So the Braves have a .500 record (5-5) through the first 10 games of this season.  This is a record you certainly would have accepted exactly a week ago facing the reality that they were 0-4 for the first time since 1988.  This is also a record that should not be deemed all too surprising considering where the club stood entering the season.

Sure, there was little reason to predict the Braves would hit just .152 and total eight runs while losing each of the first four games played against the Mets this year.  But it also seems safe to say we might have been short-changing what Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey and Co. are capable of doing.  Having gone through their rotation twice, the Mets do not have a starting pitcher with an ERA higher than 3.09.  <p>

Of course that 3.09 ERA would belong to Mike Pelfrey, the one Mets pitcher the Braves will not see this month.

One of the primary reasons you might have expected the Braves to experience some early struggles coming out of camp centered around the uncertainty surrounding their starting rotation.  The two starters who exited Spring Training with the fewest concerns were Mike Minor and Brandon Beachy, who entered this year with a combined total of 51 Major League starts.

Fortunately for the Braves, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson both provided some reason for encouragement during their most recent starts.  While the results might not indicated improvement, both seemed to be nearing the normalcy they displayed before injuries wrecked them after last year’s All-Star break.

The Braves and Hanson left themselves open to some second guessing when he threw one too many curveballs to Ike Davis last night.  The choice to feed Davis a heavy dose of soft offspeed pitches made sense. That’s what the book calls for and the book had been good to the Braves, who had limited the Mets first baseman to a .184 (14-for-76) batting average before he hit his decisive three-run homer in the sixth inning.

But the choice to throw him seven straight and nine within the 10 pitches he saw from Hanson seems to at least leave some room to debate pitch sequence.   He has thrown Davis 21 pitches this year and 17 of them have been curveballs.

Of course, it should be noted that none of the first 16 curveballs left the infield in fair territory.  Davis entered that sixth-inning plate appearance with two hits in 14 career at-bats against Hanson.

After last night’s game, Davis talked about how the Braves have fed him a plethora of offspeed pitches during his young career.

“The Braves really throw me a lot of off-speed most of the time,” Davis said. “I think in the first series I saw three fastballs in the whole series, so obviously they think I’m a fastball hitter. And I haven’t had great success against them because they’ve thrown pitcher’s pitches with their off-speed pitches.”

Throwing a curve into this discussion, it’s time to look at the encouragement Hanson produced through the first five innings.  He had surrendered just one hit before Ruben Tejada fueled the sixth inning with a one-out double.  It also seemed like his fastball had more life as I mentioned in last night’s game story.

But according to BrooksBaseball.net, the velocity readings were nearly identical to those he had registered in Houston last week.  In his April 10 start against the Astros, the average velocity of his four-seam fastball was 89.89 mph.  Last night’s average was actually a tick lower, 89.78 mph.  His max velocity in both of these games registered at 92.2 mph.

Still there is reason to believe Hanson could continue to gain a little more life on his fastball.  The February concussion prevented him from making his first exhibition start until March 11 and we can’t forget he missed the final two months of last season dealing with a sore shoulder.  It might take a few more weeks for him to regain all of his arm strength.

Heyward of 2010: Before Monday’s game, Freddie Freeman said we’re starting to see the Jason Heyward that he has known dating back to the Minor League days they shared together.   Over the past week, some of you have likely said something like, “Heyward is playing like he did in 2010.”

Well just for fun, let’s compare his current stats with those he possessed at a similar point in 2010:

2010:   .303 (10-for-33) batting average,  .410 OBP  .667 SLG   3 HR   12 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K

2012:  .375 (12-for-32) batting average, .444 OBP .656 SLG    2 HR, 5 RBI   4 BB 7 K

Bo Jackson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Mets. The former All-Star outfielder and Pro Bowl running back is promoting his upcoming Bo Bikes Bama,  300-mile bike journey that will travel through tornado ravaged communities to raise money for the Alabama Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.

Bo Jackson will throw out the first pitch to promote his upcoming Bo Bikes Bama:  a 300-mile bike journey that begins on April 24 in Henagar, Alabama and ends April 28 in Tuscaloosa.  Jackson will travel through tornado ravaged communities of Alabama to raise money for the Alabama Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.  Lance Armstrong and Ken Griffey Jr. are scheduled to help with this charitable effort.

