As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog:

In Hud we trust
By David O'Brien Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 02:43 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, well, well, what have we here? Bruce Springsteen playing great folk music like a latter-day Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan touring with Merle Haggard, Kobe Bryant deciding that maybe his team is better without him taking 40 shots a game … and current Braves starting pitchers pitching like Braves starting pitchers of old.
OK, so Dylan touring with Hag isn’t so shocking, considering Bob and Johnny Cash also had a strong bond back in the day, and Hag may well be the Greatest Living Country Artist now that Cash is dead, and one of Bob’s few colleagues in the genius-songwriter category… but Kobe and Braves pitchers is seriously going against the recent grain.
(Stay with me folks, this is just a blog and I like to let this stuff out somewhere….)
If and when Jorge Sosa ever decides to join the party or Horacio Ramirez’s hamstring heals, the Braves might have the vaunted rotation many of us thought they’d have.
And who’d have thunk that 2-1/2 weeks ago, when the starters had a majors-worst 8.17 ERA and .352 opponents’ average after 11 games?
After Tim Hudson’s one-hit gem Monday against a hot-hitting Colorado team, Braves starters have a 2.27 ERA and four complete games in the last 14 games. They’ve whittled their starters ERA to 4.32, which is now sixth in the NL, and the team ERA to 4.37 (eighth in NL). (On a side note, a certain team in Baltimore has a 5.67 ERA that ranks ahead of only one AL team, Minnesota, or two teams if you consider Kansas City an actual AL team).
Now, if the Braves can get any consistent offensive production out of two supposed-to-be power positions, first base and right field, and something close to a .350 OBP out of their leadoff hitter, they might be able to reel in the Mets by the All-Star break. Or not. Adam LaRoche looks so lost at the plate right now, and Francoeur so inconsistent (will he get a walk by the break?) that the Braves may have no choice but to make a move to acquire a bat this summer, and perhaps sooner than that. (Reggie Sanders, Tony Clark, Jeff Conine — someone.)
But anyway, Hudson. Plenty of you are skeptics and not convinced he’s turned a corner. I was one of you, until last night. Now I’m convinced he’s figured out this mechanical flaw and corrected it, the one that Roger McDowell noticed watching side-by-side video and comparing Hudson’s form early this season to his great seasons in Oakland. He’s got him staying taller on the mound now, and the result is more of a downward plane, which gives his pitches more bite, more movement downward, making that sinker the devastating weapon it was when he was the winningest AL pitcher over a five-year run.
Since they made the adjustment, Hudson is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA and .157 opponents’ average in three starts, with as many complete games in that span (two) as any other NL team has this season. He’s allowed 13 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts in 25 innings in those three games, including a three-hitter at New York.
Folks, if that ain’t convincing, then we’re a hardened bunch. But I’ll understand if some want to hold out for a couple more starts, see if he can keep it up. Me, I’m sold.
But Sosa … well, let’s just say it’ll be good if Horacio Ramirez’s beloved Lakers can inspire him to a quicker recovery and get Ho back in the rotation soon. Because I’m not holding my breath waiting for the Sosa of 2005 to return.

Renteria eager for fresh start with Braves

Edgar Renteria slipped on his No. 11 Atlanta Braves jersey for the first time Monday and predicted he would find a better fit than his uncomfortable one-season stay in Boston.
Renteria was introduced to Atlanta media almost exactly one year after he agreed to a $40 million, four-year contract with the Red Sox. Boston traded the shortstop to the Braves on Thursday for third baseman Andy Marte.
From the beginning, when he started the season 0-for-10 and hit .228 in April, Renteria struggled to fit in with the Red Sox. He was booed by Boston fans as he piled up a major league-high 30 errors.His finished with a .276 batting average, eight homers and 70 RBIs - passable for most shortstops but well below his best years with Florida and St. Louis. In 2003, he hit .330 with 13 homers, 100 RBIs and 34 stolen bases for the Cardinals.
Renteria acknowledged he wasn’t prepared for the negative reception from Boston fans.
“This was my first time,” he said of the boos from the home-team supporters. “I didn’t know how to handle it. ... Nobody likes to get booed. You see me play, I always start slow. Maybe the fans didn’t know anything about me.”
Renteria described himself as “a quiet guy.” He said of Boston: “It’s a little tough there.”
In the end, the Red Sox were so eager to trade Renteria and his contract that they will pay $8 million of the $26 million he is owed for the next three seasons. In addition, the Red Sox must pay the $3 million buyout if his $11 million option for 2009 is declined by Atlanta.
“It seems like they were really pushing to trade him; there’s no way to soft-sell that,” said Renteria’s agent, Jeff Lane.
Renteria was hesitant to respond to questions about Boston fans, the infield at Fenway Park or his overall experience with the Red Sox.
“I’m not making excuses,” he said. “I always say I make errors. The field doesn’t make errors.”

