Just because the Braves aren't going to the postseason doesn't mean that manager Bobby Cox is going to put up with poor performances.
Cox yanked left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes after two innings in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Shea Stadium. After a 21-pitch first inning, Reyes had given up three runs on four hits. He allowed another run in the second before getting the hook. The Braves are going to be looking under rocks for starting pitching for next season, even if Tom Glavine and John Smoltz return, because neither Reyes nor Charlie Morton has made a definitive case that he is big-league material. Reyes is 3-11 with a 5.50 ERA, Morton 4-8 with a 6.32 ERA.
Sure, something physical is going on with Morton -- a bursa sac is pressing against his ribs at the least -- but the Braves don't seem to be in a big hurry to pinpoint what that is. And they don't seem to be inclined to spend much more time trying to get him to stand tall as he makes his delivery. Only recently did Cox notice, as he was thumbing through the team's media guide, that Morton has a losing record everywhere he's pitched.
There is no suggestion that Reyes has an injury of any kind. He just can't locate. Saturday's performance makes him 0-7 with a 6.58 ERA in his last 12 starts.
BRAVES 7, METS 4: PH Greg Norton's three-run homer in a five-run ninth inning put the Braves up for good. RHP Jorge Campillo was long gone by then; Campillo gave up two home runs to Mets 3B David Wright and was out after 3 2/3 innings, having surrendered four runs.
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