ESPN.com: MLB - Surhoff has torn ACL, expected to miss season

Typical. Guy plays for us for a year and a half, does absolutely nothing to suggest that he belongs in the major leagues, much less that he should be making millions. And when he finally starts hitting a little -- not a lot, but enough to make him not the worst player on the team -- he gets hurt and will miss the rest of the season.

Apparently, the Braves have brought up Darren Bragg from Richmond to take the place of Ryan Langerhans, who took Surhoff's place. Why they didn't do this in the beginning is anyone's guess. This story indicates that the Braves hope Sheffield will be able to play on Tuesday; if not, Bragg will presumably start in right. Surhoff's injury probably means Wes Helms is the full-time first baseman, at least until he goes into a slump.

ESPN.com - MLB - Recap - Astros at Braves - 04/28/2002

Argh. The Braves lost to the Astros again, and it wasn't close. Well, it was for five innings, Albie Lopez pitching well, but when he hit the wall the pen wasn't able to pick him up. Nor was the offense; Andruw hit a homer with two out in the ninth for the Braves' only run. And Chipper left the game with a sprained thumb. The injuries are definitely becoming a concern.

The only good news is that Bobby has finally made the obvious offensive adjustment, moving Marcus Giles into the two spot and Andruw behind Chipper. Well, almost: he foolishly hit Castilla -- he of the .240 OBP -- between the Joneses. The Castillometer is in the planning stages. I have to wonder what will happen when -- if -- everyone is healthy. The Braves have lots of people who can play third base, and most of them are fighting for playing time at first and the outfield. Why would Helms and his power, or Surhoff and his on-base skills, have to sit on the bench when either could take Castilla's place?

The Braves get a day off before playing at Milwaukee for three games. Former Braves farmhand Ruben Quevedo (he was sent to the Cubs in the Mulholland trade; the Cubs sent him on for David Weathers, I believe) is supposed to start for the Brewers on Wednesday. And the other Brewers starters are familiar faces, former Met and Phillie Nelson Figueroa and former Met Glendon Rusch.

ESPN.com: MLB - Braves' fingers still crossed after Surhoff put on DL

Surhoff hurt his knee late in the game last night, a 6-3 loss to the Astros. Nobody knows yet what his prognosis is; they're hoping he'll be back in mid-May, but the injury could be more serious. It's a tough loss, surprisingly. BJ has been hitting, for average anyway, and drawing some walks; his OBP is .369. He hasn't had any power to speak of, and you'd want more from a first baseman or outfielder, but with Sheffield hurt he was likely the team's best option in right field. Mark DeRosa is playing there now; as much as I like him, I don't think he's going to hit enough for a right fielder. With Javy Lopez hurt, the Braves are missing a lot of offense, and are playing with a very short bench.

Ryan Langerhans was called up from Greenville to take the roster spot. Langerhans is probably the Braves' best outfield prospect, but that's not saying much. People like to compare him to Paul O'Neill, but that's not very fair to a 22-year-old kid who hasn't played above A-ball before this year. (For that matter, O'Neill didn't really become a top player until he was about 30.) He was probably Greenville's best player, hitting .269/.383/.474, with three homers. I've no idea if he's going to play or sit on the bench. Knowing Bobby... Well, who knows with Bobby? He will throw a kid out there, but at other times he'll nail him to the bench. He's a lot less predictable than his detractors say.

Kevin Millwood took the loss last night; it was his second-straight subpar outing. Like Maddux a few days ago, he walked a tightrope for awhile then blew up. He wasn't that bad, really, and could have gotten out of the big inning that beat him with a little luck... Albie Lopez was reactivated to pitch today. I'll talk about today's game later.

ESPN.com - MLB - Recap - Astros at Braves - 04/26/2002

Well, every five days, the Braves have a great chance of winning. Tom Glavine will be on the mound. Tommy went seven, gave up no runs (his ERA for the season is 0.89), and got nine runs in support. The Braves move back to .500 on the season, and will stay in third place.

It looks like Wes Helms is going to start more regularly now; he's gotten four straight, five of six, between third and first. It's a good thing, because he's been terrific; he's hitting .387 with power -- two homers, three doubles. But he hasn't drawn a walk yet this year; if he doesn't learn to take some pitches pitchers will catch up with him pretty soon.

Hi, this is the first post to the "new" Braves Journal. Things look pretty different right now, but eventually I'll get it looking more like what I'm used to. The biggest change is that working with the Blogger protocol (or, eventually, Moveable Type) I will be able to post more regularly, and will have access even if I'm away from my computer, as long as there's an internet connection nearby.

The big story is that Greg Maddux was shelled last night, giving up ten runs, six of them earned, to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also, most atypically, threw more balls than strikes. To be fair to Greg, he's never been very successful against the D-Backs, and he actually pitched well for four innings before collapsing in the fifth. But obviously, he's not 100 percent healthy. Just as obviously, the Braves need a healthy Greg Maddux.

The Braves wound up losing two of three from Arizona, and could have been swept but for a late rally in the middle game. In this case, the Braves' offense was so-so, better than it's been, but the pitching wasn't there except for Damian Moss. Poor Damian still can't buy a win, but he's keeping the Braves in every game he pitches. Andruw Jones -- whose head a lot of people wanted on a platter a few days ago -- has emerged as the team's best hitter and primary power source. He's now leading the team in most hitting categories except batting average and on-base percentage.

Meanwhile, Gary Sheffield is on the shelf with his injury, and Odalis Perez -- traded for him -- was one play away from a perfect game for the Dodgers today. Oh, well.