone less secure or unable to defend himself. No, what separated Joey Terdoslavich from other pre-teens in Sarasota, Fla., was how he spent afternoons and evenings.

Mitochondrial disease picked the wrong guy. The genetic disorder that uses stealth to prey on its victims, terrorize concerned parents and baffle even the most highly trained doctors, has lodged itself into the cellular make-up of one Colby Wren. Bad move.

As Christian Bethancourt tells it, he was only 5 when his concerned mother asked his youth baseball coach in Panama if there was something that could be done to keep the aggressive lad from running around to field balls hit to other positions.

It’s the World Series matchup no one predicted two weeks ago, let alone two months ago. St. Louis vs. Texas, two teams from the same time zone that have nonetheless faced each other just once before, in the 2004 regular-season series. A pair of mid-payrolled teams from the part of the country that singer-songwriter James McMurtry calls “out here in the middle .

As lonely as Craig Kimbrel felt coming off the mound in the ninth inning after blowing a save against the Phillies on the last day of the Braves’ season, there was somebody who could relate. He’d been yelling at his TV back on his farm in Crozet, Va. Billy Wagner had been in the same spot the year before, called on to close out the Braves’ final game of the season, with a trip to the playoffs on the line, and a one-run lead against the Phillies to protect.

Former Atlanta Brave center fielder Jordan Schafer was smoking marijuana in traffic when arrested early Tuesday on felony marijuana possession charges, Tampa police said. Schafer was with two other people in his 2008 Land Rover when he pulled alongside an unmarked police car at a red light on Columbus Drive and Glen Avenue in Tampa, according to the police report.

Braves general manager Frank Wren sat down with selected members of the media following the end of the Braves season and discussed topics ranging from the September collapse to roster projections. In Part II of that interview, Wren talks about Brian McCann’s late-season troubles, the prospects of signing Michael Bourn for the long term and Freddie Freeman’s breakout season, among other things.

There was a gaping hole in the boat, and it seemed the captain was baling water with a teacup. The 161st game of season loomed as vital Tuesday night. With two of his front-line pitchers injured, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez sat in the dugout beforehand explaining/defending his decision to start Derek Lowe.

When the Braves lost to Philadelphia in 13 innings Wednesday it capped one of the worst September collapses in baseball history. The Braves missed the playoffs after leading the wild-card race by 8 1/2 games Sept. 5, matching the 1964 Phillies as the only National League teams to miss the postseason after blowing a September lead that large.

After the Braves lost 4-3 to Philadelphia in 13 innings on Wednesday, completing a September collapse that matched the worst ever by a National League team, manager Fredi Gonzalez and players were left answering questions for which they had few concise answers.

When the scent of grilled deer invades the urban air space around 10th Street and Fowler, it can mean but one thing: It’s major league baseball postseason time again. Atlanta doesn’t have a team in the fight, but, like many of the nation’s fliers, the playoffs still must at least pass through town.

There's an old saying that any publicity is good publicity, but the Atlanta Braves and their fans might not feel that way today after the team completed an epic collapse -- failing to make the NL playoffs after leading by 8 1/2 games a little more than three weeks ago.

The Braves’ wild-card lead vanished Tuesday, and their playoff hopes were flushed away Wednesday. After closer Craig Kimbrel blew a save in the ninth, the Philadelphia Phillies scored on Hunter Pence’s two-out single in the 13th inning for a 4-3 win to end the Braves’ season and complete the worst September collapse by a National League wild-card leader.

Braves fans have been here before. After 32 innings of the 1996 World Series the Braves had outscored the New York Yankees 24-6. The defending world champions held a 6-0 lead heading into the 6th inning of Game 4, 12 outs away from a commanding 3 games to 1 lead.

If the sputtering Braves manage to back their way into the postseason, the question could be whether they keep skidding pitcher Derek Lowe a part of their starting rotation once they get there. Lowe got knocked around again Tuesday by the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Braves lost their fourth consecutive game and seventh in nine on a night when the last bit of their wild-card lead, a lead that once seemed insurmountable, was erased.

The Braves might have gotten into this September spiral with three rookies in their starting rotation, but they turned to a rookie Monday to try to get them out. Randall Delgado, at age 21, stared down Cliff Lee and the Phillies for five innings and came out with a 2-2 draw.

