By Bud L. Ellis
Forgive Jair Jurrjens if he felt like the forgotten man as the 2011 Atlanta Braves gathered for spring training.
Nestled among the theme parks of Disney World in Orlando, the only thing more prominent than mouse ears and overpriced souvenirs in the spring home of the Braves was the sheer excess of talented arms that would make up – or figure in the near future to join – Atlanta’s starting rotation.
But as we approach Memorial Day, the first major checkpoint in the marathon that is baseball’s regular season, Atlanta’s ace is easy to pinpoint. And it’s not the veteran with a World Series ring (Derek Lowe), or the National League’s comeback player of the year (Tim Hudson), or the young hard-thrower destined for stardom (Tommy Hanson), or any of the legion of young arms who look earmarked for major-league duty (Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Brandon Beachy).
The man for the Braves through the first two months has been Jurrjens, the 25-year-old from Curacao who time and time ...
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