June 2 injury update

By David O'Brien
June 2, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this

Just up from the clubhouse: Yes, Smoltz is activated and Stockman sent back to Richmond.

Bobby Cox said if there’s a closing situation tonight, Smoltz is getting the call. They’re going to evaluate on a daily basis and use Smoltz, Soriano and Acosta to close for now. But tonight it’ll be Smoltz.

He’s still sore and is probably going to stay that way, but he thinks he can pitch through it. We’ll see. Only time will tell.

BOYER’s MRI was fine, just a bit of fluid on a bursa sac in the knee, doc said he could pitch today long as the discomfort is tolerable. Boyer said he feels good today.

HUDSON doesn’t think his hammy is a big deal at all and would be very surprised if he can’t make his next start. Bobby said Braves would probably have someone on standby from minors (Charlie?) just in case, but he, too, believes Hudson will be ready.

KOTSAY isn’t doing any better, has pain running down a leg, etc.

My comments on each, now...

Smoltzie -- glad he's back. Let's hope he doesn't overdo anything, in case he wants to pitch again next year.

Stockman -- sad he's gone. If he ends up being this year's Joey "Odysseus" Devine, I'm not going to be happy.

Blaine -- Awww, *pet pet*. I hope Bobby gives him a couple of days rest. He's appeared in just under half our games so far this year, and that's an awful lot for a relief pitcher. Not that we don't like seeing him, just that we want him to last the whole year and not have a bone spur in his UCL next spring training when he comes back from Australia...er...Marietta. ;)

Huddy -- Good, glad to hear he'll be OK. Hopefully we won't hear about some delayed bleeding in his hammy, which is what sidelined Tommy earlier this season.

Kots -- the one I'm concerned about. In addition to my day job, I'm a nationally certified massage therapist. I specialize in sciatic / low back pain, among others, and zaps down his leg make it sound like his sciatic nerve is impinged somehow. Whether that's muscular or skeletal I don't know, but if it was muscular, the massage treatment is really fun -- part of it involves an elbow to the piriformis muscle.

Get well soon, everyone!