The Atlanta Braves Welcome Back Jair Jurrjens

Jair Jurrjens will make his anticipated return to the Braves rotation tonight against the Washington Nationals. Jurrjens just completed a rehab stint with mixed results and the most pessimistic of Braves fans would point out that he wasn’t pitching very well before he got hurt (0-3, 6.38) in five starts.

If the time off did Jurrjens well and he can recapture the form that he had last season when he was a 14 game winner with a 2.60 ERA then the Braves just got a major weapon back as they pursue the Eastern Division crown. Jurrjens was thought of by many including myself as the defacto ace of this staff coming into the season. If it goes well then this is like making a trade for an All Star Caliber pitcher.

The fact that the Braves 45-33 without Jurrjens winning a game is very surprising. It speaks to just how well the team has played and how it is getting contributions from unlikely places. Still if the Braves are going to manage the dog days of summer on top then some of the most counted on players like Jurrjens are going to have to produce.

If he is truly healthy then he should return to form quickly. Before he had hamstring troubles there was a scare when he experienced shoulder pain on the eve of spring training. Is it possible that shoulder discomfort led him to change something that developed the hamstring problem? Possible I guess but we don’t have any evidence to support it.

So all eyes of Braves Nation will be back on Jurrjens tonight and will be hoping for the best. Perhaps Jurrjens becomes the next feel good moment in a very promising season thus far.