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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL With a grain of Salty: Braves’ top prospect experiences learning curve By R. Travis Haney Morris News Service MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Jarrod Saltalamacchia comes packing a six-syllable, 14-letter surname, a heap of talent and a knee-jerk qualifier: He’s only 21. Ask anyone who’s spent time around him with Class AA Mississippi this year, and they’ll tell you. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask, and they’ll tell you. A veteran big-league catcher who’s been rehabbing his bum shoulder in the minors? “He’s only 21,” Eddie Perez says. Saltalamacchia’s Class AA man ager, a guy who spent 13 seasons in the majors? “He’s a young guy, 21,” Jeff Blauser says. The Braves’ interim director of player development? “He is 21 years old,” JJ Picollo says, “and we tend to lose sight of that because he’s moved quickly at a really tough position.” This is the season when the switch-hitting catcher’s age - he Injury to Cox sidelines Georgia Tech's fullback pirns ATLANTA - Fullback is a lonely position at Georgia Tech, with only two of the burly block- ers on its roster. And a shoulder injury start er Mike Cox suffered Wednesday could mean the fullback won’t be a NOTEBOOK By ADAM VAN BRIMMER Morris News Service part of the game plan for the season opener against Notre Dame. Coach Chan Gailey esti mated Cox’s chances of being healthy enough to play Sept. 2 at 60 percent. Georgia's snapper, holder still question marks; voice of Bulldogs to be saluted A THENS-If Georgia /\ is going to have the X kick-punt duos in the nation with Brandon Coutu and Gordon Ely-Kelso, it will have to find answers this month in finding its snapper and holder. Bo Fowler hopes to be the answer at long snapper. The four year snap per for NOTEBOOK By MARC WEISZER Morris News Service Greene County pitched him self to Georgia staff mem ber Joe Tereshinski Jr. in February 2005 and now is competing with Benjamin Boyd and Jeff Henson for the job. “I just called Coach T up one day and I asked him how I could walk-on,” Fowler said. “He told me I needed to get accepted to school first. I got accepted and called him back and showed up after camp.” This year Fowler is one of the 105 players in pre season camp. Georgia holds a special teams scrimmage Saturday morning. “It will be pretty pressur ized for snappers and hold ers,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We’ll find out some more then.” For now, assistant coach David Johnson said the com petition “looks to be tight. All three of them have a chance.” Fowler was the center at Greene County his senior season for Josh Nesbitt, now one of the state’s top 15 prospects, and is compet ing less than an hour from home. “It’s living a dream, man,” Fowler said. “Seeing all these guys and this great coaching staff. It’s living a dream.” turned 21 in May - went from a statistic and became the qualifier. And now, because of this year, the organization’s top prospect will spend the immediate future trying to reverse that. SALTALAMACCHIA WAS INVITED to Atlanta’s major-league camp for the first time this year, and he began with a double, triple and game-winning three-run home run in his first five at-bats. “When Salty walks up there, that’s how you feel,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said then, “that he’s going to turn the game around.” But he wound up hitting .206 in 17 games before he was sent to finish the spring with the Class AA club he’d be joining for the regular season. Blauser said, to him, Saltalamacchia wasn’t swinging the bat well upon arrival. That car ried over when the team arrived jn Pearl, Miss., to begin the Southern League schedule. He began the year in an 0-for-13 mini-funk that set the season’s Cox started 10 games a year ago and is the only experienced player at the fullback position. Red-shirt freshman Matt Kamp is Cox’s backup, and his lack of experience could prompt the Jackets to play a tight end at the position or omit fullback from their game plan all together. “Normally when you have enough time like this, it makes it