Rookies forced to step up for Falcons

This was not Jim Mora's plan for a playoff caliber defense. The Atlanta Falcons coach did not expect rookie Jonathan Babineaux, who began the season at defensive tackle, to have his sixth start at end in Monday night's game against the New Orleans Saints.
Mora didn't expect another rookie, Michael Boley, to spend most of the season as the starting strongside linebacker, especially because he worked in training camp at the weakside position.
Mora didn't dream he'd go through three nickel backs - Kevin Mathis, Chris Cash and Allen Rossum - in 12 games.
Mora believed middle linebacker would be a position of great depth before losing rookie third-round pick Jordan Beck for the year before the season opener and then losing the team's biggest free-agent addition, Ed Hartwell, to a torn Achilles' tendon in Week 5.
Hartwell's injury triggered a chain reaction of moves that made Boley a starter while Keith Brooking moved inside from outside linebacker.
Babineaux had to move up at end when right end Brady Smith broke his right big toe; he's missed the last five games. The Falcons have held off placing Smith on injured reserve. Smith acknowledged this week he does not know when he will return.
"It's been horrible," Smith said. "The worst for me personally is to not be able to go out there and contribute at all. I know I can help. I know there are things I can go to contribute, but I feel like my hands have been tied and I can't do anything about it."
Two more rookies - Chauncey Davis and Darrell Shropshire - are top backups on the line.
Other changes which have the Falcons looking younger on offense were less traumatic. The team's last two first-round draft picks, receivers Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, have taken starting jobs from Peerless Price, who was cut in the preseason, and Dez White, who was placed on injured reserve last week.
But the changes on defense are of the greatest concern to Mora and his staff.
Mora says a startling number of injuries have hit his team at the same positions: defensive end, linebacker and nickel back.
"We just have to keep developing these kids that are playing for us," Mora said. "You can't make an excuse. ... We have to keep developing Babineaux. Babs is playing defensive end and we brought him here to play the backup three-technique (tackle). That's what it is. So we have to develop him."
Mora said Shropshire, an undrafted free agent, was projected to be a practice squad player. "Now he's playing for us," Mora said. "We have to play him."
Boley, meanwhile, was expected to play on special teams, much like Demorrio Williams in his 2004 rookie season. Williams now is the other starting outside linebacker. Boley was projected as a future starter, but not this year.
"We have to develop him," Mora said. "It's not easy. We can't cry about it, we just have to develop them the best we can."
The latest addition to the injury list came last week when Rossum, the return specialist and nickel back, hurt his knee. Rossum's replacement at nickel back, Leigh Torrence, was on the team's injury report early in the week, but was cleared Friday.
Also, third-year free safety Bryan Scott was benched for his poor play, adding yet another new name, Ronnie Heard, to the patchwork first-team defense.
Saints coach Jim Haslett said last week he could see the Falcons were unsettled at linebacker when Atlanta took a 34-31 win over his team in San Antonio on Oct. 16. That was the first game after Hartwell's injury forced a reshuffling of the linebackers.
As the Falcons struggled to adjust to the changes, the Saints rushed for 211 yards, still the most allowed by Atlanta this season.
Haslett says he can see the linebackers now are playing with more confidence.
"They are so settled in more at the linebacker spot," Haslett said. "They have great speed at linebacker and great speed on the back end, so they are settled into what they are doing now. They are settled in personnel wise."
Mora said Brooking played his best game of the season - and perhaps one of the best games of his career - last week, but the performance was lost in the Falcons' loss to Carolina.
Now Mora has to hope young players Boley and Babineaux can catch up with Brooking, Patrick Kerney, Rod Coleman and other veterans.
"You don't have the years of experience to draw from when something happens quickly," Mora said. "I think with each rep these guys take, because they're well-coached and because they're talented guys who work hard, they're getting better and better.
"I get excited about the progress that Boley, Shropshire, Babineaux and Davis are making. It's good to see. Now we just need to get all 11 on every play doing it right for 60 plays in a row. That's the challenge."