To donate or register to ride with Bo visit www.bobikesbama.com or text “BOBIKES” to 50555 to immediately donate $10 to Bo Bikes Bama.

There was the first one that featured six future Hall of Famers (Joe Torre included) and left Tony Cloninger feeling dejected after pitching 13 strong innings.   Then there was the one played eight years later when Hank Aaron created one of baseball’s most historical moments with a fourth-inning shot that made him baseball’s true home run king.

There was the one played in 1997, when a young third baseman named Chipper Jones collected the first game-winning RBI  in Turner Field history. Three years later, Andres Galarraga returned from a season lost to cancer and teamed with Andruw Jones to hit decisive back-to-back seventh-inning home runs in a 2-1 Opening Day win over the Rockies at The Ted.

Then of course there was that beautiful, sunny afternoon just two years ago, when Jason Heyward added to his legend by electrifying his hometown crowd with a home run on the first swing of his Major League career.

This accounts for just some of the great moments in the history of Atlanta’s home openers.   Another could be created tonight, when Jones experiences the last home opener in his storied career.

Jones’ first home opener back in 1995 proved both memorable and nearly disastrous courtesy of the collision he shared with Greg Maddux while chasing a pop fly near the mound

Maddux was anything but entertained when he was cleated and violently knocked to the ground by a hard-charging Jones, who was beginning his era as Atlanta’s third baseman.

With his flip-down glasses in his mouth, Jones looked over at Maddux and immediately thought, “I killed the $15 million dollar man.”

“He cussed me for four innings,” Jones said. “Every time I threw the ball back at him, he just dogged me. It taught me a lesson to play the game under control and not try to do too much.”

Seventeen years later, Jones enters the final season of his career destined to savor the same Hall of Fame enshrinement that awaits Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and their former manager Bobby Cox.

Cox will be in attendance tonight, 34 years after making his debut as a Major League manager.  So too will the Hall of Fame pitchers — Don Sutton and Phil Niekro  — who opposed each other when the beginning of that legendary managerial career began during the 1978 Opening Day game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

They say you can see something pretty special during a home opener without knowing it was special at the time.  Just trying to make Yogi Berra proud.

Instead of aiming to do something special, Jair Jurrjens should simply attempt to do something that provides the Braves some confidence they will be able to rely on him over the next few weeks and months.  The concerns he created during his first four Grapefruit League games were slightly minimized when he ended the exhibition season with two strong efforts against a couple less-than-imposing Astros split-squad lineups.

But Jurrjens was less than impressive while lasting just 4 1/3 innings against the Mets during last weekend’s season debut.  He needed 42 pitches to record his final four outs and according to Brooks Baseball, the average velocity of his fastball was below 88 mph.  The 26-year-old vet thought the chilly conditions prevented him from getting a good feel for his secondary pitches.

In fairness, Mets starter R.A. Dickey also said he found difficulty getting a consistent feel for his knuckleball that afternoon.  But regardless the Braves need Jurrjens to start proving that he will not forever be bothered by the bothersome right knee that prevented him from pitching down the stretch both of the past two seasons.

As Spring Training concluded, Jurrjens admitted that his struggles early in the exhibition season were a product of his fear to push off the rubber with normal aggression.  Now, he must prove he truly has overcome those fears.

Jurrjens will be opposed tonight by Randy Wolf, who is 5-12 with a 5.24 ERA in 26 career starts against the Braves.   Jones has batted .377 (20-for-53) with seven doubles and four homers against Wolf.  Other Braves with some success against the veteran southpaw include Brian McCann (5-for-12 with a homer and a double) and Matt Diaz (7-for-19 with seven singles).

It is amazing to think Wolf will be the fifth left-handed pitcher the Braves have seen through the season’s first seven games.  At this rate, they will face 115 left-handed starters this year and Michael Bourn will not have a single hit against any of them.

Bourn has gone hitless with four strikeouts and no walks in his first 15 plate appearances of the season against left-handed pitchers.    It’s far too early to draw any conclusions from this year’s stats.  But this early trend is not too surprising.   The veteran leadoff hitter combined to  bat .254 with a .294 on-base percentage against left-handed pitchers during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Brian McCann (1-for-9 with three strikeouts) and Dan Uggla (1-for-9 with four strikeouts) have also experienced some early trouble against left-handed pitchers.  But Jason Heyward (3-for-9), Martin Prado (3-for-10) and Freddie Freeman (3-for-13) have allowed the Braves to enjoy some success against southpaws.

