Well, here’s a signed baseball card and I found several auctions on eBay selling autographed balls and cards for < $10
Medlen to join Braves
Rookie right-hander will start Tuesday; Reyes demoted to the bullpen.
By Carroll Rogers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Braves will call up right-handed prospect Kris Medlen, and he will start Tuesday against the Rockies in his major-league debut, in place of the struggling Jo-Jo Reyes.
Braves manager Bobby Cox said they would move Reyes to the bullpen, where they hope a change of scenery will disrupt his winless streak that dates to June.
In the meantime, they wanted a starter who can be a bridge to when Tom Glavine attempts his return from shoulder and elbow surgery, which is expected to occur either later this month May or in early June.
Medlen was the hottest hand. He has a 5-0 record with a 0.96 earned-run average at Class AAA Gwinnett, sizzling numbers which got him the nod over fellow prospect Tommy Hanson, who is 1-3 with a 1.99 ERA.
Medlen, 23, leads the International League in ERA and is tied for the lead in wins. He is riding a 21-inning scoreless streak.
“This guy has been absolutely dominant,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said. “Also we’re looking at a time window; that’s the other consideration. I think if we were looking at the long haul, and there was a situation for a starter to come up and be a starter for the rest of the season, it would probably be Tommy [Hanson].”
Charlie Morton was another option, because he is already on the Braves 40-man roster. Calling up Medlen will let him become arbitration-eligible earlier, but that was worth the risk to the Braves.
“We’re bringing the guy that was throwing the best in AAA,” Wren said.
Medlen was rated the Braves’ ninth-best prospect by Baseball America heading into this season, but his stock seemed to rise higher in his first major-league camp this spring training.
Medlen made a big impression on Cox by throwing strikes, not backing down from major-league hitters. He was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA (six earned runs in 12 2/3 innings) but three runs came in one outing.
He made it to the final round of cuts for a bullpen spot before being assigned to Gwinnett.
“He’s throwing great,” Cox said. “He’s got three-plus pitches, and he’s quick as a cat. I think he’s picked off five guys, which is hard to do from the right-hander’s side.”
Medlen was originally scheduled to start tonight against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Allentown, Pa. Now he’ll pitch an inning or two to tune up, following Hanson, whose start was pushed back from the second game of a doubleheader Friday to today. Medlen will head to Atlanta from Pennsylvania.
When reached Friday afternoon in Buffalo, where Gwinnett was finishing a series, Medlen said, “I’m completely and utterly shocked.”
Reyes is 0-9 with a 6.91 ERA in 18 starts (19 games overall) since June.
He gave up five runs in three innings against the Mets on Wednesday. While he showed signs of improvement in spring training, he hasn’t seen that translate into his results of late. “He comes so close to getting it and for some reason or another, it wanders away,” Cox said.
Reyes has been a starter throughout his career.
“It’s something new I’ve got to try and go 100 percent at it,” Reyes said. “Who knows? It might be a blessing in disguise and it might have been my calling from Day 1.”
The Braves won’t make the ensuing roster move until Tuesday, but either Jeff Bennett or James Parr could be the odd man out. Bennett has allowed four of eight inherited runners to score and is getting hit at a .373 clip.
Kick ASS!! at 0.96 ERA that cousin o mine has got some STATS! Go Kris! We’re all uber proud of you!
