Pirates Take Series; Hampton Out Again

I'm back on the ledge.

Mike Hampton's return to the mound was delayed, yet again, after he strained his pectoral muscle during warm-ups before his first start in over two years. Hampton is back on the D.L. and the Braves are back in the same situation as a year ago - a worn-out bullpen, untested youngsters in the starting rotation and one-run losses adding up.

Jeff Bennett had to make an emergency start when Hampton could not go. Bennett was fine, though he could only go four innings. Blaine Boyer looked fantastic following up Bennett, but the bullpen could not hold the lead the Braves grabbed during the 6th inning. Frankly, it wasn't all the bullpen's fault - Martin Prado's error led to the tying run.

Bobby Cox did some crazy stuff in the 10th as he ran out of bullpen help. Wanting to bring in Royce Ring to face lefty Adam LaRouche but not wanting to take out Chris Resop (his last reliever), Cox sent Resop to left field while Ring struck out LaRouche. The Braves' skipper then moved Resop back to the mound to subsequently give up the game-winning hit to Brave-killer Xavier Nady.

Chipper Jones is off to a great start at the plate as he went 3-5 against tough lefty Zach Duke. Matt Diaz made the play of the game for the Braves on the base paths with a terrific slide into second to break up a double-play. Sure enough, the Braves kept batting and kept scoring in the inning, taking the lead. There is a reason fans love Diaz - he is a tough out, a tough competitor and he gets everything out of his talent.

The Braves head up to Shea Stadium for a huge early series with the Mets. I know, I know - it is only April. With Hampton on the D.L., three one-run losses already and the best team in the league in front of them, the Braves could really use some good starts from Hudson and Smoltz to avoid digging themselves an early hole.