Here's an excerpt from Wednesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Braves blog:

Seriously, it might be time to consider keeping Tim Hudson in a protective bubble before his start Thursday against the Cubs. Because either the Braves have been cursed or injuries have suddenly become contagious.

No locusts Thursday. None Friday, either. But the run of bad luck continued when Chipper Jones was scratched from the lineup after getting hit in the face with a batted ball during batting practice. The ball came off his own bat.

On the freak scale, it might not measure up against a bag of groceries, an automated tarp or Jeff Kent's pickup truck (wink, wink), but the case for a curse got a little stronger Friday.

Jones himself wondered last season if the baseball gods had turned on Atlanta after all those years of success. So Friday's mishap could have been payback for those remarks. When it comes to sports gods, you want to just let them be.

The good news is that Jones is expected to play Saturday. The bad news is that if you board an elevator and find yourself standing next to Brian McCann, you may not get off for a while. Bad things are happening to Atlanta Braves these days. Bad things.

Ultimately the Jones event will be a non-story fantasy wise. But when you've got a freak injury and grainy video, it's all anyone is going to talk about. This is why a rogue save was able to come and go without much fanfare.

Jeff Bennett nailed it down for the Braves on Friday, giving up two hits but avoiding trouble thanks in part to a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play. Bennett's last outing was memorable for his plunking of Alfonso Soriano on a night that ended with his wife rushed to the hospital. All things considered protecting a three-run lead against the Angels must have been a piece of cake.

Bennett does have some experience as a closer (13 saves in 2005 for Triple-A Nashville) and his K rate and opp. average aren't horrible, but it's still hard to envision him as a long-term option for Atlanta. Rafael Soriano was unavailable Friday due to elbow soreness. Nothing new there.

If anything the ninth-inning uncertainty adds value to Mike Gonzalez as a speculative acquisition. He's been effective enough so far during his rehab assignment in Richmond (4 IP, 3 H, 6 K) and could join the Braves bullpen any day.

Slightly more conventional happenings are relegated to the bullets:

• In case you missed this, you'll want to know that Seattle placed closer J.J. Putz on the DL Friday. Brandon Morrow is still the guy to add, but M's manager John McLaren isn't naming an interim closer. The guy to add if you missed the guy to add is Miguel Batista.

• Adam LaRoche has issues to work out, so he wasn't in the Pittsburgh lineup Friday. He's in a 7-for-51 slump, which is the type of production he normally reserves for April. In other Pirates lineup news, back-to-back trips to American League parks could give Jason Michaels an extended look as an everyday player.

• Luke Scott homered again Friday. After going deep once in his first 35 games, the Baltimore outfielder now has 10 home runs in his last 26. A top 30 outfielder over the last month, he's roster worthy in AL-only formats and four or five-OF mixed leagues.

• The Dodgers hope to have Nomar Garciaparra back in the lineup by June 25. He'll return as a shortstop. The timetable on Rafael Furcal isn't good, so Nomar should have more than enough time to earn SS eligibility. In other rehab setback news, Jason Schmidt's recovery isn't going well.

• The Dodgers loaded the deck with lefties against Tigers starter Armando Galarraga on Friday. Not a bad move on the surface as Galarraga came in holding righties to a .117 average. He's not half bad against lefties, it turns out. The rookie held Los Angeles to three hits in seven productive innings, earning his sixth win.

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia cannot throw runners out. The Mets burned him three times Friday, running the number of consecutive successful stolen base attempts on the Texas catcher to 21. If you're counting on his bat staying in the lineup, don't.

• Oliver Perez pitched seven strong innings Friday and chipped in with two RBIs at the plate. He may have saved Willie Randolph's job – for a few days, anyway – but it's a performance best forgotten in fantasy circles.

• If you're wondering why Manny Ramirez isn't in the lineup Saturday, here's why. Justin Masterson took the loss Friday, but was solid enough to keep himself in the Red Sox rotation near-term.

• Troy Percival pitched for the first time since May 28 and was rather effective in a non-save situation Friday.

• We're guessing not too many folks out there immediately jumped to the "closer controversy!" conclusion when Kyle Farnsworth finished off the Astros on Friday. For the six of you wondering what was what, Mariano Rivera was just due for a night off.

• Looks like Ian Stewarts bat might be catching up with his glove. The second baseman hit a pair of homers Friday. He's an intriguing pickup if his bat comes alive in time to stave off losing playing time when Clint Barmes and Troy Tulowitzki return.

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Update: Failed to mention a pair of additional non-traditional saves Friday. Freddy Dolsi earned his second for the Tigers and Masa Kobayashi picked up his third for Cleveland. In each case, the home team scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to turn the top of the ninth into a non-save situation. Kobayashi stuck around for a four-out save while Dolsi went a full two innings.

Related: Closing Time, Fantasy Baseball