That will do it for today.  Get down to the stadium early tonight to enjoy all of the pregame festivities.  And if you don’t have a parking pass, take MARTA…It’s Smarta.

If Tuesday night’s season debut was a foreshadowing of things to come, Chipper Jones will complete his legendary career in fitting fashion.   Two weeks shy of his 40th birthday, the most successful professional athlete in Atlanta history showed us he still has the incredible natural talent that allows him to defy logic.

Admittedly, I did not understand Jones’ reasoning for not playing at least one Minor League rehab game.  Other than taking some swings against Randall Delgado in a live batting practice session on Friday, he had not seen live pitching since March 20.

But given what Jones did last night, I think he could have asked The Rock to comment on my thought:

Exactly three weeks after last playing in a game, Jones directed the second pitch he saw on Tuesday night back up the middle for a single.  One inning later, he looked at a pitch out of the strike zone and then drilled Kyle Weiland’s 1-0 slider over the right field wall for a two-run home run that inflated the Braves every bit as muchl as Juan Francisco’s defensive blunders had deflated them one night earlier.

Having looked unimpressive while losing each of their first four games, the Braves needed this spark provided by the man who had compiled just 25 Spring Training at-bats before undergoing surgery on March 26 to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.

Two weeks after surgery and three weeks since last seeing a pitch from an opposing player, Jones recorded hits in his first two at-bats and gave his fellow position players even more reason to believe Spring Training is too long.

When Jones returned to his locker last night, I told him he had given more players reason to believe they do not need four weeks worth of games during Spring Training.  Standing within earshot, Freddie Freeman said, “Like me.”

With his John Wayne-like cool, Jones smirked and replied to Freeman with, “Yeah, you do.”

While it has been an absolute pleasure to watch Jones play on a daily basis, it has been every bit as much fun talking to him before and after games.

Jones’ presence on Tuesday night was first felt in the bottom of the first when Jordan Schafer produced a nice bunt to the third base side of plate.

Expecting to see his former teammate bunt at some point during the game, Jones quickly barehanded the baseball and threw a perfect strike that beat Schafer to first base.  Immediately it was apparent this was going to lead to some good-natured trash talk.

When Schafer reached third base late in the game, he said, “It’s my job.”

Jones replied, “It’s my job to take it away from you and  I see you didn’t come back down there the rest of the night.”

It was also cool to see the excitement Chipper’s father (the man wearing the blue shirt in this video) showed when the third-inning homer cleared the wall.  One of the primary reasons, the veteran third baseman has always enjoyed playing in Houston is the fact that his parents have been able to make the six-hour drive from the family’s Double Dime ranch, which is located near the Mexican border, to watch him play.

Jones has experienced many memorable moments playing in Houston.  One of his greatest memories is of Walt Weiss’ game-saving, diving stab of Tony Eusebio’s hot shot that bounced off the Astrodome’s turf and seemed destined to land in center field for what would have been a game-winning single in Game 3 of the 1999 National League Division Series.

There was also the crushing 18-inning loss in Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS and the defensive gem Jones completed as he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament on Aug. 10, 2010.

“There’s been a lot of good and bad things that have happened here,” Jones said.  “It’s been an interesting place to play.  Back when the Killer Bees were here, I think we went 10 or 12 games in a row with one-run games.  They were just really close, really well-pitched games that two playoff-type teams often play against each other. That’s what I’ll remember when I’m done.”

Tonight will mark the last time that Jones plays in Houston.  He has batted .336 with 13 homers and a 1.014 OPS in 66 career games in this city. But do not fear.  If he has another child, I think it’s safe to assume the kid will not be named Minute Maid.

There was a sense of anticipation as the Braves prepared to play the Nationals on the afternoon of Sept. 24.  Their win combined with a Cardinals loss the previous night had whittled the magic number for clinching the Wild Card to three.

In case you forgot, there were a number of encouraging scenarios bouncing around in your head at the time.  Even if  the Braves won just one of their final five games, the Cardinals would have to win each of their final five games to clinch the Wild Card spot.