Hawks drop to 0-9 as comeback falls short

Chris Paul kept telling Salim Stoudamire not to shoot. Once Stoudamire stopped listening, the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 26-point deficit and almost came away with their first victory.
But Paul saved the day for the New Orleans, scoring five of his 25 points on free throws in the final 22.7 seconds in the Hornets' 95-92 victory over the winless Hawks on Friday night.
The rookie from Wake Forest also had a career-high 12 assists.
"I just always like to get guys involved," Paul said. "I never want to feel like I'm ball-hogging. But at the same time, coaches keep telling me I've got to look for my shot more."
He might have done just as much good by talking to Stoudamire, who scored 24 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.
"It didn't surprise me," Paul said. "I talked to him throughout the whole game. I told him, `Don't start shooting. Don't start shooting.' ... I know when it gets down to that type of situation, that's when he's going to start."
Paul and Stoudamire met in college and attended a rookie camp together.
"He was telling me that, and I was like, 'I'm going to be patient and pick and choose my spots," Stoudamire. "They opened up for me, and I knocked them down."
The Hornets, playing without two starters and their top reserve, led 76-50 after Brandon Bass' two-handed, fast-break dunk early in the fourth quarter before Stoudamire took over. The former Arizona standout scored 21 of the Hawks' next 31 points to cut the deficit to eight, and Joe Johnson added two 3-pointers and a layup to get Atlanta to 90-89.
"I didn't want to give up. I wanted to compete until the buzzer sounded, and luckily I caught fire," Stoudamire said.
Paul, the Hornets' first-round draft pick, hit one of two free throws with 22.7 seconds left, and Johnson and Zaza Pachulia each missed baskets that could have tied the game for the Hawks.
Paul hit two more free throws to stretch New Orleans' lead to four at 93-89, and Stoudamire made his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter to pull Atlanta within one again. Paul then sealed the game with two free throws with 3 seconds left.
Stoudamire missed a shot from near half court that could've sent the game to overtime. It was one of only three misses on his 12 fourth-quarter shots.
"It was just one of those nights where the basket was like a huge bucket," Stoudamire said. "But we lost, so it doesn't mean anything to me."
Johnson scored 21 points, Harrington had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Pachulia added 10 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta, which dropped to 0-9, the worst start in franchise history.
The Hornets played without starting guard J.R. Smith (ankle) and starting center P.J. Brown, who was attending his mother-in-law's funeral. Reserve guard Speedy Claxton (ankle), the team's second-leading scorer, also didn't play.
Still, the Hornets (3-6) snapped a four-game losing streak and ensured they wouldn't duplicate last season's 2-29 start. New Orleans didn't pick up its third win until a 121-117 victory against Sacramento on Jan. 8 ended its second losing streak of 10 or more games.
Before Stoudamire started shooting, it appeared New Orleans would cruise to win No. 3.
"It shouldn't have been that close," Hornets forward David West said.
Game notesTwo of the Hawks' three preseason wins came against New Orleans. The other was against Charlotte. ... Atlanta faced nine straight Western Conference opponents to start the season. Its first Eastern Conference game is Sunday against Boston. ... The attendance was 17,554, the Hornets' lowest in five games in Oklahoma City. ... A night after going 0-for-13 from 3-point range, the Hornets were 8-for-16 from behind the arc.

Coleman, Hall, Williams leading the way in Pro Bowl voting

Through November 16 in the online fan voting for the 2006 Pro Bowl, Falcons defensive tackle Rod Coleman, cornerback DeAngelo Hall and outside linebacker Demorrio Williams are the leading vote-getters at their respective positions not just in the NFC, but also in the NFL.
Coleman, denied a trip to Hawaii last year despite 11.5 sacks, more than 40 total tackles and an interception returned 39 yards for a score, is leading the way for defensive tackles thus far with 138,594 total votes. His seven sacks are currently first in the NFL for among interior defensive linemen. The Colts Montrae Reagor is currently second in the fan online balloting with 112,328 votes.
Hall, the Falcons first-round draft pick in 2004, is already getting league-wide recognition in his second season. With four interceptions already in '05, Hall leads all cornerbacks in fan votes through one month with 164,896. Cincinnati cornerback Detha O'Neal is presently second with 163,790.
Despite making the switch from strongside to weakside linebacker a third of the way through the season, Williams has still managed to accumulate three sacks, two interceptions and a block kick returned for a score. His 83 tackles place him sixth in the NFL in total stops and his 104,914 votes in online Pro Bowl balloting is the most for any outside linebacker. Colts linebacker Cato June has 104,053 votes through November 16.

Chipper Jones restructuring deal with Braves

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones has agreed to restructure his contract, potentially saving the team $15 million over the next three seasons, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday night.The deal would reduce Jones' 2006 salary from $17 million to $11 million.
According to Jones' agent, B.B. Abbott, the new contract would pay Jones $11 million guaranteed in 2007 and 2008. It also includes a $4 million signing bonus to be paid in January, and an option for 2009 worth between $8 million and $11 million, depending on performance incentives in the previous year.
Jones, concerned that his salary had become a "drag" to the Braves' payroll, has offered to restructure his contract at the end of each of the last two seasons.
The deal, which won't become final until Jones passes a physical exam, would free up salary so the Braves could address other needs this winter, most notably re-signing free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.
Under his existing contract, Jones could have earned as much as $52 million in salary and bonuses over the next three seasons were all incentives met.
The deal included options for 2007 and 2008, that would have paid him $15 million had he made 450 plate appearances or appeared in the All-Star Game in 2006 or 2007. Jones made 432 plate appearances last season despite missing 53 games with injuries. Jones also would have received a $5 million bonus if both options had kicked in. Jones batted .296 with 21 HR and 72 RBI last season, appearing in 109 games. In 12 major-league seasons, all with the Braves, Jones has a career .303 batting average with 1,811 hits, 331 home runs and 1,111 RBI. He won the NL MVP in 1999.