Truly a shitty way to end his scoreless streak. Carlos Gonzalez was on 1B because Jose Constanza got a terrible jump on a pop fly (should have been an out) and then scored when Paul Janish tried to do too much with a ball he barely stopped to his right and threw it past 2B into RF.

Medlen has started 6 games since July 31. He has a sub 0.50 ERA in those games and after today, he leads the 2012 Braves in complete games with 2. Only three other starters have a single complete game - Tim Hudson, Mike Minor, and another recently added starter, Paul Maholm.

Beachy had one in mid-May, as well.

He's the hottest pitcher in the world right now. It's like vintage Herschiser just showed up and went to work.

He's the hottest pitcher in the world right now. It's like vintage Herschiser just showed up and went to work.

didn't hershiser throw 5 straight CG shutouts during his streak?

didn't hershiser throw 5 straight CG shutouts during his streak?

Yep. Would have been six, as Hershiser threw 10 scoreless innings in his last start of the season, but the Dodgers were also blanked by Andy Hawkins in a game they'd eventually lose in 16 innings.

Anyway, in the NL this year, only 2.5% games started result in a complete game. In that context, 2 CGs in seven starts is pretty impressive.

The Braves 2014 rotation starts with Medlen & Beachy at this point. Minor's in there somewhere, probably, and either Delgado or Teheran. Hanson is a year away from the rotator cuff meat pile. Hudson's old and Maholm's a rental...

Beachy won't be MLB-ready until late August or September so you can't discuss him at this point. He's in the 2014 discussion.

Right now, you've got Medlen, Hudson, Minor, and Maholm one through four. Maholm has an easy option ($6.5MM) that'll be picked up. With Delgado and Teheran around, Tommy Hanson might well find himself non-tendered this winter.

He's in the 2014 discussion.

Err, that's what Sam said.

Hanson is entering his first year of arb, and although there's tons of reasons to worry about him, he's not going to be non-tendered. We can't pencil him in for 2014 yet; if he continues to lose velocity and the walks keep going up, he's not going to be a viable major league starter. But it's to early to write his fate yet.

Delgado still needs to improve his control, Teheran's had an awful season, and I don't think anyone wants to pencil Sean Gilmartin into the rotation yet, so Hanson should be around for another year.

Tommy Hanson definitely won't be non-tendered. He very well may be traded - I might go as far as to say that he'll probably be traded. But unless I really misunderstand the market, there will be plenty of teams willing to give up something for him.

Missed that. Apologies for misreading.

The Maholm option will be picked up. The big question is whether Hudson's will be, and whether they will re-sign him. He has given discounts on both his previous contracts with the Braves.
Think a sinkerballer who eats innings has value. Its his recurring injuries ( byproduct of age ), which should be a cause for concern. On a pure fandom level, I would love for him to finish his career out with the Braves..

I like Hudson as the old man glue in the back of the rotation (and they will absolutely pick up his option for 2013, along with Maholm's.) And I'd love to have him finish out with the Braves as much as anyone. But a cash-strapped organization can't play feel-good story-making with their limited budget (which is why 2013 should and probably will be Brian McCann's last year in Atlanta.)

They're almost free and clear of all of the bad contracts, barring the last three years of Dan Uggla. They can't afford to drop another bad contract on top of that just to make Tim Hudson feel loved.

How nice to have multiple Braves threads going -- and one of them is on a happy topic.

Even after Medlen ceases his Drysdale imitation, he'll be a (literally) valuable part of Atlanta's rotation in 2013. The team has non-discretionary payroll expenses of $15.2m next season. Add another $8m when Hudson's option is picked up, and Medlen's arbitration raise won't seem so bad. Hanson and Minor are likely to be retained at reasonable rates, which leaves at least one more starter's spot to be addressed. Maholm probably won't be it, but $6-7m is about what I figure the Braves to spend on outside help. What does that buy you in this winter's market...? Hmm. Perhaps Maholm is a better bargain than I previously thought, more easily projected than most of the guys on that list. 170 or so innings of league-average work isn't chopped liver.

As for McCann, I asked in a thread earlier this year about his chances to be kept long-term. The vibe then was that the question was ridiculous, he's the post Larry Wayne Jr face of the franchise et al. Maybe so, and for that reason, management will take into perspective his first serious lingering injury and pick up his 2013 option without a fuss. Long-term, however, is no sure thing after this year, not when Heyward, Kimbrel, and Freeman must soon be paid like grown-ups.

Do the Braves make Bourn an offer, qualifying or otherwise? If not, Fredi G will want a centerfielder (and he'll want him to lead off). I don't see one in the system, and it'll cost to go out and shop for a new one. Ah, so much for the Chipper Dividend... what a disappointment this will be to the Liberty Media beancounters.