Braves sign Kris Medlen

[chop2chip]

Love it...

Medlen is an all-time favorite. Hope he makes the team.

[thewupk]

I'm still confused what happened to Hanson.

like most Braves pitchers of that time period: injuries. He was never the same after that injury in 2011.

[UNCBlue012]

Yay! If it works, great. If not, I'll love his Twitter commentary.

[thethe]

like most Braves pitchers of that time period: injuries. He was never the same after that injury in 2011.

Agreed. Have to woder if that was just freak incidents or a poor organizational philosophy for pitchers. And before anyone accuses me of hating wren this would predate wren since Roger McDowell probably had a lot to say in how the organization would handle pitchers.

[thewupk]

Even before the injuries. Something happened between the year he came up and the following year.

I was one of the loudest on the board about he would have injury issues but that didn't happen officially until his 3rd year.

Maybe it was just the wear he was naturally going to have.

Before that injury he had a sub 3 career ERA. He was doing great until he wasn't.

[rico43]

I'm feeling this is a flat-out gift. I'd let him compete for the rotation if he's good to go.

[thethe]

Before that injury he had a sub 3 career ERA. He was doing great until he wasn't.

The stuff wasn't there. He went from a mid to upper 90s guy to someone who could barely throw 92.

[The Chosen One]

Second half of 2012 Medlen is one of the best performances I've ever seen.

[nsacpi]

Second half of 2012 Medlen is one of the best performances I've ever seen.

It was Buzz Capra-esque

[cajunrevenge]

His shoulder blew up like everyone predicted it would. Another case where the Braves should have sold high on him and didn't.

I predict every pitcher will deal with significant injuries.

[thewupk]

The stuff wasn't there. He went from a mid to upper 90s guy to someone who could barely throw 92.

That was after his injury.

Velocity for his fastball

2009: avg 92.2 max 96.4
2010: avg 92.9 max 97.7
2011: avg 91.1 max 95.4
2012: avg 89.6 max 93.5

Should also be noted that in 2011 he started out strong just like in 2010 but his velocity got worse as the year progressed especially his last 5 starts. That's also when he started to get hit really hard. So it's easy to point out that's when his troubles began.

Shoulder injuries are a bitch. It's almost always doom for a pitcher.

[smootness]

Hanson threw at about 120% effort on every pitch. Seemed like he was always destined to lose velocity.

[Hawk]

Medlen won't receive a ST invite because he's 'behind schedule'. Bit of a bummer.

[Oklahomahawk]

OK you guys correct me on this, but not just with Medlen but any pitcher when he gets tired or just starts to wear out, he loses the movement on the ball first, before he even loses velocity, right? I know that's the way it used to be looked at. I remember Mark Wohlers throwing 100mph in the World Series but Bobby liked using him every day back then and while he had the super velocity every pitch was as straight as a string and didn't "look" anywhere near 100.

[nsacpi]

Wohlers averaged 12 Ks per 9 innings in his prime. Can you do that with a fastball that is "straight as string?" Just asking.

[bravesfanforlife88]

Can agree with Nsacpi, however, back in that era how many pitchers touched 100mph?

[clvclv]

I love Meds as much as everyone, but have seriously had enough of the Boyer/Walden/Meds/EOF/KJ/Frenchy crowd - let's move on already.

Try someone we don't already know like a book - Valbuena/Pagan/Hochevar/Joe Smith/Boone Logan group - someone that can be serious contributors in the unlikely event that you catch lightning in a bottle for a few months.

Our typical retread group has terribly limited upside even in best-case scenarios -let's either move on to other vets or let kids like Ruiz/Peterson/Minter/Paco get their feet wet in limited roles.

[Knucksie]

I love Meds as much as everyone, but have seriously had enough of the Boyer/Walden/Meds/EOF/KJ/Frenchy crowd - let's move on already.

Try someone we don't already know like a book - Valbuena/Pagan/Hochevar/Joe Smith/Boone Logan group - someone that can be serious contributors in the unlikely event that you catch lightning in a bottle for a few months.

Our typical retread group has terribly limited upside even in best-case scenarios -let's either move on to other vets or let kids like Ruiz/Peterson/Minter/Paco get their feet wet in limited roles.

Walden does not belong with that group listed. Boone Logan? We do know about him, as he's another ex-Brave. Remember, he came over with Javier Vazquez, as part of the package including Tyler Flowers. He just wasn't around in ATL for very long.

[Millwood1Hitter]

Kris will win a rotation spot in spring training and....

Write it down, take a picture, send it to your grandma

He will win 16 games and have a sub 3.5 ERA and post career highs in innings and K's.

Believe it! Lima time baby.

CAN YOU DIG IT!
CAN YOU DIG IT!

[Oklahomahawk]

Wohlers averaged 12 Ks per 9 innings in his prime. Can you do that with a fastball that is "straight as string?" Just asking.

Sorry, guess I should have clarified, the times when he had problems and was getting hit (if memory serves it was after Bobby had used him 2 or maybe even 3 games in a row, like in the WS). When he was fresh that 100mph fastball wasn't just fast it had movement on it as well, which was when he was all but unhittable. My point was supposed to be that when he got tired or was less than at his best the mph kept going even after the movement stopped. Oh and then there was that slider he fell in love with. Ugh