A lead once bulbous had been reduced to a pimple in the time it takes to say the words, “A lead once bulbous.” But, being a professional athlete, Chipper Jones broke out the usual brave bromide Monday afternoon. “We still control our own destiny,” he said, blithely ignoring the cold truth that these Braves have controlled nothing this past month.

WASHINGTON – Sunday was another bad day for the Braves, and a great day for an ex-Braves shortstop who helped St. Louis trim Atlanta’s wild-card lead to one game with three to go. After Michael Morse hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Washington Nationals a 3-0 lead over the sputtering Braves, Cardinals fans in St.

Brandon Beachy struck out seven of the first 11 Washington Nationals batters Saturday, then pitched a fourth inning as if he were a Porsche speeding from smooth pavement onto a washboard road. The Braves rookie gave up three runs in the fourth on three hits, two walks and two wild pitches.

When Tim Hudson entered the clubhouse Saturday morning, Braves backup catcher David Ross applauded, smiled and said, “He’s alive!” Hudson was alive and well, but looked as if he hadn’t slept. For good reason. The Braves pitcher left Friday’s game against Washington in the sixth inning after cramping from dehydration.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked Friday afternoon about the New York Mets’ six-run ninth-inning rally to beat St. Louis a day earlier, which cut a game off Atlanta’s magic number to clinch the wild card. “We’ve still got to go out and win ballgames ourselves,” he said.

The enchanting story of Braves pitcher Peter Moylan took a troublesome turn Thursday when the Aussie reliever was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his pitching shoulder. Moylan will Dr. James Andrews on Monday for a second opinion before a decision is made about surgery, which would probably keep him out for all or most of the 2012 season.

With six games left in the season, the skidding Braves are on the precipice of dubious distinction, with the possibility of owning one of the worst collapses in baseball history unless they get their act together. Their wild-card lead over St.

Tony La Russa was defiant. It was just one loss, nothing more. The St. Louis Cardinals manager insisted his playoff-hopeful team wouldn't be crushed after blowing a four-run cushion in the ninth inning and watching the New York Mets rally for an 8-6 win Thursday.

MIAMI — A year ago, the struggling Braves turned to Derek Lowe in September and marveled at how the veteran pitcher turned up his performance and helped lift them into the postseason. They’ve turned to him this September and rarely seen anything resembling the pitcher who carved a reputation for big performances when they mattered most.

MIAMI — Randall Delgado got his first major league win in a game desperately needed by the Braves. The cool, calm rookie pitched five innings of five-hit ball in a 4-0 win against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night at Sun Life Stadium, allowing the Braves to reduce their magic number in the too-tight-for-comfort National League wild-card race.

When the Braves drafted speedster Matt Lipka with their top overall pick last year, he came in eager to prove he could play shortstop and not have to make the move to center field that so many experts, including some among the Braves, had projected. He took 100 ground balls every day last winter with his father in Frisco, Texas, to help make a seamless jump from McKinney High to the professional ranks.

MIAMI  -- If it’s not time for the Braves to panic, it’s at least time to be seriously concerned. Omar Infante hit a two-run homer off Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel with two out in the ninth inning on Monday night to give the Marlins a stunning 6-5 win over the Braves, whose wild-card lead is down to 2-1/2 games over surging St.

MIAMI -- Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens on Monday took steps toward returning to the Braves’ starting rotation, but time remains the big obstacle. The Braves indicated there's a reasonable chance that Hanson (shoulder) could return in time to make a regular-season start and be a rotation candidate for the division series, provided they hold on to win the wild card and make the postseason.

With a chance for a neat-and-tidy end to their homestand, the Braves got wild on Sunday and let another winnable game slip away 7-5 to the Mets. Now they have to hope the wild card doesn’t slip away as they head out on the road. The Braves were four outs away from a series victory over the Mets, and at worst a 4 ½-game lead on the Cardinals in the wild card, when Jonny Venters couldn’t find the strike zone.

The Braves sent several injured pitchers to the instructional league in Orlando on Sunday to prepare for a shot at the postseason. Kris Medlen might be the closest after throwing consecutive live batting practice sessions, with a return from ligament-transplant surgery possibly not far off.

For all those wondering how the Braves could possibly fare in the postseason with their veteran starters struggling as they have, or if the Braves would even make the playoffs at all, Tim Hudson had an answer Saturday afternoon. He pitched eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win over the Mets, striking out a season-high 10 batters.

