Jair Jurrjens

With five All-Stars and 50-plus wins before the break, the Atlanta Braves look very strong going into the second half of the 2010 season.

They’ve combined their stellar pitching staff with timely hitting (16 wins in their last at-bat before the All-Star Break) and have steered clear of the Phillies and Mets to jump out to a 4-game lead in the NL East.

Originally posted at 

You may have heard some rumblings about this Stephen Strasburg guy. Allegedly, he's pretty good.

Check that: he must be good, as usually the only time a Washington National warrants media attention is in relation to a comedy of errors (cough, cough, Nyjer Morgan , cough, cough).

What I’m Reading

• The Rangers are sticking with Neftali Feliz, Frank Francisco, and their two-closer system for the time being. Good. Because these situations alway pan out favorably.

Update

Good news for Atlanta Braves fans.

Jari Jurrjens went for an MRI on Tuesday, and the results showed no structural damage in his shoulder. Everything checked out with his labrum and rotator cuff.

Jurrjens was just suffering from shoulder inflammation and will rest for the remainder of this week before beginning a throwing program next week.

All signs point to Jurrjens being ready for Opening Day.

Original Post

So much for being a good employee. Sometimes it pays to be like George Costanza.

Jair Jurrjens and the Braves had the biggest scare of the offseason earlier this week Jurrjens had to leave the Orlando training complex to receive an MRI on his shoulder.

Thankfully for them both, Jurrjens and his shoulder are fine.

Jurrjens' shoulder only had some inflammation and there was no damage to the labrum or rotator cuff. 

Jurrjens, 24, is only seven months older than phenom Tommy Hanson.

If the Braves were to miss any time from Jurrjens, who posted a superb 2.60 ERA last season, the Braves would have been in serious trouble.

The Atlanta Braves will be holding their collective breaths as they await word on the health of one of their best pitchers.

Braves starter Jair Jurrjens will travel to Atlanta later this week to have an MRI on his sore right shoulder.

Jurrjens reported to camp a week before pitchers and catchers were scheduled to arrive on Friday, expressing lingering soreness in his throwing shoulder.