Atlanta

This article is the fifth in a six part series discussing the players on the Atlanta Braves' 25-man roster that will be free agents this offseason.

Finally.

Finally, the Atlanta Braves fans can hear the words, "Now batting, Jeff Francoeur" and not feel obligated to scream and holler and clap and cheer for their hometown hero.

Finally, the young ladies in the stands can tear off their Francoeur t-shirts and replace them with the screen-printed bleached hair of Nate McLouth.

When Francoeur returns to Turner Field this weekend as a New York Met, I can't promise you that he'll strike out three times or hit into four double plays. But I can promise you one thing: There will be boos.

Yesterday night, I turned on the TV to watch The Late Late Show, only to find that it was starting 20 minutes late.

Just for this week, I think they should've renamed it The Late Late Late Show.

Anyway, I decided to pass the time by watching Baseball Tonight, which I don't normally watch because I can't stand the analysts. But it was something to do.

After about ten minutes, the Braves-Nationals highlights came on. I wasn't really paying attention; I was checking minor league scores on my computer.

One at-bat into his Braves career, long-time minor-leaguer Brooks Conrad made lots of fans in Atlanta, as his three-run, pinch-hit blast led the Braves to a 9-8 win over Washington on Friday night.

The Braves had been pitching very well lately, but Kenshin Kawakami's first start since taking a liner off his neck was rather forgettable.

He surrendered runs in each of the first three innings, including the first hit and RBI of Washington starter Ross Detwiler's career.

Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine was released by the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, Philadelphia lefty Cole Hamels is officially out of consideration for opening night versus the Atlanta Braves.

After injuring his pitching elbow a few weeks ago, Philly "phans" were sure their ace was going to be good to go on Apr. 5.

However, after allowing 10 hits against the pride of Philadelphia's farm on Mar. 30 in four innings (he also walked one and Kd five), pitching coach Rich Dubie said the Philly Phenom's control just wasn't good enough for the season's first game.

It's Jordan Schafer!

I must say, I was skeptical that the Braves would make the right move here. I was very afraid they would treat Schafer the way they did young pitcher Tommy Hanson, who also had a great spring.

While it is not yet official, the trade of CF Josh Anderson for righthanded minor-league reliever Rudy Darrow certainly suggests that Schafer has claimed the starting job over the competition.

Going into training, it was really down to Schafer and Anderson; Gregor Blanco was a longshot from the start.