The Braves returned home to Turner Field on Tuesday night for the first of two exhibition games against the Twins, a 4-2 victory in 10 innings, with their opening-day roster pretty well set and their opening-day lineup in action, with the exception of David Ross batting for the pitcher.
The one lingering question is the health of Jair Jurrjens and whether he'll be able to make his first scheduled start April 6 in Milwaukee. It's a decision the Braves won't rush to make.
Originally Jurrjens planned to throw a bullpen session Monday, but the Braves are playing it cautiously with the sore right side that forced Jurrjens out of his last spring-training start, Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Jurrjens threw some long toss in the outfield during batting practice Tuesday and then moved closer in to throw from 60 feet or so, but still on flat ground. He appeared not to have any problems, though he wasn’t immediately available for comment afterward.
"He's progressing well," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "We're just not quite there yet. And we're intentionally not pushing it because we don't want to set him back, but he's progressing."
The Braves could disable Jurrjens retroactive to the day after his last spring March 25. That would make him eligible to return April 9 during the first home series of the season against the Phillies. They want him to throw a bullpen session before making that call, perhaps in a few days.
“We could literally have him make the opening-day roster and wait several days before we make that decision, if he’s progressing and he would be able to make a side,” Wren said. “We have some flexibility there.”
If Jurrjens has to skip a start or two, the Braves are likely to call on Mike Minor, who lost the battle for the fifth starter's job to Brandon Beachy and is headed to Triple-A.
Mather clears waivers
Joe Mather came to Braves camp a favorite to win a utility spot after the Braves claimed him off waivers from the Cardinals, eager to see what he could do after two years battling a hand and wrist injuries.
He wound up back on waivers though, after he failed to show the Braves much with his bat. Mather, who hit .137 (7-for-51) this spring, cleared waivers Tuesday and was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett. From there he still figures in the Braves plans, if he can turn a corner on offense.
“We like him,” Wren said. “We think he’s a good fit for our ball club. We’ve just got to get some additional work in offensively, which we’ve made him aware of and he’s aware of. He didn’t have a good offensive spring, but he did all the other things that we hoped he would do, which is play multiple positions and play them well.”
Mather will see action at first and third base and all three outfield positions in Gwinnett, while trying to improve his production.
“They want me to shorten my swing a little bit, which is always kind of what people say,” Mather said. “It all comes down to numbers. There are guys who have good numbers with long swings, and guys have bad numbers with short swings. So put up numbers, you’ll be back.”
Opening-day lineup
Manager Fredi Gonzalez has made no secret of it all spring, but made it official Tuesday, that his lineup for opening day would be: 1. left fielder Martin Prado, 2. center fielder Nate McLouth, 3. third baseman Chipper Jones, 4. catcher Brian McCann, 5. second baseman Dan Uggla, 6. right fielder Jason Heyward, 7. shortstop Alex Gonzalez and 8. first baseman Freddie Freeman.
“You can go left-right all the way down, so it makes it difficult for the opposing manager to bring those situational lefties in, or a situational right-hander in,” Gonzalez said. “And then you’ve got to pick your poison throughout the lineup.”
The two spots drawing the most debate were McLouth hitting second, after a miserable 2010 season, and Heyward hitting sixth despite his .393 on-base percentage, which ranked fourth among all NL qualifiers last year.
McLouth has reaffirmed Gonzalez’s decision with a resurgent spring, and Heyward can draw an argument either way -- as table-setter or run-producer.
“I know all my people from SABR,” Gonzalez said, of the statistics gurus at the Society for America Baseball Research. “But hey, we’re dealing with human beings. Sometimes guys get comfortable at a certain spot and they’re producing and they’ve got confidence and go get him.”
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