November 7
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Left-handed pitcher Mike Minor, the Braves' first-round draft choice in 2009 out of Vanderbilt, is scheduled to start Saturday night in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game. First pitch is set for 8:15 p.m., and the game is to be shown on the MLB Network. Minor, the seventh pick of the June draft, is 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts for the Peoria Saguaros. He had been scheduled to start Saturday night against Steven Strasburg, who was taken No. 1 overall in 2009 by the Washington Nationals, but Strasburg was scratched because of a neck strain. Also, Joshua Fields, a former Georgia Bulldogs star reliever, has been selected to play in the game. Fields was a first-round draft ..."
November 6
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Mark Bradley
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I'm just throwing it out there, OK? So don't all scream at once. (If you do choose to scream, please take turns.) So here goes: With the re-signing of Tim Hudson, the Braves have six starting pitchers under contract for 2010. The baseball truism holds that a team can never have too much pitching, but this one just might. The obvious solution would be to make Kenshin Kawakami a reliever, except for a couple of things: He makes too much money (around $8 million) to slot into middle relief and he generates too many baserunners to close. So …. what about this? Tommy Hanson as closer. I know, I know. Would any organization in its right mind redeploy its best pitching prospect in a generation so ..."
November 5
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Being home with his family during baseball season is nice, but pitcher Tim Hudson said he wouldn't have agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Braves for that alone. "It's really convenient from the family standpoint," he said Thursday. "But I'm excited that I'm going to be with this organization for another three years because I think we have a chance to be really good. "I'm excited about being able to help the organization get back to the position we used to be in, which is a championship club. To me, being part of that is more special than going through free agency and just going to the team I think has the best chance to win the World Series." Terms were finalized this week ..."
November 4
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The Braves signed veteran reliever Scott Proctor to a one-year contract on Wednesday, according to his agent. The team hopes he can overcome two recent elbow surgeries and regain something akin to his form. The right-hander missed the entire 2009 season with the Florida Marlins while recovering from ligament-transplant elbow surgery in May, after flexor-tendon surgery on the elbow in October 2008. The Braves have not confirmed the signing, as teams are urged by Major League Baseball not to make such announcements during the World Series. Soon after the World Series, the Braves are also expected to announce pitcher Tim Hudson has signed a three-year contract. He passed his physical this ..."
November 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Braves phenom Jason Heyward's Arizona Fall League stint ended abruptly with a strained back, but general manager Frank Wren has other Braves prospects to check out when he travels to Phoenix in two weeks. Six others are playing for the Peoria Saguaros, including first baseman Freddie Freeman, shortstop Brandon Hicks, and pitchers Mike Minor, Craig Kimbrel, Lee Hyde and Jeff Lyman. Heyward's injury isn't serious, but likely will require a few weeks of rest and rehab. The fall league lasts only through mid-November, so the slugging outfielder will stay home in McDonough. Here's a look at how other Braves prospects are doing in the desert. Freeman: The sweet-swinger had a sluggish start in ..."
October 29
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Pitcher Tim Hudson is expected to sign a three-year contract extension with the Braves by early next week, a person familiar with negotiations said. The Braves and Hudson's representative have made rapid progress in negotiations on a deal, which could be completed as early as Friday. It's believed it will be worth approximately $9 million per season. The extension for Hudson, 34, would replace a $12 million option the Braves hold on the right-hander's contract for 2010. The Braves have until three days after the World Series to make a decision on that option. If the option were exercised, Hudson would have the right to refuse it and become a free agent. The Alabama native said he would ..."
October 28
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A lower-back strain for Braves outfield prospect Jason Heyward has ended his Arizona Fall League season after just four games. Heyward, 20, was examined Tuesday by Dr. Marvin Royster, who diagnosed back inflammation that was radiating to Heyward's gluteus. He will undergo treatment, rest for a few weeks and not return to the fall league, which runs through mid-November. The Braves don't believe it will affect the former Henry County High School star in his preparations for spring training and the 2010 season. Heyward, recently named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, will be invited to his second major league spring training in February and this time the Braves say he ..."
