[Hot Rod]

Let me just say that losing 3 out of 4 to the freaking Nationals is unacceptable!

[Chik1n]

I agree!!

[leytonjunkie]

Slowly digging our way out of this "slump"

Thank God


Go Braves!

[Hot Rod]

First of all let me just start out by saying bravo Smoltzie!



Congrats to him on getting his 200th win. It was a very good, well pitched game tonight. Smoltzie looked very good on the mound. He really came out and went after the Mets and did a great job of getting out of a couple of jams, especially when he left the bases loaded in the third. Of course i can`t forget to mention the great defense by the infielders, who really were a big help in keeping the Mets off of the scoreboard, especially with a couple of web gems by Edgar and Kelly. It is so great to see the fellas take 2 out of 3 from the Mets again. Next up is the Phillies this weekend.

[leytonjunkie]

This "slump" is bringing me down.....

LETS GO BRAVES!!



ETA: Too bad Jarrod Saltalamacchia is married!

[Hot Rod]

Well no need to worry since the Braves won the first game of the doubleheader over the Marlins 3-1. Jared or Salty as we like to call him, came through with a 2 run homer to put the Braves in the lead and Chris Woodward aka Woody followed with a solo shot of his own. I tell ya Salty is the real deal. When the Braves got the lead in the 7th, you had to know that the Marlins were pretty much done with Soriano and Wickman coming in the 8th and 9th innings. Plus good pitching performance by Buddy Carlyle to get his 1st win since `99. :clap; I`ve got to go watch the 2nd game that is on right now.

[Hot Rod]

Good comeback win by the Braves over the Cubs tonight. It got pretty testy early on when Edgar got hit by a pitch from Ted Lilly. That really pissed me off, especially when Edgar had to leave the game later. However he got a little payback right away though.


Now that`s what i like to see. Good job by Edgar smacking that Cub in the face.

I love that the Braves don`t take any crap from anybody and aren`t afraid to dish out some justice, especially to a sorryass team like the Cubs. Anyway good win for the fellas tonight to salvage a split. However i much rather they had swept those sorryass Cubs. Anyway they have a day off tomorrow before they start their interleague road trip against a couple of past World Series foes, starting with the Twins on Tuesday. BTW Huddy said that his leg is alright enough for him to start on Thursday.

[Hot Rod]

I`m very pissed off after what i`ve just saw a few minutes ago. The Braves had the game won and instead gave it away. This is the type of loss that really pisses me off.

[Hot Rod]

Two in a row in Cleveland. Great game by Edgar today, going 5-5. Plus Smoltzie pitched a pretty good game in his first start in 11 days. In all it was another good win for the fellas. Lets go for the sweep!

[Hot Rod]

It`s been a while since i posted here, but i`m going to get straight to the point with this news item.

Braves get Teixeira, Dotel

By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer
July 31, 2007

ATLANTA (AP) -- Mark Teixeira found himself in a pennant race Tuesday when the Atlanta Braves finalized a seven-player trade to acquire him from the Texas Rangers.

The Braves sent rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers to Texas for the powerful, switch-hitting Teixeira and left-handed reliever Ron Mahay.

Texas acquired Saltalamacchia, slick-fielding shortstop Elvis Andrus, right-hander Neftali Feliz, left-hander Matt Harrison and left-hander Beau Jones.

Atlanta also made two more trades to bolster its bullpen, getting Kansas City reliever Octavio Dotel for pitcher Kyle Davies and San Diego left-hander Royce Ring for pitchers Wil Ledezma and Will Startup.

The new players were not expected in Atlanta for Tuesday night's game against Houston. Still, their impending arrival created a confident buzz in the Braves clubhouse.

"We've got a World Series team," shortstop Edgar Renteria said. "That makes the whole lineup more dangerous. It's exciting."

The swap for Teixeira is already inspiring comparisons to the Braves' 1993 deadline trade for first baseman Fred McGriff.

Atlanta trailed the New York Mets by 4 1/2 games in the NL East entering Tuesday and is in the thick of the wild-card race. The Mets ended the Braves' streak of 14 straight division titles last year.

Teixeira may replace Andruw Jones, hitting .216, as Atlanta's cleanup hitter. He joins a lineup that also includes Chipper Jones, Jeff Francoeur and All-Star Brian McCann, but he won't come cheaply.

Teixeira, making $9 million this year, is eligible for salary arbitration after this season and can become a free agent after the 2008 season. He is represented by agent Scott Boras.

The 27-year-old Teixeira is familiar with the Atlanta area, having starred at Georgia Tech.

Braves general manager John Schuerholz acquired closer Bob Wickman from Cleveland on July 20 last season, but this would be his biggest trade-deadline deal since July 18, 1993, when he sent outfielders Melvin Nieves and Vincent Moore and pitcher Donnie Elliott to San Diego for McGriff.

In 1993, the Braves were 10 games out on July 22 but rallied to win the NL West. McGriff, who joined David Justice and Ron Gant to give Atlanta three players with 100 RBIs, was credited with sparking the second-half surge.

The Braves hope Teixeira can provide a similar lift to their hopes of returning to the postseason this year.

Saltalamacchia, a switch-hitter with power, has spent time at first base this season as the Braves tried to find a way to utilize his bat. His strong throwing arm is best utilized at catcher, however.

In Atlanta, Saltalamacchia's path at catcher was blocked by the 23-year-old McCann, who this spring signed a six-year, $26.8 million deal.

