Notes: Renteria Back In Lineup
Valuable shortstop recovered from lingering rib-cage strain
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
April 28, 2006
ATLANTA -- When the Braves walked into their clubhouse at Turner Field on Friday afternoon, the second spot of the lineup was blank. A few hours later, Edgar Renteria's name was placed there for the first time in nearly two weeks.
After taking batting practice and feeling no further tightness in his left side, Renteria walked toward the dugout and simply raised his right thumb in the direction of Braves manager Bobby Cox.
That was all Cox needed to see before placing Renteria back in the lineup for Friday night's series opener against the Mets. The veteran shortstop's return allowed the Braves to field their regular lineup for the first time since April 9.
"It's going to be nice, but we're still facing Pedro tonight," said a smiling Andruw Jones, just before John Smoltz opposed Pedro Martinez in the opener of the three-game series against the Mets.
Of course, it hasn't really mattered who the Braves have faced the past two weeks, though their struggles can justifiably be blamed on injuries.
The injury woes began on April 9, when Chipper Jones sprained both his left knee and ankle. He returned from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. As for Renteria, he hadn't played since straining his left rib cage while taking a swing against the Padres on April 15.
During that stretch, the Braves also lost Marcus Giles for three games because of a strained ligament and a chipped bone in his left middle finger. In other words, they just endured an 18-day stretch in which their lineup never included each of its first three hitters.
"Hopefully this offense will have me and Gilly and Edgar in the lineup consistently enough to be able to jell and start stringing some things together," Chipper Jones said.
The Braves scored four runs or more in each of their first 11 games. In their past 10 games, they've scored four or more runs just twice. They batted just .196 during their eight-game road trip.
Renteria's absence certainly factored heavily in the offensive decline. Before he strained his left rib cage on April 15, he was in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak and had compiled a .365 batting average.
There was some thought that Renteria would have returned earlier this week, but it wasn't until Friday that he was able to swing without feeling any tightness.
"Everything felt fine," Renteria said. "I didn't feel anything. That's a good feeling."
Back to 2006 Articles Page