October 26
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The Braves and pitcher Tim Hudson's agent plan to resume negotiations this week on a contract extension expected to be for "at least" three years, a person familiar with the situation said Sunday. The parties last week began discussing a deal that could be worth $9 million or more annually for the 34-year-old right-hander. It's unclear if the team would go to a guaranteed fourth year or offer an option year. If a deal is struck, the new contract would presumably replace a $12-million option the Braves hold on Hudson's contract for 2010. The club has until three days after the World Series to pick up or decline that option, the impetus for negotiating a new deal so soon after the season. ..."
October 24
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It's too early to know how the Braves will go about adding a power hitter and filling expected bullpen vacancies, but second base appears set with Martin Prado. Despite a recent comment by manager Bobby Cox, who mentioned possibly moving Prado to right field and not "giving up" on second baseman Kelly Johnson, it sounds more likely that Prado will keep the starting job he won last summer. "I think we watched Martin Prado become our everyday second baseman in the second half," Braves general manager Frank Wren said, "and ... going into spring training, there's no reason to think anything's changed.""
October 21
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Pitchers Jorge Campillo, Buddy Carlyle and Vladimir Nunez were removed from the Braves' 40-man roster and opted for free agency last week, though that doesn't necessarily mean the team has cut ties with the right-handers. The club could offer any of them contracts later, probably minor-league deals since major-league roster spots are needed to protect younger players during the offseason. "We will make decisions on them sometime in the future," general manager Frank Wren said. Campillo was 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 39 games (25 starts) as a 29-year-old rookie in 2008, but made just five relief appearances in 2009 before having rotator cuff surgery. He hopes to be recovered in time for spring ..."
October 21
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The Count always looks forward to baseball trade talks. He can never resist adding a new bat. (Sorry. It was sitting right there.) Anyway, I know the baseball offseason won't officially start until the World Series, when hopefully the gluttonous New York Yankees choke and keel over like an over-sized mutant ATM machine that spits out one too many withdrawals during free agency. But since agent Scott Boras has begun his pimping duties, I figured Braves fans should know something early. Matt Holliday? Ain't happening. We count down . . . 10. Boras: I've got your Holliday right hereIf this makes you feel any better, it was Holliday, the solid hitting outfielder, who greased the skids for the ..."
October 20
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Pitchers Jorge Campillo, Buddy Carlyle and Vladimir Nunez were removed from the Braves' 40-man roster and opted for free agency last week, though that doesn't necessarily mean the team has cut ties with the right-handers. The club could offer any of them contracts later, probably minor-league deals since major-league roster spots are needed to protect younger players during the offseason. "We will make decisions on them sometime in the future," general manager Frank Wren said. Campillo was 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 39 games (25 starts) as a 29-year-old rookie in 2008, but made just five relief appearances in 2009 before having rotator cuff surgery. He hopes to be recovered in time for spring ..."
October 18
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It's rare to hear a player openly state that he'll take less from his current team than from others, especially before negotiations have even begun. That's what Braves pitcher Tim Hudson did last week, saying he would take a "hometown discount" -- less money to stay with the Braves than he could get on the open market. His statement indicated a few things. First, Hudson knows the Braves have five other starters under contractual control, and don't feel obligated to compete with higher offers Hudson might receive if he becomes a free agent. Braves starters led the majors with a 3.52 ERA, which included only seven late-season starts from Hudson after returning from elbow surgery. "They don't ..."
October 17
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Braves catcher Brian McCann had a second round of Lasik eye surgery Friday, in hopes of playing next season without glasses he wore for most of the 2009 season. The procedure Friday was referred to as an enhancement to Lasik surgery McCann had in 2007. Both surgeries were by Dr. Alan Kozarsky, the Atlanta ophthalmologist who did Lasik on Tiger Woods and Greg Maddux, among others. McCann hit .195 in April before going on the disabled list with blurred vision, which doctors tried to correct using various drops and contact lenses. Eventually he was fitted for prescription glasses, after never playing in glasses before."
October 15
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Braves pitcher Tim Hudson reiterated Wednesday that he's willing to accept a "hometown discount" to stay with the Braves, while refuting a report that he's planning to become a free agent to see what he can get on the open market. A report on FoxSports.com, citing unnamed "major-league sources," said that Hudson, "barring a last-minute, knockout offer from the Braves," planned to become a free agent. "This makes me sound like I'm saying, 'Screw y'all, I'm out of here,' which isn't the case at all," Hudson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I've said all along that Atlanta was the place I want to be and that I'm willing to give them a hometown discount. "I just hope when we start ..."