More than six months later, the Braves are still searching for that next win.  Meanwhile the reigning World Series champion Cardinals have since notched 19 victories.

Officially, the Braves will carry a four-game losing streak into tonight’s game against the Astros.  But given that I’m starting to believe in the power of the hangover created by last year’s collapse, we’ll call it a nine-game losing streak.

Here’s where we attempt to remove you from the misery you have felt since learning this is the first time the Braves have started 0-4 since the woeful 1988 club started 0-10.

The last time the Braves lost nine consecutive games was April 21-29, 2010.  That’s right.  We’re just two years removed from the last time many of you were ready to write off a season in April.  That playoff team snapped the troubling early-season skid with a three-game sweep of the Astros.

The man who helped put an end to those miseries was Tommy Hanson, who limited the Astros to two runs and four hits in eight innings on April 30, 2010.  And of course, the baseball gods are going to provide Hanson yet another opportunity to snap a nine-game losing streak and extend his dominance of the Astros tonight.

Hanson is 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA in five career starts against the Astros and 1-0 with a 0.41 ERA in three career starts at Minute Maid Park.

Feel any better yet?  OK, we’ll throw in the reminder that Chipper Jones’ return from the disabled list tonight means you will not have to watch Juan Francisco play third base for at least a few more days.

In fairness to Francisco, his defensive abilities should not be solely judged by what we saw as he totaled three errors (two on one play) last night.  But when you have committed 39 errors like he did while playing for Double-A Carolina and Triple-A Louisville last year, it’s tough to get the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe Francisco will eventually provide the kind of high reward an out-of-options player can give a cash-strapped team like the Braves.  His acquisition was certainly never as questionable as the signing of Chad Durbin, who has surrendered a home run in each of his first two appearances.  (If you’re still keeping score, Yohan Flande has extended his exhibition season success by not allowing a run in his first four innings with Triple-A Gwinnett.)

But Francisco is not the right-handed hitter the Braves needed to add to their already left-handed heavy roster.  And his left-handed hitting presence combined with that of Jose Constanza has certainly not helped the Braves as they have faced three left-handed starters in their first four games.

Based on your comments, some of you will be happy to hear Constanza was optioned to Gwinnett to make room for Jones on the 25-man roster today.

It will be interesting to see where Hanson’s velocity stands tonight.  According to Fangraphs.com, his fastball averaged 88.7 mph during Thursday’s Opening Day outing against the Mets.  His average fastball velocity dropped from 92.7 mph to 91.2. mph last year.

Hanson has been toying with a two-seam fastball grip that is similar to the one used by Kris Medlen.  When asked about this, Medlen said Brian McCann had told him it seemed Hanson’s “two-seam” fastball has seemed to be thrown harder than his “four-seam.”  This might be explained by the fact that two Major League scouts said Hanson’s ball showed very little sink on Thursday.

The good news is that Hanson does not seemed to be bothered by the right shoulder discomfort that plagued him the past two years.  But it will be interesting to see if can truly regain some of the velocity that helped him find success during his first few big league seasons.

Interesting tidbit:  The first win the Braves recorded during that miserable 106-loss campaign in 1988 came against a 43-year-old Dodgers pitcher named Don Sutton. one year later, Sutton began his role as a Braves broadcaster.

Going to have to guess some of you went to bed on Sunday night wishing you had never wished the Braves could be just like the Yankees and Red Sox.   <p>

Three weeks after Ohio University, Norfolk State, South Florida and Lehigh created hysteria in the NCAA Tournament, we enter baseball’s first full week with the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and Giants all sitting with 0-3 records.

Meanwhile, the Mets and Orioles remain two of baseball’s undefeated teams.

Welcome to early April Madness.

Imagine the odds Vegas would have put on each of these six teams entering Monday with these records.   The winnings would have likely equaled those of a Superfecta ticket that only included horses that went off at 15-to-1 or higher.

Heck, you probably would have gained a decent return by simply betting either the Mets or Orioles would escape Opening Weekend unscathed.

Still while it’s nice to see the excitement created this weekend in Baltimore and Queens, it still seems pretty safe to assume the Mets and Orioles are still bound to finish at or near the bottom of their respective divisions.

Since learning the Braves ended up winning 101 games, the last time they lost their first three games of the season, some of you have said, “You can’t compare this team to the 2003 team.”

