Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to have 2nd TJ Surgery

[Mattionals]

Shame on the Nats, Orioles, etc that let the Braves swoop in and get Santana. Ugh.

I don't shame the Nats for NOT paying 14.1 Million and losing a draft pick to a guy that is only marginally better than Detwiler, Roark or Taylor Jordan. 

[HalfSmokes]

The Os are punting picks like crazy, I'm surprised they didn't jump on it since the comp pick would have been a third rounder

[NJ Ave]

The Os are punting picks like crazy, I'm surprised they didn't jump on it since the comp pick would have been a third rounder

Takes two to tango. If I am a flyball homer-prone pitcher taking a 1-year deal, the last place I want to go is OPACY and the rest of those ballparks and lineups in that division.

[Slateman]

Beachy going to miss a start in ST

[3bside]

The Braves are no different than they were on Saturday.  Replacing Medlen with Santana is a wash or maybe even a slight downgrade.  They still don't have a true #1 starter.  Santana is maybe a #2 or 3.   

[Natsinpwc]

How come I am not hearing about the Barves bad practices with their pitchers on ESPN and MLB???????
Of course, the decision to stretch Medlen out helped them win the World Series--oops I forgot they lost the play in game that year.

[Slateman]

The Braves are no different than they were on Saturday.  Replacing Medlen with Santana is a wash or maybe even a slight downgrade.  They still don't have a true #1 starter.  Santana is maybe a #2 or 3.   

Uh . . . Beachy is a #1

[sportsfan882]

Uh . . . Beachy is a #1

[Dave301]

How come I am not hearing about the Barves bad practices with their pitchers on ESPN and MLB???????
Of course, the decision to stretch Medlen out helped them win the World Series--oops I forgot they lost the play in game that year.

I see it being discussed on forums/message boards though. I'm sure people in the media will start to bring it up soon.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Smart move by him, though. If I were a homer prone pitcher, I wouldn't want to "reestablish my value" playing in those AL East ballparks against those AL East teams.

Besides Philly (which has a pretty bad lineup), all the other parks in the NL East suppress home runs. Besides the AL West, probably not a better fit for him.

Atlanta has a batter ballpark factor of 104, per B-R, but Fangraphs and ESPN have Turner as negative. 

[GburgNatsFan]

Beachy going to miss a start in ST

Surprising no one.

[3bside]

How come I am not hearing about the Barves bad practices with their pitchers on ESPN and MLB???????
Of course, the decision to stretch Medlen out helped them win the World Series--oops I forgot they lost the play in game that year.

Don't forget Jonny Venters.  They pitched him to death two years ago, and he's now recovering from his second TJ.  They're becoming the poster child for what not to do with TJ.  Knock wood that SS and JZim stay healthy. 

[HalfSmokes]

How come I am not hearing about the Barves bad practices with their pitchers on ESPN and MLB???????
Of course, the decision to stretch Medlen out helped them win the World Series--oops I forgot they lost the play in game that year.

because it's easier to bloviate about how tough guys used to be, and pampering, and old school than it is to talk about how arms are inherently fragile and may need to be treated that way

[NJ Ave]

Atlanta has a batter ballpark factor of 104, per B-R, but Fangraphs and ESPN have Turner as negative. 

I was talking specifically about HR factor, which is Santana's biggest flaw (39 HRs in 2012!). Like Philly actually suppressed overall hits in 2013, but had the highest HR factor in the majors. NL East stadiums, regardless of overall run environments, tend to suppress home runs specifically.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor/_/year/2013/sort/HRFactor

AL East, meanwhile, has 3 of the top 9 HR ballparks, including OPACY at #4.

[Natsinpwc]

Don't forget Jonny Venters.  They pitched him to death two years ago, and he's now recovering from his second TJ.  They're becoming the poster child for what not to do with TJ.  Knock wood that SS and JZim stay healthy.

I am knocking right now.  No one seems sure what works best and everyone's arm is probably different in how it will react.  The nats approach seems to make sense long run. 

[Natsinpwc]

because it's easier to bloviate about how tough guys used to be, and pampering, and old school than it is to talk about how arms are inherently fragile and may need to be treated that way

Bloviate; I like that.

[NJ Ave]

Don't forget Jonny Venters.  They pitched him to death two years ago, and he's now recovering from his second TJ.  They're becoming the poster child for what not to do with TJ.  Knock wood that SS and JZim stay healthy. 

To be honest, this might be an organizational philosophy - as cold as that sounds. But if you're getting screwed on your local TV deal and have to operate with a crap budget, is it really in your best interest to baby your pitchers along so they'll be productive for other teams, after you can no longer afford them?

[NJ Ave]

I mean, do the Braves care about Tommy Hanson beyond getting 9 wins out of Tommy Hanson for about $2 million?

[HalfSmokes]

To be honest, this might be an organizational philosophy - as cold as that sounds. But if you're getting screwed on your local TV deal and have to operate with a crap budget, is it really in your best interest to baby your pitchers along so they'll be productive for other teams, after you can no longer afford them?

that was my view on the strasburg shutdown. There is some logic in getting a couple of very cheap elite years vs. watching guys acquire service time on the DL or while resting on the end of the bench especially if those cheap years coincide with playoff runs

[sportsfan882]

David O'Brien ‏@ajcbraves  1m
"High likelihood" that #Braves Medlen is going to need a 2nd Tommy John surgery
Expand

[PC]

I can't imagine Rizzo ever addressing a need so quickly and decisively.

[PC]

Well, shame on the Orioles, certainly. Don't know what part the Nats play in this. In 211 innings last year, Santana was a 3-win player according to Fangraphs. In 175 innings, Roark/Detwiler/Jordan were worth 3 wins as well. At worst, each looks like a 2-win SP, which is a level Santana has only surpassed in 2 of the previous 5 years.

You sign him so the Braves can't get him.  First, you never have too much pitching depth, considering the team has already had a starter injury (Fister).   Next, it puts the team in an infinitely more advantageous position to win the division and it's just a one-year deal.

We are going to regret Rizzo's lack of action here.

[Slateman]

You sign him so the Braves can't get him.  First, you never have too much pitching depth, considering the team has already had a starter injury (Fister).   Next, it puts the team in an infinitely more advantageous position to win the division and it's just a one-year deal.

We are going to regret Rizzo's lack of action here.

When you're enemy is making a mistake, you don't stop him. Even if Santana repeats last season, he can't replace Medlen and Beachy. They're betting a lot on Tehran right now.

[pazzo83]

You sign him so the Braves can't get him.  First, you never have too much pitching depth, considering the team has already had a starter injury (Fister).   Next, it puts the team in an infinitely more advantageous position to win the division and it's just a one-year deal.

We are going to regret Rizzo's lack of action here.

This is ridiculous logic.  We can't just sign whomever we want.  Fister is going to be fine, plus we literally have THREE guys fighting for the 5th spot.

[CurlyW4lyfe]

You sign him so the Braves can't get him.  First, you never have too much pitching depth, considering the team has already had a starter injury (Fister).   Next, it puts the team in an infinitely more advantageous position to win the division and it's just a one-year deal.

We are going to regret Rizzo's lack of action here.

I honestly have no idea why you're expecting the Nats GM to have full clairvoyance regarding Braves pitcher health and depth and to make moves accordingly. Dropping 14 million and the draft pick under the basic reasoning of not letting someone else, even a division rival, have him is honestly one of the dumbest suggestions I've heard out of this whole situation.