Just as Chuck James predicted, the Braves optioned the struggling left-hander to AAA Richmond on Friday and recalled 6-foot-8 Phil Stockman to work out of the bullpen.

James gave up five runs, including three homers, in four innings of a 5-0 loss to the Phillies on Thursday. He said afterward: "I've got to learn how to pitch again."

James isn't blaming the partially torn rotator cuff he spent the winter rehabilitating. But his location has been off, and he has given up five or more runs in three of his five major-league starts this season.

Bobby Cox did not name his replacement in the rotation but indicated it will likely be someone from the big-league club, which would probably point to Jeff Bennett for one game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Mets.

"We're debating right now," Cox said. "It'll probably be somebody from our own team."

Buddy Carlyle, whose sore neck has improved, is not eligible to come off the disabled list until May 24, when Arizona is in town. Charlie Morton (2-0, 1.69 ERA) is pitching well in Richmond, but the Braves don't seem inclined to rush him.

Stockman, a 28-year-old Aussie, will get his first major-league work since June 2006. He made four appearances before tearing his left hamstring making a pitch in Tampa Bay.

He had surgery in January 2007 and spent the first three months of last season trying to recover. But he has been dominant for Richmond this season, going 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA (two earned runs in 231/3 innings) in 14 games. Opponents were hitting .107 against him.

He said his velocity is back up to the mid-90s. Stockman is mainly a fastball/slider pitcher, mixing in the occasional changeup to left-handers.

"It's a pleasure to be here," Stockman said. "Throw the ball, see what happens. Stay as long as I can."

Special start for Hudson

Tonight will be supercharged for Tim Hudson, who makes his first start against Oakland, the team he came up with, won 92 games for in six years, and made a name for himself while pitching alongside Barry Zito and Mark Mulder.

"It was some of the best years of my baseball life," Hudson said. "Great teammates, great organization to start out with. We were young, man. We had a crazy clubhouse. I don't know if you can call us blue collar; we were guys just going out there and having fun, playing baseball and just happened to be winning."

It won't be quite as strange, Hudson said, as it might have been in 2005. He was traded to the Braves before that season and watched his old team come to Atlanta for interleague play. His turn didn't fall that series.

But the Athletics are a much different team four years later. Hudson expects to face only two former teammates in the lineup — Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis.

"That's going to make it a little easier for me emotionally," Hudson said. "It'd have been kind of weird to pitch against them the first time they came in, one year removed and pretty much everybody there was guys I felt like I was still teammates with."

Now? "I'll have to watch do some video-watching, do some homework," he said.

This is also the last team Hudson needed to pitch against every major-league club. He pitched against the Braves in 2003 for Oakland during interleague play.

"It's going to be a lot of fun for me," Hudson said.

He's facing the A's a hot pitcher. He's 3-0 with an 0.78 ERA in three May starts.

Etc.

Chipper Jones returned to the lineup Friday after missing one game with a sore groin muscle. ... Rafael Soriano threw another bullpen session Friday and is aiming to face hitters in a simulated game either Tuesday or Wednesday, Cox said.