Understood.  That team proved special as Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield all hit more than 35 homers while Russ Ortiz notched a 21-win season that surprised everybody involved. Memories of that team center around the offense, which was also fueled by Marcus Giles’ 49 doubles and Chipper Jones’ 106 RBIs.

But these developments certainly were not predictable when the team totaled two runs and suffered two shutout losses in its first three games.

OK, enough of all of the comparisons.  By now, you’ve heard all you want about how the 1998 Yankees and 2007 Phillies also lost the first three games of their respective seasons.  Really the only thing most of you wondering is if the Braves will follow a similar path or the one that they traveled this past weekend in New York.

There were obviously very few encouraging signs from the offense this weekend.  Jason Heyward recorded a double and a triple.  But at the same time, there are still going to be times when he is going to have trouble catching up to the fastball.  Remember, he’s still a work in progress.

Tyler Pastornicky showed some patience in the eighth spot of the lineup during his fifth inning plate appearance on Thursday.  After falling behind with an 0-2 count, he worked a walk.  At the time, it seemed he had aided the Braves by turning the lineup over.

But things got interesting when Johan Santana then walked Tommy Hanson to load the bases and push his pitch count to a point where he was unable to return for the sixth.

Setting the tone for the remainder of the weekend, the Braves were not able to take advantage.  Michael Bourn struck out to kill the fifth inning threat and the Mets bullpen completed seven scoreless innings during the first two games of the series.

The Braves offense will try to get on track tonight against J.A. Happ, who just happens to be 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in six career starts against the Atlanta.  If you are looking for the bright side of this picture, each of these starts was made with the Phillies.

Stay Hot.  Or would it be more fitting here to say “Stay Cold.”

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez does not have Heyward in tonight’s lineup. Instead, he is playing left-handed hitting third baseman Juan Francisco and using Matt Diaz in right field.   Diaz has eight hits, including two doubles and a homer, in 15 at-bats against Happ.

Heyward and Francisco have never batted against the left-hander.

Really not sure why Heyward is not in tonight’s lineup. Check braves.com and my Twitter page for updates.

Keep an eye on Brandon Beachy during the early innings as he makes his first start for the Braves tonight.  Beachy struggled during the early innings of his final two exhibition starts and then found a groove in both outings.

BRAVES LINEUP (4/9/12)

Bourn  8

Prado 7

McCann 2

Uggla 4

Freeman 3

Diaz 9

Francisco 5

Pastornicky 6

Beachy 1

The Braves officially announced their Opening Day roster via a release this afternoon.  I guess this means there  is not an expectation of any more aging pitchers to be released by another club before tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Mets.

If you were already aware that Nationals castoff Chad Durbin was signed yesterday because the Braves view him as a better option than Yohan Flande, then you are up to date on all necessary roster news.

But if you are wondering why Tim Hudson is beginning the season on the disabled list, then I say welcome back and offer you a belated Happy Thanksgiving.  While you were gone, the Marlins and Nationals became widely regarded as the two teams most likely to end the Phillies’ dominance at the top of the National League East standings.

Some of you have asked for my reaction to predictions that the Braves will finish fourth in the division this year.  I’d say it is virtually the same reaction I had to predictions the club would reach the World Series last year.

That lofty World Series prediction seemed realistic until the arrival of Hurricane Irene spun last season out of control.  Likewise a fourth-place finish is certainly not out of the question for any of the NL East members this year. After spending hours arguing about where the Phillies, Nationals, Marlins and Braves will finish, the only thing we might agree on is the belief that the Mets will not win the division.

I am also not buying into the possibility that the Nationals are ready to win the division this year.  Henry Rodriguez will stabilize a talented bullpen until Drew Storen returns and the lineup has plenty of potential.  But the thought of Stephen Strasburg being on an innings limit (approx. 160 innings) keeps me from thinking this is year the NL East crown ends up in Washington D.C.

When starting this blog entry, I was leaning toward choosing the Phillies to win the division again. My thinking was that in a division filled with uncertainty, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels provide the greatest certainty. We’ll likely never see the MVP-caliber Chase Utley again and we don’t know what to expect from Ryan Howard (torn left Achilles) once he is cleared to return.  But Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence will keep the lineup respectable.

