Some observations from the first week of spring training:

These first few days for the Atlanta Braves have not been good ones as they suffer through one mishap after another.

First, word comes that Tim Hudson won’t be ready for opening day. He underwent back surgery during the offseason.

The veteran right-hander told the Associated Press that he was aiming for May 1, so he will start the season on the disabled list.

Then pitcher Tommy Hanson is involved in a one-car wreck in which he hits his head and suffers a concussion. So basically this week has been a waste for him as he has not been able to do anything baseball related.

Then word comes that backup shortstop Jack Wilson strained a calf muscle in his personal workouts before he even arrived in camp.

Wilson is expected to be out four to six weeks. If rookie Tyler Pastornicky proves during this spring training not to be ready to make the leap to the major leagues, the Braves will be forced to find another shortstop.

Profit and loss

A report on ajc.com Saturday from business writer Tim Tucker highlights the profit and loss of the Atlanta Braves for their owner, Liberty Media.

When the Braves traded Derek Lowe to Cleveland after the end of the last season, they also sent $10 million to the Indians to pay part of his $15 million salary.

Liberty counted that $10 for the tax year 2011 and reported that the Braves lost $4 million dollars last year.

But also in that story, it is reported that the Braves are counting that $10 million as part of its budget for player salaries. The Braves have a budget this year of $94 million, so if you count that $10, then they actually have only $84 million.

Tucker’s story doesn’t include an explanation as to why the Braves are counting it this year when Liberty Media included it last year.

The Braves could have used that $10 million during the offseason, including bringing in a veteran shortstop.

Insight into Edwin Jackson

Mark Zuckerman, who covers the Washington Nationals for the Washington Post, had a blog post this week on former Shaw standout Edwin Jackson, who had signed a one-year contract with the Nationals.

It seems the Nationals noticed how much better Jackson’s numbers were pitching out of the stretch than from the windup.

From Zuckerman’s blog post, it would appear that Jackson had been tipping his pitches when he was in the windup. Basically, he was taking the ball out of his glove much sooner out of the windup than the stretch.

While any changes are still in progress, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see Jackson pitch out the stretch full time.

Kevin Price, 706-320-4493, kprice@ledger-enquirer.com