Imagine that...what's a guy got to do, right? Go undefeated? 

   Medlen attacks with his stuff. Attacks with his fastball, which seems to surprise a lot of MLB hitters, because it gets on them so quick. And it has some movement. All along, these same guys are thinking about his out pitch...the plus-change-up. Then, he breaks off a breaking ball. It's impressive. 

   Wonder when he gets the nod on starting full-time? Next season? 

   Kris is a valuable guy down in the 'pen and he has a great TEAM attitude, but he's a starter. You know. He knows it. The Braves should know it by now. When Medlen starts, the Braves win 80% of the time. Plug him in there and don't look back. 

   

   He was lights out early last season. Now, he's getting roughed up by Juan Uribe. What's up? They say he's not hurt. The right knee is not bothering him. It's a location thing. 

   It's gotten plain ugly. Check the numbers: 0-2, with an ERA of 9.37. MLB batters are hitting .411 and he's allowed 30 hits in 16.1 innings. Since the All-Star break last year, Jurrjens is1-5, with a 6.87 ERA. 

   Jurrjens was told after the loss to the Dodgers that he was being demoted to AAA. At least, he took the news well. He must have anticipated it.

   The Jurrjens Plan: "Keep fighting." 

   He admitted that he's "not the same pitcher." 

   So, Delgado will remain in the rotation, with Hudson coming back. That's the way it should be. Delgado appears close to settling in and tossing some good baseball. Jurrjens will try to work through his difficulties at AAA. 

   Great to see the Braves pound the knuckler Dickey. Francisco, Uggla and Freeman hit bombs. Braves had 9 extra-base knocks. Scored 14 runs, on 16 hits. Break out the sticks! Braves now lead the N.L. in runs scored (65). 

   But Jurrjens wasn't sharp. And that's not good. Just doesn't look like the same guy, since the knee issue hit. He touched 90 a few times, but his fastball sat at 87-88. He looks lighter too. But the stuff ain't the same. 

   Wonder how long the Braves will stick with him. He struggled all spring. Now this: 3 disappointing starts and a 8.10 ERA. This is scary too: major league hitters are lighting him up to the tune of a .362 average so far. 

   Jurrjens was dealing with lousy conditions in this start. Wet. Steady rain. Not easy to look good. 

   Teheran is sharp, down at AAA. Just shutout Norfolk Tuesday, on just 2 hits. He struck out 7. He's learning how to set-up hitters, instead of just relying on blowing them away. That's huge. The guy didn't get down on himself. Went back to work. His stuff is filthy. Just needs to stay out of the middle of the plate.  

   Delgado is ready too. Impressive. Strong. And did you see that nasty change that struck out Day and Duda, to get out of the inning? This guy is ready to be in the big leagues. 

   Hudson coming back will be a boost. And if Jurrjens can't get it together, Teheran and Delgado are ready to go. 

   

   In the season opener, they got shut down by Santana. Ended up with 4 hits and 0 runs. That hurt. In Game 2, they couldn't hit the knuckler and ended up with 2 runs on 7 hits. In the series finale', Niese took a no-hitter into the 7th and the Braves finished the game with just 3 hits. Embarrassing.

   So, the frustrations against LH pitchers continues. Last season, the Braves were the worst in MLB against LH's. Only hit .229 against them. Two of the 3 losses against the Mets came against LH's. And waiting in Houston are 2 LH starters. 

   What's the deal against LH's? The RH bats aren't carrying their weight. Uggla hit .202 against them last season. Dan is the Braves big RH stick. And RH are expected to hit LH pitching. Diaz got the start in both games, but his RH bat isn't enough to break the trend. 

   Got to get Chipper Jones back! He hit LH better than any Braves regular last season (.270). 

   No wonder Fran Wren has been searching for a big RH bat to deal for, the last 2 years. Might want to speed up that search, Frank. This is getting ugly. 

   The Braves blew 3 straight scoring opportunities, in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings. And that's where the Braves lost the game. Heyward and Bourn falied to deliver in the 5th. In the 6th, Freeman and Diaz hit it hard, but came up short. In the 7th, Constanza and Bourn failed, with Pastornicky at third, after his triple (1ST MLB HIT!). So, 0-6 in those key at-bats. 

   That's how you lose, even with outstanding pitching. 

   Hanson delivered a good performance. It gave the team a chance to win. Tommy had the curve ball dialed in. His line: 5-4-1. Good for the loss.

   Medlen was dominant, in 2 innings. Fastball had movement at 92-93. Change was outstanding at 82. Threw the curve for strikes. Impressive. 

   Venters is just nasty. Throwing bullets, with that hard sinker at 94-95. Had the breaking ball working. Dude, he was just filthy.

   Braves get outstanding pitching in the season opener and lose, 1-0. Ouch. That stings. Disappointing way to start the season.

   But only 1 of 162, right? Go win the series now. 