That line of thinking seemed reasonable until I took another look at the Marlins and deemed them to be the better pick.  There are concerns about Josh Johnson’s shoulder and Hanley Ramirez’s ability to remain happy in a clubhouse that now has more potential distractions than lockers.  Plus, I’m not crazy about this bullpen beyond the closer, Heath Bell.  But if Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Reyes and Ramirez all live up to expectations, this lineup could take of most pitching-related concerns.

But as good as the Marlins lineup could be, the Braves actually have the potential to have the division’s best lineup.  Yesterday’s blog entry gave you a sense of what I think Jason Heyward has in store this year.  When you look at his first two seasons on a game-by-game basis, you see that he has had three sensational months (April 5 -May 30, 2010 and Aug. 21-Sept. 17, 2010) and nine others that have been injury-riddled or  mediocre at best.

Instead of saying that Heyward will hit .285 with 25 homers and a .925 OPS, it seems more reasonable to predict this will be the year that you start to see his tremendous talents on a more consistent basis.

While Heyward is obviously a very important component of this lineup, the Braves have plenty of other weapons. Dan Uggla is exiting the finest exhibition season of his career filled with confidence and Freddie Freeman spent the past couple weeks showing some of that opposite-field power that creates reason to wonder how many 40-homer seasons could be in this 22-year-old’s future.

The Braves are excited about having Michael Bourn’s speed over the course of a season and Martin Prado is excited about the fact that he will likely not have to attempt to act like a leadoff hitter at any point this season.   Coming off the worst season of his career, Prado eased some concerns as he hit .356 in 73 Grapefruit League at-bats.

When asked last week if he was happy to see what Prado did during Spring Training, Brian McCann said, “Anybody who had concerns about Martin Prado does not know anything about baseball.”

Those who know a thing or two about baseball certainly understand that the Braves should once again have a great bullpen.  Some might be concerned about how closer Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty bounce back from last year’s workload.  But the presence of Kris Medlen should at least ease the burden placed on these three relievers.

If Medlen is not used to occasionally spell Venters and O’Flaherty in some setup opportunities, then it is a waste to have him in the bullpen.  But given what transpired last year, I think manager Fredi Gonzalez understands the tremendous value Medlen can bring.

The rotation gained a big boost when Tommy Hanson finished the exhibition season strong and Hudson (offseason back surgery if you were still wondering) provided more reason to believe he will return by the end of this month. Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor both seem to be heading toward bright futures.

As for Jair Jurrjens, the two strong outings he enjoyed against split-squad Astros teams to conclude the exhibition season were not as telling as what he said following the outings.  He was genuine when he admitted he had been scared to test his right knee while pushing off the rubber in his first four exhibition starts.  The fact that he has seemingly overcome this fear before the start of the season is encouraging.

Encouraging can also be used to describe the early portion of the Braves schedule. Nine of the first 12 games will be played against either the Mets or the Astros.  A four-game series against the D-backs stands as the most formidable series during an opening month that concludes with seven games against the Dodgers and Mets.

So upon further review,  maybe this is indeed will be the year the Braves prove their doubters wrong and finally unseat the Phillies as division champs.

We’re going to end this now.  I’m getting hungry and I’m afraid that if I keep writing I might try to convince you why the Mets should be considered the favorites in this division.

As the Braves prepare to conclude the exhibition season against Bobby Cox’s Future Stars at Triple-A Gwinnett’s Coolray Field tonight, it seems time to reminisce about what transpired over the past six weeks in Florida.

There was something very odd about this year’s Spring Training that went beyond Tommy Hanson’s one-car accident or the fact that Chipper Jones injured his left knee while jogging in the outfield less than two hours before he announced this will be the final season of his career.

The oddity of this year’s Spring Training was rooted in the tension that existed during the early days of camp and then grew as the club began the Grapefruit League season with just one win in its first 11 games.  Sensing the same, one veteran player said, “If we don’t start winning some games, some people around here are going to going to get even tighter.”

As much as the Braves were attempting to separate themselves from last year’s conclusion, it was as if they were treating the early days of March like an extension of the most recent September.

The presence of seasoned veterans and an even-keeled Fredi Gonzalez prevented this tension from reaching a debilitating level.