It was only for five minutes, and to five of his teammates, but Kris Medlen faced hitters for the first time in more than 13 months Saturday in live batting practice and came away happy and ready for the next step in his comeback attempt. Medlen is scheduled to throw another round of live batting practice Sunday, and if all goes well, he’ll head to the instructional league in Florida for some game action.

He has pitched poorly plenty of other nights for the Braves, but seldom has Derek Lowe been as bad or disappointed quite as many as Friday night. The veteran gave up four runs in the first inning and didn’t make it out of the third in a 12-2 loss against the New York Mets at Turner Field, his third consecutive defeat and the 10th in 15 games for the Braves.

While he has been one of the worst hitters in the National League for most of the season, Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez has hit .395 in September with six extra-base hits and nine RBIs in 12 games. And you know what? His teammates don’t care. They say Gonzalez is so superb on defense that it doesn’t matter whether he hits .

For most of the season, Alex Gonzalez was the last guy the Braves wanted at the plate with two runners on base and two out in the late innings of a close game. But the shortstop swung a hot bat all series against Florida, and completed his work by hitting a three-run homer in the seventh inning of a 4-1 win Wednesday afternoon at Turner Field.

The tentative Braves' 2012 schedule: Thursday, April 5 at New York Mets Friday, April 6 OPEN DATE Saturday, April 7 at New York Mets Sunday, April 8 at New York Mets Monday, April 9 at Houston Astros Tuesday, April 10 at Houston Astros Wednesday, April 11 at Houston Astros Thursday, April 12 OPEN DATE Friday, April 13 Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, April 14 Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, April 15 Milwaukee Brewers Monday, April 16 New York Mets Tuesday, April 17 New York Mets Wednesday, April 18 New York Mets Thursday, April 19 at Arizona Diamondbacks Friday, April 20 at Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday, April 21 at Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday, April 22 at Arizona Diamondbacks Monday, April 23 at Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, April 24 at Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday, April 25 at Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, April 26 OPEN DATE Friday, April 27 Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, April 28 Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday, April 29 Pittsburgh Pirates Monday, April 30 Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday, May 1 Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday, May 2 Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, May 3 Philadelphia Phillies Friday, May 4 at Colorado Rockies Saturday, May 5 at Colorado Rockies Sunday, May 6 at Colorado Rockies Monday, May 7 at Chicago Cubs Tuesday, May 8 at Chicago Cubs Wednesday, May 9 at Chicago Cubs Thursday, May 10 OPEN DATE Friday, May 11 at St.

It might have been the swing that saved the season, and nobody wanted it more than Brian McCann. After striking out in a prime ninth-inning chance Monday night, McCann wasn’t about to foil his next turn in a similar situation. With two runners on, and the Braves staring down a five-game losing streak at the worst possible time, McCann launched a three-run homer to lead the Braves to a 7-1 win over the Marlins on Tuesday night.

Braves' Division Series tickets went on sale Monday. Now they have to get there. What had been a virtual lock remains precarious after the Braves lost 5-4 to the Marlins in the 12th inning Monday night, their ninth loss in 12 games. The Braves got some help from Pittsburgh, though, where the Pirates rallied to defeat the Cardinals 6-5 and keep the Braves' wild-card lead at 4 ½ games, with 14 games to play.

Despite a 2-6 road trip, including sweeps by the Phillies and Cardinals, the Braves didn't come home Monday to a closed-door team meeting. Their lead in the wild card was down to 4 ½ games with 15 to play entering Monday’s series-opener with the Marlins, but Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez thought a meeting would have sent the wrong message.

ST. LOUIS --  When Yadier Molina hit a three-run double, pushing the Cardinals' lead to 5-0 in the third inning Sunday, the Braves reached the nadir of a nightmarish trip. It altered the outlook on what seemed a certain playoff berth. The Braves are still in control, but after being swept by the Phillies to start the 2-6 trip and swept by the Cardinals to finish it, their position is more precarious than imagined a week ago.

ST. LOUIS – Busch Stadium has been a house of horrors for Derek Lowe, and lately for the Braves in total. Lowe gave up two runs in the first inning and the Cardinals led the whole way in a 4-3 win Saturday night at Busch, where the Braves are 0-6 in the past two seasons.