   David Ross thinks it could be a game-changer for Hanson. Tommy's stuff was already top of the rotation caliber. A 4-seam fastball in the low 90's. Slider and curve. Tried to mix in a change up. Where did that repertoire get him? After 3 seasons in The Show, he has a 3.28 ERA. 

   Now he could feature the "Hard Sinker." And that means challenging guys more with the hard stuff. More fastballs. 2-seam fastballs. Sounds good. On the attack! It sure worked for Venters, uh? 

   I'm all in on Hanson this season. It'll be a big season for him. Gets the opening day start. Embrace that opportunity, which is the next step in the process of becoming a top pitcher. Then, go have a big season. Tommy was on the way to having that season a year ago, when the shoulder pain shut him down. The repertoire is just filthy now. 

   Get ready to see his new weapon, against the Mets Thursday. This should be good. 

   Last year's 1st round pick, lefty Sean Gilmartin was impressive. Throws strikes and mixes his pitches. Got some pop on that fastball too. His change-up is a plus pitch. Keep an eye on this guy, as he starts the year in AA-Mississippi. 

   Matt Lipka, the Braves 1st round pick in 2010, starts his 2nd season in the organization at High-A Lynchburg. He's just 19. He drew a 1st inning walk, leading off against Minor, stole second and came around to score an unearned run. Like his game. Athletic. Competitive. 

   Also got a first look at newest Brave...Juan Francisco. He looks like Pablo Sandoval, the Giants 3rd baseman. Juan hit some rockets in BP. Got to see him swing around a pitch from Gilmartin and ground out to first. Need to see more. 

   Frank Wren has stockpiled some talent at 3B, with Chipper retiring. Francisco has a shot. Joey Terdoslavich will be the AAA 3B. Also, Edward Salcedo moves up to High-A Lynchburg. May the best man win. 

   

   The Big 3: Maddux got 7 and Smoltz and Glavine had 4 each. Those were the good times, uh? Future HOF's on the mound to start the season for a decade and a half. Amazing. 

   You probably forgot that Rick Mayler had 5 opening day opportunities in Atlanta. Of course, it's understandable. The 80's weren't a lot of fun. Braves lost 456 games in the 5 season's Mayler was the opening day starter.

   Derek Lowe got the last 3 ODS. Hudson has had 2 (would have got this one, if he was ready to go). Pat Jarvis and Carl Morton got the honor twice. 

   Hanson now joins a list of other 1-timers: Tony Cloninger (1966), Denny Lemaster (1967), Gary Gentry (1973), Andy Messersmith (1977), Tommy Boggs (1981), Len Barker (1984), Zane Smith (1989), John Burkett (2001) and Russ Ortiz (2004).

   Sure hope Tommy can take this opportunity and run with it. It's nice to be honored with an opening day start, but to do it multiple times means you're legit. 

   So, it'll be Hanson, Jurrjens, Minor and Beachy, until Hudson returns. That's a deep and solid rotation. Minor & Beachy are young guns taking the next step. Hanson & Jurrjens were two of the top pitchers in the N.L. last season, at the mid-way point. Both are close to multi-year deals, if they can put a full season together. Hudson should come back strong. It's a solid group.

   As far as the 5th spot goes...Fredi is waiting to announce that. Delgado and Teheran have competed for that spot. Both have had good and some rough moments this spring. Julio's issue was keeping the ball out of the middle of the plate and in the ballpark. And when he did, Julio was dominant. 

   Delgado or Teheran would get 2-3 starts, before Hudson is ready. So, it looks like both are destined for AAA most of this season. Especially, with the Braves signing Livan Hernandez to spot start.

   Medlen is correctly slotted to get some tough outs in the 7th & 8th innings, working out of the bullpen. This allows Venters and O'Flaherty to get some days off this season. 

   Sure hope Tommy Hanson takes this opportunity and runs with it. Establishes himself as a top of the rotation dude. In his 3 big league seasons, Hanson has a 3.28 ERA. That's to be respected. He's tweeked his wind-up, trying to lessen the torque on his right shoulder. That's also quickened up his release, which should help hold runners better. His stuff has always been nasty. Time to deliver, Tommy! Go get'em. 

   Jurrjens put together two quality starts, at the end of camp. He's trending up, hopefully. Can the knee hold up? That's the big question. McCann told me that Jurrjens success rides on the velocity of his fastball. Need it to be sitting in the low 90's, in order to set up his off-speed stuff. Some believe Jair's knee injury will prevent him from throwing that hard again. Anyway, this is a huge season for Jair, with free agency looming. 

   Minor just looks to me like he's turned the corner. Mike is throwing hard and working the fastball on both sides of the plate. His change is effective. Now he can throw the breaking ball for a strike, or bury it out of the zone. He's comfortable and confident. Maybe he takes off this season.

   Beachy is a quality guy. Good stuff. He's focused on getting outs earlier in at-bats...trying to go deeper into the game. We should see the best of what Brandon has to offer this season. 

   Is this the best rotation in the N.L. East? Probably not. But it's solid and it's deep. It'll give the Braves a chance to win every day.