But the re-emergence of Jason Heyward might have been the primary reason the final two weeks of the Grapefruit League season felt much different than the first two.  Yes Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman provided encouragement and Mike Minor produced reason to be more confident about what he could offer this year.

But the most important development in Braves camp this year centered around the significant improvements Heyward displayed after working with the club’s new hitting coaches Greg Walker and Scott Fletcher.

When Heyward hit Stephen Strasburg’s 96-mph fastball over the right-center field wall and then doubled down the right field line on March 14, Walker gained the sense that the 22-year-old outfielder was starting to feel comfortable with the many adjustments that had been made.

“The kid is working,” Walker said the following morning. “He’s doing everything it takes to be good. We’ve got a long way to go and a long season. But what he did last night works for me. It looked like him. It was obvious he was getting to a better spot last night.”

When Heyward struck out twice in three at-bats that next day, he provided the reminder that he was still a work-in-progress.  But when he drilled a first-inning grand slam the following night, he once again provided indication that he was progressing in the right direction.

After Heyward drilled Edwin Jackson’s fastball over the 35-foot center field wall at Space Coast Stadium and scaled Disney’s right field wall to rob Raul Ibanez of a homer last week, there was not any reason to look at his statistics (.227 batting average and four homers for those that care about Spring Training stats).

Those stats completely contradicted the young outfielder’s body language.  With his shoulder healthy, he is once again having fun on the field.  And quite honestly, it has once again been fun to watch him play.

When Heyward first revealed  in November that he had lost 20 pounds, many fans wondered if he had really needed to do so.  The simple answer remains, “no.”  But courtesy of his strict diet and stringent conditioning program, he showed his dedication and gained a leaner frame that has allowed him to show his athleticism.

As Heyward displayed his impressive power in games and gracefully patrolled center field when asked to man that position over the past couple weeks, he rekindled those thoughts about his potential to enjoy a truly special career.

Count me among those who approached this year with some doubts about Heyward’s ability to match the expectations he created two years ago.  But after watching him over the past couple weeks, I’d be a fool to  doubt his capabilities.

OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD:

Some fans have understandably questioned whether Heyward could play center field if this is Michael Bourn’s last year in Atlanta.  While there’s no doubt he could play the position, I think it would be in his body’s best interest to remain in right field.

The Braves enhanced their depth with Sunday’s acquisition of third baseman Juan Francisco, who is obviously much more talented than Drew Sutton or any of their other backup infielder options.   Via this trade with the Reds, they also might have found Chipper Jones’ successor in the event that Joey Terdoslavich is not ready next year. But to gain a long-term future with the Braves, Francisco will have to lose the “lazy” and “unmotivated” tags he earned while playing for the Reds.

Once the decision was made, it was easy to understand why the Braves allowed Terdoslavich to skip the Double-A level and jump to Triple-A Gwinnett.  There are few questions about his offensive potential.  As for his task to prove he can handle the third base position, it will not prove any more difficult at the Triple-A level than it would have at the Double-A level.

But I do not see why the Braves would allow Andrelton Simmons the chance to also skip the Double-A level.  Yes, there was a chance he was going to make the leap to the Majors.  But much of that had to do with concerns about Tyler Pastornicky’s range at short.  Now that the Braves have made the decision to start the season with Pastornicky,  Simmons should be allowed to make a natural progression by first testing himself against Double-A pitching.

There is a good chance Simmons will be displaying his tremendous defensive skills as Atlanta’s shortstop at some point this year.  But before he makes that leap, he should first spend a month or two against Double-A pitching.  Two years ago when he was considered the best defensive shortstop available in the First-Year Player Draft, the Braves thought enough of his offensive skills to draft him as a pitcher.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez announced  Tommy Hanson will serve as his Opening Day starter and that Jair Jurrjens will start the April 13 home opener against the Brewers.

Hanson will be making his first Opening Day start when he faces the Mets at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon.  The 25-year-old right-hander will make his final tuneup while facing the potent Tigers lineup at Champion Stadium this afternoon.

Jurrjens will make his season debut when the Braves play the Mets on April 7 in the second game of three-game set.  Because there is a scheduled off day between the first and second games, he would be pitching with two extra days of rest.  To compensate for this, he will likely throw a longer bullpen session on Monday or Tuesday.

