The Braves have placed righty starter John Smoltz on the 15-day disabled list with a severely inflamed biceps tendon and a inflamed rotator cuff. This is horrible news for the Braves as Smoltz was outstanding so far this season. Smoltz has started 5 games for the Braves this season and he is 3-2 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Smoltz has whiffed 36 batters in only 27 innings this season which shows how nasty his stuff has been this year. The Braves have activated Tom Glavine off the D.L. to replace Smoltz on the roster and in the rotation.

The Atlanta Braves have placed lefty starter Tom Glavine on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring problem. The amazing thing about that is that it’s the first time in Glavine’s major league career that he has been on the D.L. Glavine has started 3 games this season for the Braves and he is 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Glavine will be replaced in the rotation by fellow lefty Chuck James. James has now started 2 games for the Braves this season and he is 1-1 with a 7.88 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

The Atlanta Braves have placed righty reliever Peter Moylan on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right elbow. Moylan has pitched in 7 games for the Braves this season and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. This is a serious injury that could cause Moylan to miss most or all of the rest of the 2008 season. Manny Acosta, Blaine Boyer and Chris Resop will all get chances to close until Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez come off the D.L. The Braves have recalled righty Buddy Carlyle to replace Moylan on the active roster. He has pitched in 2 games this season for the Braves and he has not allowed a run in 1.1 innings.

Third baseman Chipper Jones is off to a very, very hot start to the 2008 season. Jones has played in 12 games for the Braves this season and he is 20 for 49 (.408 avg, 1.015 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. With all of the injuries the Braves have suffered in the pitching staff they will have to score a lot of runs to win this season. With that in mind, keeping Chipper Jones healthy will be very, very important to the Braves’ success this season.

The Atlanta Braves have placed closer Rafael Soriano on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow tendinitis. Soriano has pitched in 4 games this season for the Braves and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 2.25 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The Braves will turn to righty Peter Moylan to be the closer until Soriano is ready to return to action. Moylan has pitched in 7 games this season for the Braves and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Moving Moylan to closer will hurt the bullpen because he is such a good set up man, but he should do a good job closing games.

The Braves #1 prospect according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook has been suspended for 50 games for use of HGH. A closer look at the numbers might have told you that Schafer was up to no good. In 2005-2006, Schafer played in 163 games in Rookie and A-Ball and he was 130 for 570 (.228 avg) with 67 runs scored, 11 homers, 79 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. All of a sudden last season Schafer broke out big time. He played in 136 games in A-Ball last season and he was 176 for 565 (.312 avg) with 86 runs scored, 15 homers, 63 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Obviously this puts a damper on the future career of Jordan Schafer as he appears to not be much of a ballplayer without cheating.

The Braves have signed 35-year old switch hitting Scott Spiezio to a minor league contract. He played in 81 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 60 for 223 (.269 avg, .740 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. Spiezio has now played in 1,273 games in his major league career and he is 996 for 3,899 (.255 avg, .748 OPS) with 517 runs scored, 119 homers and 549 RBIs. The Braves are giving Spiezio a chance to straighten out his life in the minors with the idea that he could be a key reserve for them in the 2nd half as long as he behaves.

The Braves have claimed 25-year old switch-hitting Ruben Gotay off waivers from the Mets. He played in 98 games for the Mets last year and he was 56 for 190 (.295 avg, .722 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Gotay has now played in 228 games in his major league career and he is 161 for 624 (.258 avg, .688 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 10 homers and 69 RBIs. This was a good move for the Braves as Gotay still has some upside and they stole him from the division rival Mets.

The Braves are going young this season in the bullpen. 28-year old righty Rafael Soriano will take over as the full-time closer this season for the Braves. He pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 3-3 with 9 saves, a 3.00 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Soriano also whiffed 70 batters in only 72 innings which shows what kind of nasty stuff he has.

30-year old lefty Mike Gonzalez will miss the first couple of months while he recovers from elbow surgery. He pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 2-0 with 2 saves, a 1.59 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Gonzalez might get some save opportunities this year but he will likely be the top set-up upon his return.

29-year old side-arming righty Peter Moylan was very effective for the Braves last season. He pitched in 80 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 5-3 with 1 save, a 1.80 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Moylan will be the top set-up man for the Braves at least until Gonzalez is ready to return to action.

30-year old lefty Will Ohman will likely have an important role in the bullpen if he can throw strikes. He pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Cubs last season and he was 2-4 with 1 save, a 4.95 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

27-year old lefty Royce Ring will also be around again this season. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Padres & Braves last season and he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He needs to tighten up his control a little bit as he walked 17 batters while whiffing 21 in only 20 innings.

27-year old righty Manny Acosta will get his chance this season to show what he can do. He pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 1-1 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Acosta whiffed 22 batters in only 23.2 innings which shows that he has pretty good stuff.

26-year old righty Blaine Boyer will be one of the first pitchers in the game when the starter is having issues. He pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. Boyer also pitched in 21 games (12 starts) in AAA ball last season and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP.

25-year old Chris Resop will also likely work early in ballgames for the Braves next season. He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Angels last year and he was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Resop also pitched in 27 games in AAA ball and he was 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

27-year old lefty Jeff Ridgway was brought over in a trade with the Rays in the off-season. He will start the season in AAA-ball but he should get a chance to prove himself at some point in 2008 for the Braves. Ridgway pitched in 3 games (0 starts) last season for the Devil Rays and he was 0-0 with a 189.00 ERA and a 24.00 WHIP! Ridgway also pitched in 54 games in AAA ball last season and he was 2-3 with 4 saves, a 3.06 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Braves have traded righty reliever Tyler Yates to the Pirates for 23-year old righty Todd Redmond. Yates wasn’t going to make the Braves’ improved bullpen this season so the trade made perfect sense. Yates pitched in 75 games (0 starts) for the Braves last season and he was 2-3 with 2 saves, a 5.18 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Todd Redmond has pitched in 70 games (69 starts) in his minor league career and he is 22-21 with a 3.27 ERA. Redmond was the #27 rated prospect in the Pirates minor league system according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook so he was good value for Yates.