Friday, June 17, 2005
Estrada back in action
ARLINGTON -- After recovering from a violent collision at home plate, Johnny Estrada is ready to get back into the trenches.
Estrada sat out of the Braves' lineup a full week with a concussion and whiplash from last Monday's collision during a game against the Angels. During a play at the plate, Darin Erstad's left shoulder hit Estrada's mask and knocked the Braves catcher nearly unconscious.
"My neck's just a little bit sore, but it isn't anything near what it was," Estrada said. "The doctors have cleared me to play today, so I'm in there. I didn't want to take the full week off. If it was up to me, I'd have played Saturday."
Estrada said he's been feeling well and has continued to take batting practice during his time out of the lineup.
Before the injury, Estrada was hitting .282 with two home runs and 26 RBIs, including a career-best seven-game hitting streak that was snapped at Washington on June 4.
"He was knocked out for a moment, and anytime you are, it's going to take a week, no doctor is going to release you," manager Bobby Cox said. "Johnny wanted in the lineup, but I couldn't even use him as a pinch-hitter."
Although he isn't concerned about his health in his first series back, Estrada is aware of the Texas temperatures that will likely reach the mid-90s all week.
"I'm sure it'll sneak up on me today," Estrada said. "I'm sure I'll be tired tonight and a little sore tomorrow just because I haven't played in a week. There's nothing you can do to simulate catching a nine-inning game."
During Estrada's absence, Atlanta called up 21-year-old Brian McCann for added depth. McCann went 3-for-7 over the weekend and hit his first Major League home run in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against Oakland.
"He played his way into staying here," Estrada said of McCann. "Everybody likes him around here. He's a good kid and he's got a high ceiling. He's young and can swing the bat a little bit."
McCann remained with the club for the road trip. He will be Estrada's backup for the first two games and could get the start in Wednesday's series finale.
Quotable: "We got off to a real good start, I think we were 10 games over at one point, and we've hit a cold spot here like a lot of teams right now. We've had some areas that we need to improve in. If we're going to get going, we're going to have to get going in certain areas. We need to get a few more runs across the board and we still feel we can get the bullpen straightened out." -- Cox assessing his squad at this point of the season
Summer reunion: Atlanta outfielder Brian Jordan returned to Ameriquest Field in Arlington Monday for the first time as a player since his stint with the Rangers last season. Jordan, who struggled with injuries throughout his one-year stay in Texas, helped mentor the young Rangers team and is excited to play in Arlington again.
"It feels weird," Jordan said. "I miss those guys. I miss the young guys. It's going to feel weird playing against them out there."
Jordan isn't the only one seeing familiar faces in the opposite dugout.
Atlanta's John Thomson and Julio Franco each donned Rangers blue during their careers, and Texas' Mark DeRosa played for the Braves until this season.
Jordan, 38, believes his experience in the Major Leagues and his relationship with the young players in Texas could help the Braves ease the transition to a young roster.
"To watch young guys develop is fun for me because I feel like I'm a leader," Jordan said. "We got young in a hurry. I think it caught everybody off guard. It's going to be one of those things where you help them along and hopefully in the end, they can help us win."
Coming up: Jorge Sosa (2-0, 2.63 ERA) will make his first start of the year opposite Pedro Astacio (2-7, 5.60 ERA). The right-handed reliever has struggled with his control, issuing five walks in his past two innings. Cox doesn't expect Sosa to go more than five innings but he did throw seven scoreless innings in a Sept. 12 start against the Royals last year.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
Estrada sat out of the Braves' lineup a full week with a concussion and whiplash from last Monday's collision during a game against the Angels. During a play at the plate, Darin Erstad's left shoulder hit Estrada's mask and knocked the Braves catcher nearly unconscious.
"My neck's just a little bit sore, but it isn't anything near what it was," Estrada said. "The doctors have cleared me to play today, so I'm in there. I didn't want to take the full week off. If it was up to me, I'd have played Saturday."
Estrada said he's been feeling well and has continued to take batting practice during his time out of the lineup.
Before the injury, Estrada was hitting .282 with two home runs and 26 RBIs, including a career-best seven-game hitting streak that was snapped at Washington on June 4.
"He was knocked out for a moment, and anytime you are, it's going to take a week, no doctor is going to release you," manager Bobby Cox said. "Johnny wanted in the lineup, but I couldn't even use him as a pinch-hitter."
Although he isn't concerned about his health in his first series back, Estrada is aware of the Texas temperatures that will likely reach the mid-90s all week.
"I'm sure it'll sneak up on me today," Estrada said. "I'm sure I'll be tired tonight and a little sore tomorrow just because I haven't played in a week. There's nothing you can do to simulate catching a nine-inning game."
During Estrada's absence, Atlanta called up 21-year-old Brian McCann for added depth. McCann went 3-for-7 over the weekend and hit his first Major League home run in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against Oakland.
"He played his way into staying here," Estrada said of McCann. "Everybody likes him around here. He's a good kid and he's got a high ceiling. He's young and can swing the bat a little bit."
McCann remained with the club for the road trip. He will be Estrada's backup for the first two games and could get the start in Wednesday's series finale.
Quotable: "We got off to a real good start, I think we were 10 games over at one point, and we've hit a cold spot here like a lot of teams right now. We've had some areas that we need to improve in. If we're going to get going, we're going to have to get going in certain areas. We need to get a few more runs across the board and we still feel we can get the bullpen straightened out." -- Cox assessing his squad at this point of the season
Summer reunion: Atlanta outfielder Brian Jordan returned to Ameriquest Field in Arlington Monday for the first time as a player since his stint with the Rangers last season. Jordan, who struggled with injuries throughout his one-year stay in Texas, helped mentor the young Rangers team and is excited to play in Arlington again.
"It feels weird," Jordan said. "I miss those guys. I miss the young guys. It's going to feel weird playing against them out there."
Jordan isn't the only one seeing familiar faces in the opposite dugout.
Atlanta's John Thomson and Julio Franco each donned Rangers blue during their careers, and Texas' Mark DeRosa played for the Braves until this season.
Jordan, 38, believes his experience in the Major Leagues and his relationship with the young players in Texas could help the Braves ease the transition to a young roster.
"To watch young guys develop is fun for me because I feel like I'm a leader," Jordan said. "We got young in a hurry. I think it caught everybody off guard. It's going to be one of those things where you help them along and hopefully in the end, they can help us win."
Coming up: Jorge Sosa (2-0, 2.63 ERA) will make his first start of the year opposite Pedro Astacio (2-7, 5.60 ERA). The right-handed reliever has struggled with his control, issuing five walks in his past two innings. Cox doesn't expect Sosa to go more than five innings but he did throw seven scoreless innings in a Sept. 12 start against the Royals last year.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
