Medlen MRI: Partial Tear of Ulner Cruciate Ligament

[K26dp]

As reported by 680 the Fan.

No word on how long he is expected out until he and the team get a second opinion.

[K26dp]

Also, Mike Minor will be called up for Medlen's scheduled start on Monday.

Kenshin Kawakami will go to Gwinnett to re-build stamina after being mostly inactive for the last month and a half, and will apparently be "Plan B" if Minor doesn't work out.

[jaynap1]

Ideally, Minor won't be overwhelmed being called up and thrown into a pennant race. Are any quality pitchers available on waivers?

[Unknøwn]

I recall Smoltz saying last night a tear would be something he couldnt pitch with so that probably means he'll be out a long time hopefully Minor lives up to the hype I know im excited to see him I just wish it was under better circumstances

[Unknøwn]

According to David O'Brien Minor will pitch 2 innings tonight for Gwinnett that way he doesnt have to go 9 days between starts and he will pitch Monday in Houston with KK going to Triple-A to stretch his arm out in case Minor struggles or another starter gets banged up

[Threepac Daddy]

medlen out for year, just hope it doesnt require TJ surgrey

[Warrior999]

Braves were worried about Medlen innings. This pretty much shut him down for the rest of the season.

[dyoshot]

I read in the AJC that Kenshin was promised he would never be sent down to AAA. Is this true?

[K26dp]

I read in the AJC that Kenshin was promised he would never be sent down to AAA. Is this true?

I haven't seen such a thing. Link?

[dyoshot]

I haven't seen such a thing. Link?

Link

Another night, another issue. Unless the results of Kris Medlen’s MRI come up ridiculously rosy, the Braves are going to need a fifth starter soon. (The early diagnosis on Medlen: Injury to the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow.) Given that the man who began the season as the fifth starter is sitting down in the bullpen unused, you’d think the decision would be a no-brainer.

Wrong. This one is a brainer.

Kenshin Kawakami has worked one inning in sixweeks. As esteemed colleagues Dave O’Brien and Carroll Rogers have written, the only reason Kawakami is still in the major leagues is that the Braves promised him when he signed in January 2009 they would never send him down. Otherwise he’d had been at Gwinnett long ago.

Even if the Braves were high enough on Kawakami to give him another start, he’s not in starting shape. You want a starter to go five or six innings. Kawakami mightn’t make out of the third. And the Braves, not to put too fine a point on it, aren’t exactly thrilled with what they’ve gotten from this pricey import.

You can cite a lack of run support and a run of rotten luck, but the cold truth is that this pitcher opened the season 0-9. His record as a Brave is 8-19. He’s not even a fifth starter. He might be a seventh starter, which means he should be in Class AAA.

The Braves have a better option. Mike Minor, last year’s first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt, is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA at Gwinnett. If the Braves need a fifth starter and decide to stay in-house, he’ll get the call. And some in this clubhouse would welcome his arrival. As one Brave said after Wednesday’s game: “We need a lefthander.”

Neither Frank Wren nor Bobby Cox was willing to speculate about what might happen. “We’ll have to evaluate our options,” Wren said, breaking into the language known as GM-speak.

Said Cox: “We’re talking about what we’re going to do. Just talking.”

But, asked directly about Kawakami, Cox offered this: “I don’t know right now. He hasn’t pitched in so long.”

Didn’t exactly sound like a full-throated endorsement, did it?

[K26dp]

Thanks dyoshot. Weird, I hadn't seen DoB or Rogers write that.

If so, shame on the Braves. You shouldn't make a promise like that to any player.

[Unknøwn]

Well like they just said on the broadcast KK agreed to go he did have a clause in his contract that said he couldnt go to Triple-A but he approved the move

[dyoshot]

Thanks dyoshot. Weird, I hadn't seen DoB or Rogers write that.

If so, shame on the Braves. You shouldn't make a promise like that to any player.

Np. I agree completely unacceptable. It is true though, just heard it on the broadcast on tv.

[Falconsfan567]

Great that Minor will get the start. The only thing that worries me is that it's going to be in that bandbox in Houston where any normal fly ball down the lines has a chance of going out.

[K26dp]

Great that Minor will get the start. The only thing that worries me is that it's going to be in that bandbox in Houston where any normal fly ball down the lines has a chance of going out.

On a positive note, the Astros aren't much better at hitting than most of the AAA clubs Minor has been facing.

[jaynap1]

On a positive note, the Astros aren't much better at hitting than most of the AAA clubs Minor has been facing.

After dumping Berkman, this is about the same as Strasburg facing Pittsburgh to start his career.

[Unknøwn]

Even with Berkman they weren't much better

BTW anyone notice how poorly Berkman has played as a Yankee? Even with all that talent around him he's hitting .131 with an RBI and an OPS around .300

[jaynap1]

Some guys, regardless of talent, can't function up there. Looks like Fat Elvis is at least temporarily one of those guys.

[K26dp]

BTW anyone notice how poorly Berkman has played as a Yankee? Even with all that talent around him he's hitting .131 with an RBI and an OPS around .300

Not even most Yankee fans attempt to draw conclusions from only 16 plate appearances.

[The Don™]

Kris Medlen will have Tommy John surgery Wednesday, decision was made today (as expected). Dr. Andrews will do the surgery.

-DOB

[Falconsfan567]

Kris Medlen will have Tommy John surgery Wednesday, decision was made today (as expected). Dr. Andrews will do the surgery.

-DOB

Kris Medlen needs Tommy John surgery

ATLANTA -- Braves right-hander Kris Medlen is having elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season.

Medlen said Sunday the surgery will be performed in Birmingham by Dr. James Andrews. Recovery from the Tommy John surgery generally takes one year.

Medlen sustained the injury on Aug. 4 while pitching against the New York Mets. Doctors waited for swelling to subside before confirming the surgery is necessary.

The second-year pitcher emerged as the team's No. 5 starter and was 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 31 games, including 14 starts.

Rookie Mike Minor has replaced Medlen at the end of the rotation.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press