ATLANTA -- Rudy Seanez couldn't believe the news: Fellow Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker is banned from the team until May 1 for his disparaging comments about homosexuals, minorities and foreigners.

"It comes as kind of a shock," Seanez said Monday night from his home in El Centro, Calif., after baseball commissioner Bud Selig handed down the penalty. "I just think that's pretty harsh."

Rocker, who had 38 saves for the Braves last season, also was fined $20,000 and ordered to undergo sensitivity training. The players' association planned to appeal the punishment.

Seanez, one of the players who may have to fill the closer's role in Rocker's absence, said he expected a fine, but didn't anticipate a suspension of more than a few days.

"At the same time, now that it's all said and done with, he should use this time to his advantage," Seanez said. "He can prove to everybody that he's not what they made him out to be. I think that should help him."

Pitcher John Smoltz thinks Rocker will be accepted by his teammates when the suspension is completed.

"The bottom line with the Atlanta Braves, and any team in general, is you have to overcome adversity and problems," Smoltz said. "That's what makes a team stronger: facing a problem rather than just wishing it never happened."

The Braves are hoping senior members of the clubhouse will be able to steer Rocker in a different direction after the suspension. Even before his derogatory comments in Sports Illustrated, the 25-year-old left-hander engaged in a high-profile verbal battle with New York fans during the NL Championship Series and World Series.

"I had to go through some of those things when I was young, too," Smoltz said. "You learn a lot of things through veteran people. You don't come into this business knowing it all and never making a mistake."

He hopes the Braves will rally around Rocker and turn a divisive situation into a positive.

Already, outfielder Brian Jordan has said he would find it hard to respect Rocker, while first baseman Randall Simon, reportedly the player referred to as a "fat monkey" in the SI article, has implied that a fight would have broken out if the comments were made during the season.

"That's our house in the clubhouse," Smoltz said. "I've never been in a clubhouse where all 25 guys liked each other. I've never been in a clubhouse where there were not certain problems. The ones that are successful, much like ours, are the ones to address these situations."

Braves president Stan Kasten and general manager John Schuerholz held a private meeting two weeks ago with seven senior players, gauging the reaction to Rocker's comments and how the situations should be handled.

"We came to a consensus in that room that believed if John was suspended or punished in some way, disciplined in some fashion, probably fined for his comments, they would be willing to give him a second chance as a teammate," Schuerholz said.

The Braves GM also expects a more tranquil spring training without Rocker. The reliever is banned from any team activities until Atlanta begins the regular season April 3. Then, he can take part in extended spring training and join a minor league team to get in shape.

"Now that John won't be in camp, it will be a very straightforward issue," Schuerholz said. "The topic won't be discussed. We can go on and do our job."

If Rocker's suspension holds up, the Braves will begin the familiar process of searching for a new closer.

Kerry Ligtenberg, who had 30 saves two years ago, is trying to come back from an elbow injury that kept him out all of last season. Seanez missed the final six weeks with arm trouble but insists he will be healthy by the beginning of the season. Kevin McGlinchy, 22, had some impressive moments in his rookie year.

Seanez noted that the Braves have used three different closers -- Mark Wohlers, Ligtenberg and Rocker -- in the past three years.

"It won't be easy, but we'll manage somehow, some way," Seanez said. "We lost Wohlers and had to deal with it. We lost Ligtenberg and had to deal with it."