Tommy Hanson was encouraged enough by three consecutive days of playing catch that the Braves sent left-hander Mike Minor to Triple-A Gwinnett and penciled Hanson in to start Tuesday in Seattle.
Hanson has missed two starts while on the disabled list nursing shoulder tendinitis. A cortisone shot and rest have helped, and Hanson said his shoulder felt good after 50 long tosses and 25 pitches on flat ground Wednesday.
“Felt really good,” Hanson said. “All my pitches actually felt really good, too. So hopefully I can stay right there.”
Hanson plans to throw a bullpen session Friday in San Diego and maybe another light one Sunday. But the way things are proceeding, he expects to get back on the mound Tuesday.
He said the shoulder doesn’t hurt him unless he throws hard, and Wednesday he didn’t feel it when letting loose at about 90 percent effort.
“If I’m going to pitch next Tuesday I’ve got to let it go and see how it feels,” Hanson said.
An MRI last week revealed inflammation in the rotator cuff but no structural damage.
Hanson said he felt shoulder pain in each of his past three starts. Warming up in Houston for his previous start June 12, he thought he was going to have to shut it down. “I almost said something like, ‘I’m not pitching today, hurts too much,’” Hanson said. “Once I got out there it was fine.”
Focus on the present
Dan Uggla’s season average sticks out in the Braves box score — it was only .177 after a 1-for-4 day Wednesday. But Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez wants the struggling second baseman to focus on what he can do going forward, rather than trying to make up for lost time and average.
On Wednesday, he helped the Braves defeat Toronto 5-1 with a two-run home run off Jo-Jo Reyes.
“It’s going to be difficult for him from this point on to put up a .275 batting average, but you can’t worry about April and May right now,” Gonzalez said. “He’s going to have start [focusing on] what’s going on from the middle of June forward. I think at the end of the year some of the numbers are going to be right where you want them to be.”
Home runs are about all he’s got going for him right now. Uggla has 10, second among Braves to Brian McCann (13). He knows it.
“Everything is down,” Uggla said. “Average, homers, RBIs, runs scored. It’s just been a bad year for me individually so far. But we still have a long ways to go, and we’re still in a great position, standings-wise. ...
“Everybody wants to get their numbers every year and have good years, but I’m past that point. I want to win championships, and we’ve got what it takes to make that happen in this clubhouse.”
Medlen off a mound
After about two weeks off following a setback with scar-tissue breakup, Kris Medlen is back throwing off a mound. He threw 60 pitches without problem Wednesday as he renews his effort to return from elbow reconstruction surgery.
Medlen is not regularly throwing curveballs. He’s going to ease back into throwing his third pitch, which is what he was throwing when he felt scar tissue pop in a throwing session May 31. He said his biggest obstacle now is mental, not physical. “It’s the last hurdle for everybody who goes through this,” Medlen said. “You know your arm is strong. ... It’s that whole release of being able to let it go. Once I’m trying to throw it as hard as I can, my body is like ‘oh,’ and I guide it through. It doesn’t feel as fluid as I want it to yet.”
As the Braves head for the West Coast, Medlen returned to the Braves complex in Orlando. He has a one-way airline ticket and plans to stay there until he’s on the cusp of being ready to return, building from bullpen sessions to live batting practice and possibly even a minor league rehabilitation in Gulf Coast League games.
