The Braves Blog

The Braves filled their two biggest needs with one trade late Monday, getting left-hander Paul Maholm and veteran outfielder Reed Johnson from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a pair of minor league pitchers, highly regarded prospect Arodys Vizcaino and Triple-A right-hander Jay Chapman.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/31/braves-trade-for-cubs-maholm-and-reed-johnson/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

Kris Medlen is tentatively scheduled to start in place of Jair Jurrjens on Tuesday. I actually will be able to watch this game so expect a write up and an objective as possible review of his performance

“We’re going to go in a different direction, give Med a chance,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday after announcing plans to start him Tuesday against Miami in place of struggling Jair Jurrjens.

Medlen was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett on May 29 to build arm stretch in preparation for a possible switch from relieving to starting duties. Two weeks later the Braves brought him back and decided to keep him in the bullpen, opting instead for Jurrjens in the rotation after a two-month stint in Triple-A.

With that in mind, this time when the Braves told Medlen he would be starting Tuesday, they did so with a caveat: If the team can pull off a trade for a starting pitcher in the next couple of days, Medlen would stay in the bullpen, where he’s filled a valuable role as a bridge between the starters and top relievers.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/28/braves-plan-to-start-medlen-in-place-of-jurrjens/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

The Brewers traded Greinke to the Angels (for shortstop Jean Segura and two prospects) because Wren wouldn’t give up enough for a pitcher who potentially could lead them to a World Series. The Marlins are asking for the moon and the sun for Johnson, as they should. He’s not only good, he’s signed through next season. He might be worth more than even Greinke. Great players don’t come for cheap.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/07/27/live-braves-finally-make-a-move-wait-miguel-batista/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog.

The Angels gave up three of their top 10 prospects to get Greinke. Three. Even if the Brave had included their preseason No. 1 prospect Julio Teheran, they would’ve had to give up at least one of their other elite prospects and perhaps two. I still haven’t heard exactly what Milwaukee asked from the Braves. I would imagine that catcher Christian Bethancourt was in the package the Brewers asked for, particularly if Teheran wasn’t included and perhaps even if if was.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/28/braves-wouldnt-make-a-tex-like-mistake-again-with-greinke/.

Venters allowed only two baserunners – one on an error and one on a single – while coaxing five groundballs, which is a good sign for a pitcher who’s struggled much of the season with patented sinkerball. Of his 21 pitches, 15 were strikes. He struck out two and had one wild pitch.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/22/venters-sharp-in-return-from-disabled-list/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

Two years after undergoing surgery on his right thumb, Matt Diaz has had a similar problem crop up again. The Braves placed Diaz on the 15-day disabled list Saturday and activated reliever Jonny Venters from the disabled list, in the hopes that rest will allow Diaz to avoid surgery again.

But an MRI taken Monday revealed two foreign bodies in his thumb – which could be similar to fragments of a palm frond he had removed in 2010. Diaz said they will have to be surgically removed at some point, but he and the Braves are hoping to put off surgery until after the season.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/21/braves-disable-diaz-with-recurring-thumb-injury/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

Jonny Venters returned from the disabled list after only one of two scheduled minor league rehabilitation outings for Gwinnett to give the Braves another arm for their doubleheader against the Nationals Saturday.

The Braves had originally planned for him to pitch again Sunday in Gwinnett, but activated him and brought him to Washington after just one inning Friday, a six-pitch perfect inning. He took Matt Diaz’s roster spot, who was placed on the DL Saturday with a thumb injury.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/21/braves-activate-venters-from-dl/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

Reliever Jonny Venters pitched a perfect inning for Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday night in the first of what’s expected to be a two-game outing in a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Venters threw six pitches, five for strikes, while coaxing two fly-outs and a groundout. If all goes well Sunday, Venters is expected to be activated from the disabled list Tuesday or Wednesday in Miami.

read the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/07/20/venters-pitches-scoreless-inning-in-gwinnett/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog.

When trying to tell you why the NFL is so great, football fans will trot out the old “on any given Sunday” axiom. The idea being that the league’s unpredictability stands above its peers.

The thing is, the Major League Baseball season has 10 times as many games as the NFL, and as we saw on Friday, you can see something you’ve never seen before on any given night. In other words: baseball rules.

read the rest: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/27152/on-any-given-night.