Brian McCann

Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson combined for six hits, three home runs, and seven RBI to lead the Braves past the Toronto Blue Jays 10-2 on Sunday afternoon.

The Braves looked to make the game a blowout early, as Kelly Johnson led off the game with an opposite field home run and McCann followed three batters later with a blast off of Toronto starter Scott Richmond.

I was six years old at the time and an avid Atlanta Braves fan. Our family always focused on living the 10 Commandments, but Granny had an 11th commandment:

"Thou shalt not root against the Braves."

You never rooted against Granny's Braves, especially in her presence. If you did, you suffered the consequences.

I can remember one day sitting on my grandfather's knee watching a game and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

MLB is reporting that Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann has been suspended 50 games for violation of the Joint Commission Policy on the Use of performing enhancing devices.

Although the exact nature of the violation has not been released, a source close to the situation revealed that McCann has been seen wearing glasses during recent games. The glasses were first seen in the May 8 game in Philadelphia. They were eventually confiscated by MLB, and extensive testing revealed that the glasses did indeed contain corrective lenses.

Futility against the Phils appears to be in the rear-view mirror.

In only about five weeks, the Atlanta Braves have matched their 2008 win total against the Phillies with their 4-2 win on Sunday.

Despite two debacles, one from Jo-Joke Reyes and another from the (at the time) "suckpen", the Braves have performed admirably against the World Champions.

Perhaps the key to these performances has been the presence of the true four and five hitters on the Braves, McCann and Anderson.

Following their worst season since Bobby Cox became the manager in 1990, all signs point to the Atlanta Braves returning to their typical spot near the top of the National League East in 2009.

Derek Lowe’s debut for the Braves was one to remember.

Lowe threw eight innings of shut out ball in Philadelphia’s Citizen Bank Ballpark. He only gave up two hits and struck out four Phillies batters. He was the highlight on defense for Atlanta.

Hitting was a completely different story. In the first, catcher Brian McCann hit a two-run home run off of starter Brett Myers to give the Braves an early 2-0 lead.

Consider the Braves lineup that was posted for tonight's opening night game:

1. 2B Kelly Johnson
2. SS Yunel Escobar
3. 3B Chipper Jones
4. C  Brian McCann
5. LF Garret Anderson
6. RF Jeff Francoeur
7. 1B Casey Kotchman
8. CF Jordan Schafer
9. SP Derek Lowe