game on

The Mississippi Braves, who open tonight at Trustmark Park, are usually one of the youngest teams in the Southern League. Not this year. Check some of the birthdates on the roster. This is a very different M-Braves club. Manager Phillip Wellman can trot out a wealth of experience among his position players, including major league veteran Alex Romero. It could be a scary lineup with Romero, Eric Duncan, Mauro Gomez and Luis Bolivar joining up-and-comers Cody Johnson and Donell Linares. Of course, it'll be interesting to see how long this bunch stays together. Some changes could be in the offing when shortstop Diory Hernandez and outfielder Jordan Schafer, now at Triple-A Gwinnett, come off the disabled list in the next couple weeks. The M-Braves' pitching staff is fairly young, topped by 2009 first-rounder Mike Minor. Kyle Cofield and Scott Diamond had some success here last year, so that's a plus. There are quality arms in the bullpen, too, notably Stephen Marek, Lee Hyde and Brett Butts. The guess here is that this is a team that will get off to a good start and possibly contend for the first-half title in the SL South. But this team will probably look very different in the second half, probably younger. Then, who knows?