October 14
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The Braves are losing scouting director Roy Clark, who accepted a job with the Washington Nationals after 20 years in the Braves organization. After interviewing Monday in Washington, Clark told the Braves Tuesday that he had accepted a post as Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel. Clark, 51, will have wide-ranging duties including oversight of player development and all scouting -- amateur, professional, and international. The Braves have three different directors in charge of player development, international scouting and amateur scouting, and two other team officials run professional scouting. "It's one of those situations that come along in your ..."
October 13
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Longtime Braves scouting director Roy Clark might leave the organization for a higher-ranking job with the Washington Nationals. Clark interviewed Monday in Washington for a position as assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel, with sweeping responsibilities that would include overseeing player development and scouting, including international scouting. "I'm going through a very tough time," Clark, 51, said before sitting down with his family Monday night to discuss the decision. "It's very difficult to let go of 20 years, but they're putting together a pretty good package up there. It's very exciting." A scouting director for the past 11 years, Clark was first ..."
October 9
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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He's a big dude with bigger ability -- seriously huge ability -- and many believe Jason Heyward will be the face of the Braves before long. Yet there are reasons why the strapping outfielder from Henry County High doesn't really fit the description of power hitter the Braves seek this winter. And his being a left-handed hitter -- thee club needs a righty -- isn't the main factor. It's that Heyward is only 20, with one week of competition above Class AA. That's why it might be a little while longer before the Heyward Era begins at Turner Field -- and why the Braves will probably search elsewhere this winter for another big bat. It could be an outfielder or a first baseman, depending whether ..."
October 8
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Twenty-one major league teams hit more homers than the Braves this season, but not a single team had a better earned run average from its starting pitchers. That, plus the fact the Braves finished the year with more proven starting pitchers (six) than a rotation can accommodate, makes it less than surprising that some time this winter, they might trade one of those pitchers for a slugger. But if it's Javier Vazquez, who has one year at $11.5 million remaining on his contract, general manager Frank Wren had best prepare to be second-guessed by more than fans. "I'm not going to play GM. I'm just going to give you my opinion on it – Javier Vazquez needs to be on this team next year," third ..."
October 7
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens was named National League pitcher of the month after going 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA in five September starts. He allowed only five earned runs in 36 innings, including a pair of scoreless outings against the Cardinals (eight innings on Sept. 11) and the Marlins (seven innings on Sept. 28). He struck out 21 batters and walked 11 in those five starts. After losing to Cincinnati on Sept. 5, having allowed three runs in seven innings, Jurrjens won his next four starts, putting up a 0.62 ERA along the way, while holding opponents to a .210 batting average."
October 7
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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True story: My daughter and I were sitting in Section 401 last week the night of the Ricky Nolasco/Matt Diaz game. Elizabeth is 12 and, unlike her father, very smart. She doesn't follow baseball closely but has played softball and does know how to read a batting average. So, in the bottom of the sixth, I said to her: "The Braves are sending up a pinch-hitter." She looked at the scoreboard. She noted the pinch-hitter was hitting .135. She said, "Why are they using him?" I laughed out loud. I said, "Believe it or not, you aren't the first to have asked that question." Believe it or not, the pinch-hitter struck out. Elizabeth gave me a questioning look. I shrugged. And right there is why I ..."
October 6
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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When Rawlings introduced its safer S100 batting helmet around Major League clubhouses in August, it was met with snickers. The helmet, named for the protection it provides from balls thrown at 100 mph, was "too bulky." It looked "goofy." "Those things are heinous," said Braves' Chipper Jones after he got a glimpse of one the six S100s sent to the Braves. But two days after the New York Times ran a story about the new helmet, three players were hit in the head on the same day: on Aug. 15, the Mets' David Wright and the Rangers' Ian Kinsler were hit by pitches and Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda was hit by a line drive."
