This year's Christmas card from the Braves came in a thicker envelope than usual, unfolding to become a 27-inch-by-29.5-inch sheet of shiny red and white wrapping paper:
"Joy," "Happiness," "Cheer," "Peace." Doesn't sound much like the Braves' offseason so far, does it?
The winter has been notable for the signings that haven't occurred, particularly regarding starting pitching. So who is in the rotation?
Right-hander Jair Jurrjens, for one. He has the stuff, but more important, he has the makeup, to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. He talks about pitching in ways not heard in the Braves clubhouse since Hall of Fame-bound former Brave Greg Maddux left. Not to put that burden of expectation on Jurrjens, but how many pitchers of any experience do you know who talk about pitching to contact?
And Jurrjens isn't smart only about pitching, but also about his conditioning. When he found himself tiring down the stretch, he altered his workouts, taking the advice of John Smoltz.
Right-hander Charlie Morton alternated good outings with puzzling efforts. He does ruminate about pitching to a great degree, a trait that has stunted a lot of careers, but in the end it turned out the lack of consistency was caused by an inflamed bursa sac under his right shoulder blade. This spring, manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell will be watching to see if Morton has retained McDowell's lessons in pitch selection, and whether he remembers to stand tall on the mound to prevent throwing across his body.
Cox gave left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes more slack last season than any young pitcher in memory, only speaking impatiently of Reyes' poor location as the season drew to a close. Because of the holes in the rotation as it currently stands -- Tim Hudson, Smoltz and Tom Glavine are recovering from surgeries, and the latter two may even retire -- Reyes will get a long look. But then he'll get a quick hook.
Right-hander James Parr pitched two-hit, shutout ball over six innings and walked away with the win in his major league debut Sept. 4 against the Nationals, but he wore out down the stretch. Cox loves his bulldog quality, though, and also loves that he knows how to run the ball up on hitters and can make them chase. He gets a lot of popups and some swings and misses. Parr has a slider, a curveball and a changeup he's got a pretty good feel and touch with, so he'll get a shot at the rotation, too.
