Braves News Round-Up

I completely maintain that for the past two weeks I have done a very good job at ignoring this blog and with only two weeks left until pitchers and catchers report, I am pretty sure that my updates will be very limited. But here’s what I missed over the last few days.

The Braves have locked up a couple of players.
In avoiding arbitration, the Braves have agreed to one year deals with first baseman Casey Kotchman ($2.88 million), reliever Mike Gonzalez ($3.45 million) and outfielder Matt Diaz. They still remain at an impasse with right fielder Jeff Francoeur and second baseman Kelly Johnson.

Tom Glavine remains a question mark; Andruw Jones most likely to stay not a Brave
Tom Glavine received a clean bill of health, but that does not mean the Cy Young Award winner will be back with the Braves for 2009. Glavine and GM Frank Wren have met to discuss a new contract, but to this point, nothing has been made official. With the way the Braves pitcher’s have been over the last few years, it’s probably best to have as many starters at the ready as possible.

Andruw Jones, who was given his release by the Los Angeles Dodgers, is still on the market, but even at a veterans minimum, the Braves are unlikely to sign him. The Braves do need outfielders, however, Jones has failed to prove that his offense is back and he could prove to be a liability even at such a small financial margin.

Jordan Schafer is sorry
Braves super prospect Jordan Schafer almost had his career derail before it even started last season when he was suspended for 50 games after being linked to HGH. Now Schafer is expressing his regret for his actions. In an interview with the media opened up about the incident for the first time:

"I regret the people that I hung around, the situation that I put myself in," Schafer said. "I regret putting the Braves through that. I regret putting you guys, the media, through that, where you have to cover a story like that. I regret disappointing the fans. I regret the whole situation. I put myself in a bad place at a bad time. "

Hopefully, this will be the last time he is mixed up in this sort of situation.

Don Sutton is Back
After a few years over in DC, Don Sutton has returned to broadcasting duties with the Braves. Sutton spent 18 years calling Braves games before moving over to the Nationals in 2007.

Braves well represented in the WBC
16 Braves members will be on various rosters during the World Baseball Classic. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann were already announced for the US team, but also participating in the tournament will be pitchers Javier Vazquez (Puerto Rico), Jair Jurrjens (The Netherlands) and Jorge Campillo (Mexico). In addition, Manny Acosta, Jose Camarena, Yeliar Castro, Dimaster Delgado, Randall Delgado and Concepcion Rodriguez will represent Panama while Scott Diamond and Bryan Dumesnil were named to the Canadian team and Phil Stockman and Mathew Kennelly were added to Australia’s roster.