Sheets on the shelf

The bottle is open and the lightning has escaped.

Ben Sheets gave the Atlanta Braves pitching staff a huge shot in the arm when he joined the team in July and won his first three starts. Since then, he's gone 1-4 with a 5.34 ERA. His right shoulder simply couldn't hold up to the workload, even after the team went to a six-man rotation. Sheets has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with the hope that a little rest may be all that is needed to recharge his batteries.

Atlanta should now revert to a more traditional five-man rotation, consisting of Tim Hudson,Paul Maholm, Kris Medlen, Tommy Hanson and Mike Minor. If nothing else, Sheets certainly helped give the Braves a chance to ease Kris Medlen's transition from bullpen to the rotation. Medlen is 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA since the switch and may be the difference between a playoff spot and sitting at home in October.