Making the Team Meter for the Atlanta Braves pitchers for week 3 of spring training follows what the pitchers have done the first two weeks of games. Go here for week 2 of the pitchers edition MTM. I went ahead and removed Juan Abreu from this list, and a few more will come off next week.

Player, Position	This Week's Trend	Last Week	Notes and Comments
Manny Acosta, RHP			Okay, seriously, really, Manny has been pretty darn good this spring. 4 innings, 6 strikeouts, and only 1 hit and 1 walk. I hate to say it, but with Chavez and Dunn struggling, Manny's looking good to make the team.
Jesse Chavez, RHP			His stats look horrible so far this spring. He did have a decent outing last night, but it was by no means dominant. Nor did he look that confident on the mound. He has an option left, and I say his odds of making the team are slipping.
Kyle Cofield, RHP			He's only gotten into one game, but he's been compared to John Smoltz, so we'll keep him on here and see if he gets a more serious shot at one of the bullpen spots.
Erik Cordier, RHP			Two decent outings. He's helping his cause to make the team, but he's still a non-roster guy, so unless he just blows away the Braves coaches he's still bound for the minors.
Michael Dunn, LHP			Lots of walks and hits. He's pitched around them for the most part, but his control is a point of concern.
Mariano Gomez, LHP			He got shellacked in his second outing of the spring. He really hasn't shown he can get anyone out this spring.
Lee Hyde, LHP			Like Gomez, Hyde got shelled in his second spring appearance. I still like his chances, but he's got to have better control.
Craig Kimbrel, RHP			I still think that with his stuff there's always the possibility of him making the team. He needs to get into some game, though.
Jeff Lyman, RHP			He has done well this spring, and is flying way under the radar. Could be a dark horse bullpen candidate.
Stephen Marek, RHP	OFF		He doesn't seem to be ready for the show, as his disappointing 2009 is following into this season. We'll take him off this list, as he's too far down the depth chart at this point.
Kris Medlen, RHP			He has looked great so far this spring.
Mike Minor, LHP			He's looked really good, and he seems to be throwing with a lot of confidence. I still believe that he is in the Braves long term plans more than their short term plans for this year. He may be one of the first players cut so he can go prepare for the rotation in the minors.
Jose Ortegano, LHP	OFF		After having a great Winter League, he got creamed by the Phillies last night.
James Parr, RHP			He's done okay this spring, with good strikeout numbers. It will be interesting to see how the Braves use him this year. He could be a long shot for the bullpen.
Scott Proctor, RHP			The team still seems optimistic that he could be ready to start the season with the big club.
Todd Redmond, RHP			He had a good first outing, and he is another pitcher who is intriguing. Still, I bet the team wants him to start in triple-A as emergency depth.
Chris Resop, RHP			Not having a good spring. It doesn't look good for Resop. Seeing as how he didn't get into many games last year in Japan, he could probably stand to spend some time in the minors.
Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP			He might be squeezing his way into a bullpen role, and Cox hinted at just that.
Luis Valdez, RHP			Still having visa problems getting into the states.
Jonny Venters, LHP			He's having an okay spring. He needs to distinguish himself from the rest of the pack if he is to move up this list.

Arrow Key:
= Chance of making the team is waffling or 50-50.
= Chance of making the team is trending down.
= Chance of making the team is trending up.

UPDATE: 4PM 3/10:

We may have to add Cory Gearrin to this list. He's not on the 40-man roster and he's not listed as a non-roster invitee, but he's made it into two games now and he's pitched very well, allowing only one hit while striking out two.

It's a 7:05pm night game on CSS (Comcast), and on MLB Network for non-Atlanta markets (Atlanta market will likely be blacked out). It should be a nice matchup, phacing the Phils for the phirst time this spring. Here is the lineup

Nate McLouth, CF
Martin Prado, 2B
Chipper Jones, 3B
Troy Glaus, 1B
Brian McCann, C
Yunel Escobar, SS
Jason Heyward, RF
Melky Cabrera, LF
Kenshin Kawakami, P

From a DOB tweet:

Cox about tonight being opening-day lineup: "Pretty close. I don't know if Heyward will be hitting seventh, if he keeps going like this."

This is the lineup I've had in mind for the past two months. I think even if Heyward keeps raking they'll keep him protected lower in the lineup early in the season. At some point the league is going to adjust to him, so we'll see how his learning curve is then.

More photos » Rob Carr - AP

Atlanta Braves outfielder Matt Diaz will attempt to climb higher in 2010.

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This player preview was written by Kyle Hugueley, who posts here as J-Freak.

At the behest of the fan base, Frank Wren followed through on his effort to sign Johnny Damon. Our newly acquired left fielder will probably be used as the leadoff man-

What's that you say? Damon's not coming? Thank goodness. Now back to our regularly scheduled Preview:

For years Matt Diaz has been stuck with the label of a fourth outfielder, and given his splits against right-handers that label has been justified. He had the highest batting average of any Brave in 2006 and 2007, however, so there's always been a glimmer of hope he might one day outgrow that label, and he might be primed to do so in 2010.

Diaz is a beast without equal against lefties. He has hit .347/.384/.537 against lefties in his career for a .921 OPS, comapred to just .722 OPS against righties. In 2008 his numbers against righties went in the tank, even before his knee injury. While posting those great numbers in '06 and '07 he didn't do much extra-base damage against righties, putting up a somewhat pedestrian OPS, but he slapped plenty of singles off of them and hit over .300 against them. in ‘09 he bounced back to post a .749 OPS against righties in almost a half-season's worth of at-bats, while still systematically destroying lefties to the tune of a .412/.464/.640/1.103 line. In ‘08, bad luck was probably the culprit more than anything, as his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was an obscenely low .304. That mark is right about MLB average, but it pales in comparison to Diaz's .364 career BABIP.

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Last night I made an appearance on the blog radio program Atlanta Baseball Talk. We talked for around 40 minutes about my path to Talking Chop and beyond and how the Braves are shaping up this spring. This would be a nice lunch-time listen. Go here to listen. Thanks to the hosts, Steve and Curt, for an enjoyable interview.

Joker-Marchant Stadium, Braves vs. Tigers, 3/8/10, 1:30pm, bottom of the first

As a new on-going feature here at Talking Chop, throughout the 2010 season, send me a picture of your seat at a Braves game (Major League or Minor League). Don't try to get too fancy, just take a picture once the game starts and email me. It can be a view of the field, the scoreboard, the stands, or whatever strikes your fancy while sitting in your seat at a ballgame. Make sure you include the exact time and date the picture was taken and what half of the inning it was taken in. Your photo will then be posted on Talking Chop. By sending your photos, you grant Talking Chop full rights to publish and edit them as we see fit. The email address to send these photos to is martingandy at gmail dot com.

Try to make it a photo taken in the past 24 hours.

The idea is to bring everyone a little closer to the action at the ballpark, and along the way I hope to stumble upon some pretty terrific photos that remind us why we're all baseball fans.

The Braves take on the Tigers today in Lakeland, with Jason Heyward back in the lineup after his first day off of the spring yesterday.

Omar Infante, SS
Melky Cabrera, CF
Jason Heyward, RF
Troy Glaus, 1B
Eric Hinske, DH
Matt Diaz, LF
David Ross, C
Brooks Conrad, 2B
Joe Thurston, 3B

And on the mound will be Tim Hudson, followed by Mike Dunn, Jo-Jo Reyes, Stephen Marek, Lee Hyde, and Eric Cordier.

Game time 1:05pm.