October 6
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Mark Bradley
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They finished the season on a six-game losing streak and wound up third in the division, but ESPN.com's Insiders sees the Braves as perhaps the NL East favorite in 2010. (Link requires registration.) Insiders quotes one unnamed "longtime NL scout" as saying, "That's a team that has the pitching to run down the Phillies next year." More from Insiders Buster Olney and Shawn Hoffman: "Atlanta needs a bopper. It's maybe the one missing ingredient. The Braves appear poised for a breakthrough season, in what Cox says will be his last year as the team's manager. Atlanta is flush with starting pitching, from Javier Vazquez to Tommy Hanson, and has some excellent young prospects expected to rise ..."
October 6
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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With the season over, the Braves are already back to the drawing board, beginning to look where to add, subtract and possibly move people around. Manager Bobby Cox brought up the idea Monday that second baseman Martin Prado could move to right field if the Braves decide they want to give Kelly Johnson another shot at second base. "He plays right field on a regular basis in Venezuela [in winter ball], has for the last few years," Cox said. "He's a possible candidate, depending on what we do with Kelly. We just can't give up on Kelly. He had too good of a solid year last year." Johnson hit .287 with 12 homers and 69 RBIs in 2008. In a limited role this season after losing his job to Prado, ..."
October 5
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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When the Braves said they didn't want their season to end Oct. 4, this wasn't what they had in mind. Their season finale Sunday lasted 15 innings and nearly 4 1/2 hours and ended ingloriously in a 2-1 loss against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field, leaving the Braves with a six-game losing streak as the final act in a season that crashed from a promising peak six days before."
October 4
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Furman Bisher
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If you're trying to place blame on when the Braves blew their shot at making the playoffs, it wasn't when Matt Diaz was caught off base trying to score against the Florida Marlins. That would have made the score only 5-5, and the game could still have been won. And it wasn't when Frank Wren was slow to pull the trigger on John Smoltz, leaving him to hook up with the Red Sox. Nor when Tom Glavine was turned down, in essence making way for Tommy Hanson in the pitching rotation. Au contraire, a stroke of glowing luck. No, it goes way back longer than that. (And with this, I promise never to bring it up again.) It was when the Braves traded Adam Wainwright - as if he wasn't enough - and Jason ..."
October 3
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It has been a season of some hard knocks for Derek Lowe, and that didn't stop in his finale Friday night. The Washington Nationals put the finishing touches on Lowe's season by racking up eight hits and six runs on Lowe in a 6-3 loss. "This pretty much sums it up right here," Lowe said. "This is how it's been for three months. I really don't know where I went wrong. I got into so many bad habits mechanically. I put a lot of time and effort to try to correct it. It just seemed like it was never there." Lowe wraps up the season at 15-10 but with a 4.67 ERA. His ERA is almost two runs higher than Javier Vazquez (2.87), who has 15 wins as well, and Jair Jurrjens (2.61), who has a shot at 15 ..."
October 3
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Braves announcer Jon "Boog" Sciambi is leaving Fox Sports South and Sports South to take a full-time position at ESPN. Sunday's game against the Nationals on Fox Sports South will be his final Braves broadcast for them. Sciambi, the spikey-haired redhead with the baritone voice, has called Braves games for the past three years, making his mark for the rapport he developed and sense of humor he shares with longtime Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson. Sciambi will be calling both Major League Baseball and college basketball games on TV and radio for ESPN, with whom he has worked part-time since 2005. Sciambi's departure is the latest turnover in a Braves booth that has seen its share in recent ..."
October 2
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Before playing Washington on Thursday night, the Braves knew Colorado had already hammered Milwaukee -- the afternoon game was on most TVs in the clubhouse -- to clinch the wild card and eliminate the Braves from playoff contention. Still, the Braves insisted there was plenty to play for in the season-ending four-game series against the Nationals. Then they lost 2-1 in the series opener at Turner Field, with ex-Brave Pete Orr driving in the winning run in the ninth against closer Rafael Soriano. Story continues below ? Rookie Tommy Hanson struck out nine in seven crisp innings, but got no decision in his final start. "Tommy pitched a real nice ballgame; one run to work with is not a lot," ..."
