catching up

Great to see Matt Young make the Atlanta Braves’ 40-man roster. The former (and longtime) Mississippi Braves standout deserves a shot at the big leagues, and the Braves did the right thing by protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. Young is small — 5 feet, 8 inches, at best — but he has skills. He doesn’t hit for power, but he has hit for average at every level. He can run, both on the bases and in the outfield. And he plays hard, every minute of every game. He’s also a good guy. He might actually help the Braves in 2011. … Also added to the 40-man roster were Cory Gearrin, a 2009 M-Braves reliever, and Randall Delgado, a starter who was here last summer and likely will be back in 2011. … The Braves gave up on former first-round pick Cody Johnson, the big left-handed slugger who struggled so painfully in Pearl last season. Johnson was traded to the New York Yankees; if he ever makes it to the big leagues, it’ll be a surprise. … And a belated congrats to former Jackson Mets shortstop Ron Gardenhire, who not only won his first American League manager of the year award last week but got a well-deserved contract extension from the Minnesota Twins.