Oh no. More woes for the Atlanta Braves.

Ankle injury forces Jurrjens to skip start

CHICAGO -- Whenever it seems like things can't get any worse for the Braves, they do. Thus, it should come as no surprise that a fourth member of their original projected starting rotation could be headed for the disabled list.
While walking down the dugout stairs after Tuesday night's loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jair Jurrjens twisted his right ankle.

Instead of making his scheduled start against the Cubs on Wednesday night, Jurrjens will be nursing an injury that the Braves are hoping doesn't force him to join John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton on the DL.

"I feel like I'm in the twilight zone," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "I'm going to be like Pavlov's dog and have an aversion to phones ringing."

After Glavine lasted just three innings during Tuesday night's game, Wren's phone rang to tell him that the 42-year-old's left elbow would force him to the disabled list. A few hours later, the Braves GM received an e-mail informing him of Jurrjens' mishap.

As Wren was preparing to leave his house on Wednesday morning, he received another call informing him that Jurrjens' ankle hadn't reacted well overnight. The Braves will use Jeff Bennett to start Wednesday night's game.

If Jurrjens joins Hampton, Glavine and Smoltz on the disabled list, Tim Hudson will be the only member of the original projected starting rotation who has avoided the disabled list.

"We may have to jumble the rotation to make it work," Wren said. "But it's not like we haven't done that before."

Wren confirmed that Charlie Morton, who has gone 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA for Triple-A Richmond, will likely start in Glavine's place on Sunday, when the Braves play the Angels before ESPN's nationally-televised audience.

"I think it's more than likely [going to be Morton]," Wren said. "But we haven't made a decision."

The Braves may also promote a position player to take Glavine's roster spot for at least a few days. The most likely candidate is outfielder Brandon Jones, who has hit .263 with two homers in 54 games for Richmond.

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.



http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080611&content_id=2890834&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Walking down the dugout stairs?? Oh JJ...