October 2
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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So we ink-stained wretches of the pressbox are watching Ricky Nolasco's overpowering 16-strikeout performance against the Braves last night, marking each strikeout in our scorebooks while typing away at our stories and making note of the various announcements being made as Nolasco matched this franchise record or that one, or this Braves opposition standard or that one. And it was announced that Nolasco's 16 strikeouts tied Sid Fernandez's 1989 mark with the Mets as the most against the Braves since the team moved to Atlanta before the 1966 season. Impressive, no doubt. But there was one small word that was easily overlooked within that announcement. The "in" Atlanta part of it. And if I'd ..."
October 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Jorge Cantu doesn't mind when opponents intentionally walk Hanley Ramirez to pitch to him. He welcomes the opportunity. Tuesday, Cantu came up for the 11th time after a Ramirez intentional walk and delivered the game-winning, RBI-single off Kenshin Kawakami in the seventh for a 5-4 Florida Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! win at Turner Field. The Braves, who got the tying run on first with no outs off Leo Nunez, lost for the just the third time in 18 games. Nunez induced a Chipper Jones double play and Brian McCann pop out for his 25th save. Cantu, who is 7 for his last 17 with runners in scoring position, raised his overall average with RISP to .296 (58 for 196). The RBI was his ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Three games behind the wild-card leader with only five to play seems about as desperate a situation today for the Braves as they faced on the morning of Sept. 10, when they were fifth in the wild-card standings, 8-1/2 off the lead. But if you've been following them closely and don't view the Braves any differently today than on Sept. 10, well, then all I can say it you must be determined not to change your perception regardless of events. Because it's been a helluva run back to relevance for these Braves, and no less a realist than Chipper Jones has been talking the past week about how much this finish could and should mean for the Braves moving forward next year. The same Chipper who in ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Jeff Schultz
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The sudden wake-up call in July, the mind-numbing 15-2 run in September, the otherworldly creature that seemingly once inhabited the body of Martin Prado - this is what happens when everything catches up to a team in one night. The Braves didn't lose a game Wednesday night. They suffered the mother of all market corrections. You figured maybe this would happen in December. You know, like maybe Yunel Escobar turns an ankle while hanging Christmas lights. Instead it hit during the final spasms of a playoff race. What's more unpredictable? That the Braves extended their postseason hopes this long, or that they probably were ended by Ricky Nolasco and a bizarre base-running mistake by maybe ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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After playing most of Wednesday's game as if it were a must-whiff rather than must-win situation, the Braves staged a dramatic ninth-inning rally that sent a jolt of electricity and hope through Turner Field. But it was squelched by one of of the more unusual game-ending plays anyone could remember in a 5-4 loss against the Florida Marlins, which left Matt Diaz feeling awful and the Braves' postseason hopes decimated. With the bases loaded, Diaz was thrown out trying to get back to third when a pitch in the dirt got away from Marlins catcher Ronny Paulino -- but not as far away as Diaz had momentarily thought. "I pride myself on making the right decision," said Diaz, who had come halfway ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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He is not a four-time All-Star catcher or a Hall of Fame-bound third baseman, but Martin Prado has been at least as important as anyone in the Braves' lineup these past few months. Yes, the erstwhile utility man was as crucial to the team's resurgence as Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, or any other player with bigger name recognition. In fact, Prado picked up some of the slack during Jones' slump. Since moving into the lineup June 30, he had hit .314 with 32 extra-base hits (eight homers), 40 RBIs, 48 runs and a .357 on-base percentage in 73 games before Wednesday. "He's always been highly thought of; he's just never had the opportunity to get in there every single day," manager Bobby Cox ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Jeff Schultz
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Frank Wren went into the off-season last a year ago knowing he would need to add starting pitching. He will go into the off-season this year realizing he needs to subtract. One obvious conclusion: "It will probably be a little less stressful this winter," the Braves general manager said. Somewhat. But a significant issue has been hanging over the Braves all season, and the core of that issue was on the mound Wednesday night. Javier Vazquez, the same pitcher whose heart and big-game ability was questioned last season by the Chicago White Sox' turbo-lipped manager, Ozzie Guillen, has been Atlanta's best starter this season. He went into the Florida game with a 15-9 record and 2.83 ERA (4-0, ..."