Hampton Sidelined Again

Braves pitcher Mike Hampton is injured yet again taking practice swings. Hampton, who's made 12 starts in the past two years, will miss the start of the season for what coaches are calling, a left oblique strain. The Braves expect him to be out for at least the first two months. "I was pretty upset about it yesterday," Hampton said Thursday. "Then I went through a little time of sulking, and now, well, there is nothing you can do about it now except just try to get it healed up and get it better. I guess the only silver lining is that my elbow gets a little more time to rest." Career wise, Hampton is 138-101 with a 3.97 ERA.