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Braves uncertain if pitcher, making rehab, will return to action this winter

It's a familiar refrain, this time from south of the border: Mike Hampton is hurt again.

The Braves left-hander injured his right hamstring in the first inning of his first start in the Mexican Winter League last week. He left after one inning, and it's uncertain if he'll pitch again this winter.

"We don't know when he'll come back [in winter ball], if at all," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "There's only four weeks left in the season, and hamstring injuries usually take a while."

Hampton, 35, has missed the past two seasons recovering from elbow surgeries on his pitching arm, and the Braves hoped he could make seven starts in Mexico to better gauge the likelihood of having him back in Atlanta's starting rotation for the 2008 season.

But the injury in Thursday's start for Navojoa was another reminder of why the Braves say they aren't counting on Hampton