While Brian McCann has fought one of the worst slumps of his career, the Braves have sputtered down the stretch in a playoff race. This is particularly difficult for the Braves’ six-time All-Star catcher, who takes a lot of pride in being a hitter his team can count on.

ST. LOUIS – Craig Kimbrel's streak is finished, but the Cardinals aren't. Albert Pujols’ two-run, two-out single in the ninth off Braves closer Kimbrel sent Friday's game to extra innings, and the Cardinals won 4-3 on Nick Punto’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 10th to take the opening game of an important series at Busch Stadium.

When the Braves struggle to score runs, they just turn Chipper Jones loose on the Mets. Jones, batting second, had a double and a home run as the Braves defeated the Mets 6-5 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday in front of a sparse crowd at Citi Field.

The Braves were no-hit for five innings by Roy Oswalt, then had a call overturned by umpires in the sixth that could have shifted momentum entirely to the Phillies in their raucous, sold-out Citizens Bank Park. The Braves weathered that storm and took a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning Wednesday night.

During his postgame news conference after Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Phillies, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked about bringing in reliever Cristhian Martinez to start the seventh inning with a 4-3 deficit. Martinez gave up two runs in a ragged inning that pretty much ended any hopes of a Braves comeback, and they lost for the fourth time in five games and seventh time in 11, falling to 9 1/2 games behind the National League East-leading Phillies.

Series preview: at Mets When (TV): Doubleheader today; first game 4:10 p.m., second game 7:40 p.m. (SPSO) Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5 Probable starting pitchers Game 1: Braves RH Julio Teheran (0-1, 5.19 ERA) vs. RH Chris Schwinden (major league debut) Game 2: Braves LH Mike Minor (4-2, 4.

PHILADELPHIA – Tim Hudson had another first-inning malfunction that put the Braves behind 2-0 against the Phillies on Tuesday night, but that wasn’t what cost them the game. An 0-for-10 showing with runners in scoring position proved most costly for the Braves in a rain-delayed 6-3 loss against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Three years ago, Brandon Beachy was mowing grass at a Virginia vineyard in the morning and pitching for the Woodstock (Va.) River Bandits of the Valley Baseball League at night. He had gone undrafted out of Indiana Wesleyan. Now he leads National League rookies in strikeouts and has carved a spot in the Braves’ starting rotation for the first of what could be many seasons to come.

PHILADELPHIA -- Cliff Lee had won just once in six career starts against the Braves, and Derek Lowe had  pitched better against Lee’s Phillies this season than Lee against the Braves. There was a market correction both ways Monday night. Lee dominated the Braves and Lowe was hit hard in a 9-0 series-opening loss against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Braves don’t know if they’ll get Tommy Hanson or Jair Jurrjens back in their starting rotation before or during the postseason, but developments Sunday and Monday at least gave them some hope. Jurrjens flew to Colorado over the weekend for a second opinion on his injured right knee from Dr.

Craig Kimbrel can hit triple digits on the radar gun, and he’s piling on saves to his major league rookie record. Fellow All-Star Jonny Venters throws 96 mph from the left side, with sink. Eric O’Flaherty? The understated third member of the Braves’ bullpen trio, who is so integral to their success, has a 92-mph sinking fastball, slider and .

Mauro Gomez singled in the deciding run in the eighth inning, providing the Gwinnett Braves with a 6-5 win over Charlotte and keeping their postseason hopes alive on Sunday night at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. The G-Braves (78-65)  remained a game behind Lehigh Valley in the International League wild card race with one game left.

Eight outs from being swept for the first time all season, the Braves got down and dirty Sunday. Just as a steady rain started falling at Turner Field, they rallied for three runs off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, turning an error, a wild pitch and a broken-bat bloop into a tie game.

The question on Twitter with Peter Moylan returning from the disabled list on Sunday was what to call the backbone of the Braves bullpen now? MoylO’Ventbrel? Peter O’Ventrbrel? Moylan, for one, wasn't prepared to lump himself in with Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel.

It was the most ordinary of baseball moments. Which was what made it so extraordinary. The scoreboard temperature at City Field showed 93 degrees on a recent afternoon as the minor league Hillcats ran through their usual pre-game drills.

The Braves couldn’t beat the Dodgers without their top bullpen trio available on Friday, nor with them on Saturday. This time there was no lead to protect. The Braves and Dodgers battled out a 1-1 game until the 10th inning when the Dodgers broke through.