Glavine-Smoltz encore is not going well

There's no doubt that the Atlanta Braves' rotation looks great on paper. It's that combined age thing that looks like its downfall.

Tom Glavine just turned 42. John Smoltz turns 41 early next month. Tim Hudson will be 33 in July. The current rotation's combined age is roughly 33 - old by any standard - and that's skewed younger by a rookie Jair Jurrjens (22) and No. 5 starter Jeff Bennett (28).

Glavine is on the disabled list for the first time in his career, and is expected to return this week. Now Smoltz could be headed back to the DL as he's experiencing ongoing shoulder pain. Hudson, the team's ace, is reasonably healthy and is 3-2 with a not-terrible 3.74 ERA, but has been iffy in spots.

The Braves are off to a decent start, and Chipper Jones is having an MVP-caliber first month of the season. But it might already be time for new GM Frank Wren to adjust. Should the Braves save their arms by going to a six-man rotation? Is it already time for a trade?

And could this be it for Smoltz, a certain Hall of Fame selection (along with Glavine and former Braves ace Greg Maddux, who will go down as perhaps the greatest starting rotation in baseball history). But Smoltz knows he's playing on borrowed time and has said he won't go through another long rehab. He could be the first of the great trio to call it quits, and soon.