can perez and atlanta win this game 62% of the time...which is what the line is saying?..10 days is alot between starts..both bullpens vunerable...hard to say?
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BRAVES NOTEBOOK
Getting skipped irks Perez
For all his youth and exuberance, 22-year-old Odalis Perez is a little short on patience. He returns to the mound tonight against the Expos for his first start in 10 days. As the fifth starter in the rotation, and also the youngest, Perez is skipped on off days. It hasn't sat well with him.
"I want to continue pitching," Perez said. "I don't want to sit for 10 days. If I go out and don't throw strikes and don't feel comfortable, that's bad. I hate that, but what can I do? It's their decision. (Greg) Maddux, (Tom) Glavine, (John) Smoltz, (John) Burkett, they've been around a long time. I'm the newcomer. They have to respect what those guys have done. Sometimes I feel mad; sometimes I don't."
Pitching coach Leo Mazzone said the Braves would have liked to have gotten Perez some work out of the bullpen, but the proper situation didn't arise.
"It's part of the process of being in a five-man rotation, not pushing pitchers back like Maddux and Glavine; that would be silly," Mazzone said. "He's in the starting rotation in the big leagues, and that's darn good enough. He's being pushed back not because of anything he did or because he's not good. It's because of who you'd push back on the other end."
Perez is making progress. Since allowing four runs in the first inning to the Cardinals on May 5, he has allowed only two runs in 18 2/3 innings to drop his ERA from 8.37 to 5.63.
"I'm pitching inside and using my fastball more, letting people know I have a good fastball," Perez said.
He allowed 11 hits but only two runs in six innings of a no-decision in his last start against the Giants on May 19.
"He didn't let the roof fall in on him," Mazzone said. "Now, with the slide step (while pitching from the stretch), he's not having the big inning. Before he had a normal high leg kick and everybody and their grandmother was running on him."
Furcal picks up
After six weeks of frustration, Rafael Furcal is starting to see some results. He was 5-for-14 against the Pirates, including a three-hit game Sunday.
"He's slowed down," hitting coach Merv Rettenmund said.
Since manager Bobby Cox tried to take some pressure off him by moving him out of the leadoff spot, Furcal has hit .295 (13-for-44) with three doubles and three RBIs.
"I'm taking it more easy at home plate," Furcal said. "I'm staying back on pitches, trying to see the ball and put the ball in play. I'm starting to relax better."
Health update
Kevin Millwood played catch for the second time Monday, as he continues to work on regaining strength in his right shoulder. He made 75 throws from 45 feet, after 50 throws Friday. There's no timetable for his return from an inflamed right labrum, but he won't make the Braves' four-city road trip that begins Friday. "I felt great all the way through," Millwood said. "It's all positive."
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BRAVES NOTEBOOK
Getting skipped irks Perez
For all his youth and exuberance, 22-year-old Odalis Perez is a little short on patience. He returns to the mound tonight against the Expos for his first start in 10 days. As the fifth starter in the rotation, and also the youngest, Perez is skipped on off days. It hasn't sat well with him.
"I want to continue pitching," Perez said. "I don't want to sit for 10 days. If I go out and don't throw strikes and don't feel comfortable, that's bad. I hate that, but what can I do? It's their decision. (Greg) Maddux, (Tom) Glavine, (John) Smoltz, (John) Burkett, they've been around a long time. I'm the newcomer. They have to respect what those guys have done. Sometimes I feel mad; sometimes I don't."
Pitching coach Leo Mazzone said the Braves would have liked to have gotten Perez some work out of the bullpen, but the proper situation didn't arise.
"It's part of the process of being in a five-man rotation, not pushing pitchers back like Maddux and Glavine; that would be silly," Mazzone said. "He's in the starting rotation in the big leagues, and that's darn good enough. He's being pushed back not because of anything he did or because he's not good. It's because of who you'd push back on the other end."
Perez is making progress. Since allowing four runs in the first inning to the Cardinals on May 5, he has allowed only two runs in 18 2/3 innings to drop his ERA from 8.37 to 5.63.
"I'm pitching inside and using my fastball more, letting people know I have a good fastball," Perez said.
He allowed 11 hits but only two runs in six innings of a no-decision in his last start against the Giants on May 19.
"He didn't let the roof fall in on him," Mazzone said. "Now, with the slide step (while pitching from the stretch), he's not having the big inning. Before he had a normal high leg kick and everybody and their grandmother was running on him."
Furcal picks up
After six weeks of frustration, Rafael Furcal is starting to see some results. He was 5-for-14 against the Pirates, including a three-hit game Sunday.
"He's slowed down," hitting coach Merv Rettenmund said.
Since manager Bobby Cox tried to take some pressure off him by moving him out of the leadoff spot, Furcal has hit .295 (13-for-44) with three doubles and three RBIs.
"I'm taking it more easy at home plate," Furcal said. "I'm staying back on pitches, trying to see the ball and put the ball in play. I'm starting to relax better."
Health update
Kevin Millwood played catch for the second time Monday, as he continues to work on regaining strength in his right shoulder. He made 75 throws from 45 feet, after 50 throws Friday. There's no timetable for his return from an inflamed right labrum, but he won't make the Braves' four-city road trip that begins Friday. "I felt great all the way through," Millwood said. "It's all positive."
