--3B Chipper Jones says the oblique strain he suffered in his second at-bat in the second game of the World Baseball Classic is the usual mild strain he feels as a switch hitter every spring. This time it's the right oblique; it's typically the left side that bothers him.
--LF Garret Anderson could miss two or three more weeks after straining his right calf while warming up for only his second appearance in a game for the Braves on March 6. --RHP Rafael Soriano finally made an appearance on the mound in a game, throwing eight of 11 pitches for strikes in an inning's work March 10 against the Astros. Soriano's return from last season's elbow surgery was slowed by an upper respiratory infection at the beginning of camp.
--RHP Derek Lowe gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and no balls out of the infield in his March 10 start against the Astros, which is precisely what general manager Frank Wren and manager Bobby Cox had been looking for from him.
--CF Jordan Schafer is back on the field after missing 10 days with a sprained left shoulder. Schafer is challenging Josh Anderson and Gregor Blanco for the center field position, but he isn't on the 40-man roster.
BY THE NUMBERS: 11 -- Pitches thrown by RHP Rafael Soriano (eight for strikes) in his first appearance of the spring. Soriano pitched only 14 innings for the Braves last season before undergoing ulnar nerve transposition surgery on Aug. 28.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's the real deal." -- Manager Bobby Cox on RHP Tommy Hanson, who is making it tough on Cox and general manager Frank Wren to stick to their plan of starting the ace prospect at Class AAA this season. Hanson hasn't pitched above Class AA.
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