Gonzalez also confirmed that he plans on sending Mike Minor to the mound for the April 8 series finale against the Mets.  Brandon Beachy will make his season debut when the Braves open a three-game series against the Astros on April 9.

Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran are still battling for the fifth spot in the rotation.  The Braves will only need to use the fifth spot in the rotation three times before Tim Hudson makes his scheduled return in late April.

Hanson  could return on regular rest for the April 10 game in Houston or with an extra day of rest on April 11.   The fifth starter will make his first start in one of these games.

Livan Hernandez is obviously not the same pitcher that he was when he (and plate umpire Eric Gregg) combined for 15 strikeouts in Game 5 of the 1997 National League Championship Series.  Nor does he have the same youtful vigor that he did when he combined for 734 2/3 innings between 2003-05.

But Hernandez is certainly capable of handling the role the Braves provided when they signed him just hours after the Astros had released him on Friday.   The veteran right-hander will essentially serve as the seventh member of the bullpen.  He will handle the long relief role and  make occasional starts when injury or a schedule change affects the rotation.

In other words, he’ll be exactly what Cristian Martinez was last year.  And the fact that he is now a part of Atlanta’s bullpen means the Braves will now be able to use Martinez in more middle relief situations without having to worry about the possibility of needing him to serve as a long reliever  the next day.

Kris Medlen, Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters will primarily handle all of the middle relief/setup setup situations.  Throwing Martinez and left-hander Yohan Flande in the mix could further lessen the strain the aforementioned relievers experience over the course of the season.

Hernandez’s presence will not immediately affect Randall Delgado or  Julio Teheran.  Braves general manager Frank Wren said either Delgado or Teheran would still be projected to start three games the fifth starter’s spot is needed before Tim Hudson returns in late April.

Wren will continue to search for a right-handed hitting outfielder or third baseman who would fortify the club’s depth.

As Nationals outfielder Xavier Nady played against the Braves on Thursday, he was led to believe that he could be traded to the Braves by the time the game ended.  But it does not appear the Braves have much interest in the injury-riddled veteran.

Jair Jurrjens will pitch tonight’s game against the Astros at Disney.  Delgado is pitching against the split-squad Astros team in Kissimmee tonight.

With Carlos Lee, Jose Altuve and Brian Bogusevic present, it’s safe to say Jurrjens will be challenged more than he was on Sunday when he cruised through six innings against a split-squad Astros club.   This outing should give the club a better indication of where the right-hander stands with Opening Day just six days away.

It’s starting to look like Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez might not have been playing when he has said he wants to be the last Major League manager to announce his Opening Day starting pitcher. With eight days remaining before the start of the regular season, we’re still left to guess whether it will be Jair Jurrjens or Tommy Hanson. 

Courtesy of their decision not to pitch one of their projected starters against the Mets on Tuesday, the Braves have already set up today’s starter Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor and Randall Delgado to make their next start with an extra day of rest. 

When Jurrjens faces the split-squad Astros team in Kissimmee on Friday night, he will be on regular rest.  The same will go for Hanson when he pitches against the potent Tigers lineup on Saturday.

This arrangement puts Hanson in line up to make the April 5 Opening Day start on regular rest.  But it also creates reason to wonder when Jurrjens might make his debut.  If Jurrjens were to pitch the second game of the year, he would do so with three extra days of rest.

So maybe the Braves are thinking about having Jurrjens make one more exhibition start in a Minor League setting before making his regular season debut during the Astros series (April 9-11).

Or maybe Jurrjens will be the Opening Day starter.  He would be doing so with the one extra day of rest that pitching coach Roger McDowell likes to provide his starters before the start of the season.

But this arrangement would also mean Hanson would pitch the second game of the year with two extra days of rest.

So with eight days before the start of the regular season, your guess is as good as mine.  But because I’m stubborn, I’m going to continue to guess Jurrjens will get the nod. 

Jonny Venters will return to the mound during Thursday’s game against the Nationals in Viera.  This will be his first appearance since some upper arm discomfort led the Braves to shut him down after his March 18 outing against the Orioles. The left-handed reliever was encouraged by a 25-pitch side session he completed on Tuesday.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Braves training at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex.  The first game was played between the Braves and Reds on March 28, 1997.  Fred McGriff hit the first home run and Deion Sanders (then of the Reds) recorded the first hit, stolen base and run.