easier,” Gailey said. “When we get to actu al game plan, we’ll have a much better idea of where Michael is (health-wise) and we’ll make adjustments from there.” Georgia Tech is deep and experienced at tight Punters Gordon Ely-Kelso and Brian Mimbs are work ing as holders along with Rowdy Francis who Johnson said “is doing a great job. Brandon really likes him, too. It’s a matter of getting him more reps. All three are very capable.” Gant joins injury list: Senior Ray Gant, Georgia’s most experienced defensive tack le and a candidate to start, injured his right shoulder in Thursday morning’s practice and said he was scheduled to visit a doctor on Thursday evening to learn the extent of his injury. Gant took part in the Bulldogs’ first full pads prac tice in the morning and was in a sling before the after noon practice. He said he thought he had a subluxed shoulder. “You never know on the ■ iNF>ir Haa ■ ■■l ■La JKrWk. SPRAY-ON TRUCK BERLINERS [BEFORE! ; Wj£ J^%¥: fLenu&make it .S2O Off When You Present TliisAP] 592 Carl Vinson Pkwy., Warner Robins, GA 478-329-8100 tone. He dove in and out of larg er slumps and wound up batting .197 through June 28, striking out roughly a quarter of the times he’d come to the plate. He pressed, perhaps, because he saw what 22-year-old Brian McCann - in Mississippi just a year ago - was doing in the majors. The Braves’ everyday backstop is still hitting close to .350 and he made the National League All-Star team in his first full season. Or, because of the organiza tion’s catching logjam, maybe Saltalamacchia thought himself into a hole because he considered this year an audition for other major-league teams. After all, high ly touted third base prospect Andy Marte was stuck on the depth chart behind Chipper Jones, and he wound up being dealt for Edgar Renteria last winter. Regardless, the woeful start wasn’t something anyone antici pated from someone so highly thought of, both inside the organi zation and out. “It was a little bit unexpected,” end. Four players - Mike Matthews, George Cooper, Wayne Riles and Colin Peek - are sharing snaps this preseason and Gailey said he would feel comfortable using them at fullback in certain situations. THE KING AND THE DUKE: Georgia Tech’s Mansfield Wrotto no longer plays on Jon Tenuta’s defensive unit, but the defensive coordi nator still calls Wrotto by his nickname on the prac tice field: The Duke of Brookwood. Wrotto played defensive tackle for Tenuta for three years before moving to offensive tackle this spring. The nickname’s origins lie shoulders,” Richt said. “Ray’s had a history of that messing with him and he’s always been back relatively soon.” Gant’s absence would be a blow to the interior defense that will be without reserve Marquis Elmore for at least a couple of weeks. Elmore will have arthroscopic sur gery on his right knee and expects to be out “two to three weeks.” Starting offensive guard Chester Adams also sus tained a hip pointer but could return by Saturday. “You’re going to have those kind of things,” Richt said. “If you start getting those season-ending things that really is cause for more concern.” Much thrown at fresh man tight end: Freshman See QUESTION, page 8B LLumar WINDOW HIM Does i°okfnrnm AFTER. SPORTS in Wrotto’s refined English accent - he is a native of Liberia. The Brookwood ref erence is to his high school in Gwinnett County. Wrotto has a more regal nickname for Tenuta. “Tenuta’s a king,” Wrotto said. “He gets things done.” DEPTH EMERGING UP FRONT: Offensive linemen LeShawn Newberry and A.J. Smith have taken advantage of some nagging injuries to their peers and impressed the coaching staff with their play. Newberry worked exten sively at right guard this week with Nate McManus and Jacob Lonowski missing time because of bumps and A MACON REGIONAL & Help so(ve A Crime 742-2330 • 1-877-68 CRIME (2 7 46 3) Rewards of up to s l,ooo - Remain Anonymous! Christopher Dale Bruner Wanted for violation of probation (for failure to report and to pin as instructedl LKA: Haynesville, Jefferson, Warner Robins i| King Edward Cannon Jr. Wanted for aggravated stalking bench warrant LKA: 700 block of Loop Road, Vidalia Cesar Cervantes Wanted