The Braves Blog
Ramblings about the Braves by True Braves Fans |
Ramblings about the Braves by True Braves Fans |
Kris Medlen was forced to leave tonight’s game due to “an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow,” according to the Braves. He’ll undergo and MRI on Thursday. If you aren’t sure what the UCL is, it might help to know that the medical term for Tommy John Surgery is ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction.
Depending on the severity of the issue, the Braves could face losing him for a few starts, the rest of the season, or even the rest of next season. I guess its possible that he could end up not missing any time at all, but everything I’ve read seems to indicate that he’ll definitely be making a trip to the DL, regardless of the outcome of the MRI.
Speculation has already begun on what the Braves will do in response. Obviously if its a situation where he won’t miss a start, nothing will happen. If he does miss any time, there is a lot of debate on whether the Braves will call up Mike Minor (henceforth known as MM), or if they will move KK back into the rotation.
If we do find out that we are going to be without Medlen for at least the rest of the season, I think we have to call up MM. To begin with, KK has hardly pitched since being moved to the bullpen. Chances that he’s even up to starting are pretty slim. That being said, we are in a tight pennant race, and now is not the time for MM to mature in the majors. KK has to begin getting ready because if MM shows any signs of not being able to handle the pressures of a pennant race, or merely falters for any other reasons, KK will need to step in. If we had a runaway lead or if we were out of the race, then you could afford to let MM go through some bad starts in order to further refine him. We don’t have that luxury now.
What I’m wondering is what we do if Medlen ends up needing to just miss one or two starts? Would we call up MM just to make a few spot starts and send him back down? Are there other options in on the farm that could be better utilized in such a situation? Do we have anyone in the bullpen that could be moved into such a role? I know that Venters started most of his career in the minors, but is he prepared to make a few spot starts? Even if he is, can we afford to lose him out of the pen? Could JJ go on short rest if needed? Don’t forget that he didn’t pitch for two months or so while on the DL and is much more rested than other starters.
My feeling is that in such a situation we wouldn’t call up MM. I don’t think he’s coming up this year unless its with plans for him to stay up here as part of the rotation. Instead I think we’d call up another starter from AAA or AA with the intention of him making a single start and getting sent back down.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals (33-44) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Braves (45-32) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | X | 5 | 8 | 2 |
Lots of news in relation to Heyward, Jurrjens, Kawakami, and Medlen. Check the twitter feed for links to the various stories.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves (34-25) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| D-backs (23-36) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
Good game last night. It was nice to see Chipper back in the lineup. Medlen hurt himself sliding into home, but thankfully it doesn’t look like anything serious.
In other news, the latest results in the all star voting are out, and Heyward, McCann, and Prado are all in 2nd place at their respective positions.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves (32-22) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Dodgers (31-23) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
This one got a little interesting near the end, but the Braves held on for the win. Medlen pitched a great game but got into trouble in the 8th. Moylan came in with the bases loaded and gave up 3 runs before being replaced by O’Flaherty who struck out %Bn% to end the inning and stranding the tying and go-ahead runs.
Billy Wagner was given the night off and was called on to pitch the 9th. After getting the first two batters out and getting a quick 0-2 count on %Bn%, Saito was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury. replaced him and struck our Martin with his first pitch, ending the game.
As for Saito, David O’Brien at the AJC had this to say:
It was a potentially costly win for the Braves, who watched reliever Takashi Saito hobble off the field in the ninth inning with a left-hamstring injury. The 40-year-old setup man hopes to avoid the disabled list, but if he’s not doing better in a few days the Braves would probably DL him. [source]
On a better note, congratulations to Troy Glaus on being named the NL Player of the Month for May, and to Jason Heyward for winning NL Rookie of the Month for the second time (the first time since Ryan Braun in 2007 that the same player has won it in back to back months).
Lastly, one of the game’s greats, Ken Griffey Jr., announced his retirement on Wednesday. In his recent column, Griffey always played the right way, Mike Bauman sums up my thoughts better that I could do myself.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves (23-21) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Pirates (19-25) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
I’m glad to say that recently we’ve been winning a lot more than we’ve been losing. Sadly last night was not one of those times. Nothing really to highlight from the game. Medlen pitched well again. In the end though it wasn’t enough and the Pirates won in the 10th inning when %Bn% hit a home run off %Bn%.
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