Post-surgery Moylan interview

Call me curious, but I was really getting a little concerned that we hadn't heard much about the results of Pete's surgery except that it was successful. Um, that's nice. Does "successful" mean there were no complications? That he'll recover on schedule?

Luckily Scout.com published an audio interview with Pete yesterday. It's subscription-only, but you may be able to hear it through this link. Basically, they used a hamstring tendon to replace his UCL. He says, "I walked out with a big wrap around my leg and a wrap around my arm so I didn't know whether I'd fallen off the table and broken my leg or had surgery or what, but no, it feels really good." He can make small movements now, and will stay in Atlanta through the season for rehab and will be in the clubhouse during homestands. Good!

Another interesting thing on the site said this:

...now that Moylan has officially had the Tommy John Surgery how does that affect his arbitration status. Does this year count as a full year of service, and if so how many years do we still have him "under control"?

He'll continue to draw a big league paycheck, and therefore earn his service time, while he's on the DL. So he'll have 2.061 years of service time after this season, meaning he'll be eligible for renewal next year and then eligible for arbitration after the 2009 season. He'll be under the Braves control through 2012.

Very cool!

There was also a little clip about Clint Sammons, who I'm cheering for in the minors...

...What do you think the future holds for Clint Sammons. It seems like he swings a pretty decent bat and he can throw runners out. Do you think he is the backup catcher next year or trade bait? Bobby seems to be catching Mac almost every game and I have to believe it has to do with Corkey's bat. When Salty was up last year Bobby didn't mind giving Mac a day off every week if I am remembering corectly. Do you think Sammons will be up before the year is over?

Clint will be the backup catcher for Brian McCann from 2009 until he either leaves as a free agent after 2014 or someone wants him as a starter and trades for him. He's a terrific kid and a great defensive catcher. He's ready now probably, but he'll be ready to go in 2009 as Brian's backup.