for violation of probation (Dili) LKA: 100 block of Creek Cove Trail, WR .JH : Jose Consuelo Wanted for violation of probation from State Court LKA: 200 block of Tabor Drive, WR 00036875 IF YOU DON’T LIKE SEEING YOUR PICTURE ON THIS PAGE, CALL CRIMESTOPPERS AND TURN YOURSELF IN! Picollo said. “We thought he’d go to the Southern League and jump right out of the gate.” The four home runs he had in the first half - just one more than he had in 34 at-bats in big-league spring training - all came before May 2. “It’s a big jump from A-ball to here. I’m not so sure he real ized that,” said Blauser, Atlanta’s everyday shortstop through most of the 19905. “I think he realizes it now. He hasn’t had a whole lot of failure. “I think he realizes now that these guys don’t care what he hit last year (.314, 19 homers in Class A). They don’t care about what the articles in Baseball America say. They don’t care about the publicity he’s gotten - period. “If anything, that makes the bull’s-eye on his back a little bit bigger. If you’re going to be in that situation, you’d better be prepared for it.” BLAUSER SAID HE saw a young play er stampeding around inside his own brain, “constantly tinkering bruises. “I thought he was one of the bright spots,” Gailey said of Newberry following Tuesday’s practice. Smith’s play has been more subtle. He works with the second team at tack le but has not escaped the notice of offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris. “It’s been very encour aging to see LeShawn and A.J. step up early in camp,” he said. “Depth is always important on the lines, and we’re feeling more and more comfortable with those two in there.” RODERSON STILL IN FLIX: Avery Roberson continues to compete with Jahi Word- Edward Perette Buffington Wanted for aggravated stalking LKA: 1000 block of Fcagin Mill Road, WR David Carrillo Wanted for violation of probation (for DL'l! LK A: 100 block of Sandy Run, Bonaire Hee Jin Chough Wanted far violation of probation State Court Ispeeding) LKA: 100 block of Cherokee Forest Trail, WR - Lulalio Luis Cruz Wanted for violation of probation (for ter roristic threats or acts) LKA: 900 block of Southern Avenue, WR SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2006 with his swing and trying to right the ship.” After a half-season of overthink ing, a jammed left wrist - a well timed injury, if there’s such a thing - informed Saltalamacchia it was time for a break. Doctors told him to take it easy for a few weeks. As much as he says he wanted to play, the mental pause did him no harm. Unable to swing because of the wrist, Saltalamacchia spent time in the bullpen tracking pitches from the mound to the plate. He watched and worked on his timing. He relaxed. With a clearer head and a fully functional wrist, he’s returned to hit .396 with five home runs in the 19 games since July 14. Was the time off the key? To hear others tell it, absolutely. “You can’t keep beating your self up,” Blauser said. “I think it allowed him to step back, clear his mind, to re-evaluate where he was and what he was trying to do.” To hear him tell it, partially. See CURVE,page SB Daniels for a starting cor nerback spot. Roberson is also taking snaps at safety. He could end up at either place - or both - by the time the season starts. “We’re working him both places and just seeing where is going to be the best,” Gailey said. INIIRY REPORT: Wide receiver Calvin Johnson sat out Thursday’s prac tice with his injured leg. Johnson, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s pre season player of the year, is expected back by Monday at the latest, Gailey said. Starting cornerback Kenny Scott also missed practice with a minor foot iiyury. Juan Cabrera, aka Romeo Sontay Wanted for violation of probation from Stale Court LKA: 100 block of Wall Street, WR Moises Carrillo, aka Moises Patistan DeDois Wanted for violation of probation (for drinking underage) LKA: 100 block of Sandy Run, Bonaire Hector Conego Wanted for bench warrant from Superior Court LKA: 100 block of Dixie Trail, WR Jermichael Cordon Daniels Wanted for aggravated assault, burglary, armed robbery LKA: 1300 block of Ennis Drive, WR 5B 10003649 j