The Braves called up catcher Corky Miller from Double-A Mississippi to fill Saltalamacchia's roster spot.

Mahay, 36, is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA and one save in 28 games this season. He is an important part of the deal for the Braves, who were left with no left-handed reliever after Wilfredo Ledezma was designated for assignment on Sunday.

Teixeira, hitting .297 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs, will give the Braves a home-run threat at first base they lacked after trading Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh in the offseason. Teixeira, a two-time Gold Glove winner, also would be a defensive upgrade.

Teixeira missed 27 games this season with a left quadriceps injury but played in 162 games in 2005 and 2006.

The Braves failed in their attempt at a patchwork fix at first base after trading LaRoche. Atlanta's first basemen rank last in the major leagues with their .211 batting average, .270 on-base percentage and .363 slugging percentage.

The Braves opened the season with Craig Wilson and Scott Thorman splitting time at first base. Wilson was released after hitting only .172. Thorman is hitting .220 with 10 homers and 34 RBIs, and his future with the team is uncertain.

Saltalamacchia struggled defensively at first base, a position he had not played since high school. The Braves signed 48-year-old Julio Franco on July 18 after Franco was released by the Mets.

Teixeira has hit 153 homers in five seasons. He set career highs with 43 homers and 144 RBIs in 2005.

Saltalamacchia, 22, is hitting .284 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 141 at-bats.

Andrus, 19, is best known for his strong defense at shortstop, but he plays a position of great depth in the Braves' organization.

The acquisition of Dotel, a hard-throwing righty who has 11 saves this season, followed the Braves' trade for lefty Ron Mahay. Atlanta got Mahay as part of a seven-player trade with Texas involving first baseman Mark Teixeira.

The 31-year-old Dotel is 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA and 11 saves in 14 chances this season. Davies, a 23-year-old righty, was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA for Atlanta.

Davies spent most of the season in Atlanta's rotation before being demoted to Triple-A Richmond on July 19.

Ring, who split this year in the majors and minors, was assigned by the Braves to Richmond. Ledezma started the season with Detroit, then was traded to Atlanta. He was ineffective with the Braves and recently designated for assignment.

So what does everyone think of these deals? Okay first of all i think the Salty/Mark deal is a mixed bag. It`s very tough to trade away a couple of very good young players like Salty and Elivis Andrus. On the other hand, the Braves now fulfill their need in the lineup at the cleanup spot to provide some protection to Chipper and further bolster the whole lineup, which is now looking pretty damn good. Plus the Braves already have Brian locked in at catcher with the long term deal he signed a few months ago and the team is really high on Yunel Escobar to eventually take over as shortstop down the road.

Secondly the Dotel/Davies looks on paper as an exchange of damaged goods with the struggles Kyle has had in the starting rotation the last couple of years and the injury troubles Dotel has had in the last few seasons. However if he`s healthy, then i think Octavio will be a big help in the bullpen to help out the overworked guys already there.

Also i like the deal to get Royce Ring. He`s the lefty that the bullpen has desperately needed since Mike Gonzales went down for the season with the elbow injury.

The only negative though is that there`s no help for the starting rotation to help back up Smotlzie and Huddy. I guess the market for a starter wasn`t all that great. Plus it would`ve taken more than a few of the most valuable prospects and maybe someone on the team to get someone like Dontrelle Willis.

Overall i think these deals, mainly the one for Teixeira, are very risky moves by the Braves, but i really have to give props to the brains of the operation John Schuerholz for having the cajones to make these moves. This man doesn`t make any moves without carefully looking into it. Plus it`s better that the Braves do it than the freaking Mets.

[Hot Rod]

What a crappy way to start out the road trip for the Braves. Losing 3 out of 4 to the sorryass Reds is unacceptable. Right now i want to reach into my TV and smack Bob Wickman upside his big head for dropping that ball.

[Hot Rod]

What a crappy showing so far by the Braves this weekend against the Mets. It seems like nothing is going right for them, which has been the case for them lately. Tomorrow it`s Smoltzie vs. Tommy G. The fellas really need to get it going tomorrow, because their playoff chances are looking more dimmer. Plus they can`t let the freaking Mets sweep them at the Ted. That can`t happen.

[Hot Rod]

Look who`s coming back home to Atlanta.



I`m so glad that Tommy G is finally coming back home after spending the last few seasons in the cesspool that is the New York Mets with the one year deal that he officially signed today. I`ve been mad at Tom for the last few years after he signed with the Mets, but today i forgive him for seeing the error of his way. I think that he`ll obviously be a welcome addition to the starting staff. There won`t be all that much pressure on him other than to take the load off of Smoltzie and Huddy. I really can`t say enough how happy i am that Tommy G has returned home to Atlanta where he belongs.

[The Daywalker]

Sorry to hear about Skip Carey. ESPN - Skip Caray dies; spent three-plus decades calling Braves games - MLB

Growing up I always watched the Mets and Braves games, While Kiner and McCarver were impartial, Carey was always a homer. I always liked that sort of thing. I wish I were young again, those were the good ol' days.

R.I.P. Mr. Carey.

[Hot Rod]

Thanks for the condolences Chris. Today is indeed a very sad for us Braves fan. Seeing the news about him passing away felt like a member of your family passed away. I always looked forward to the Braves games to hear Skip`s sarcastic sense of humor(i.e. his great liners like "The bases are loaded and i`m sure (insert name) wishes he was loaded right now.") and unapologetic homerism toward the Braves, whether he was praising them or criticizing them). Skip had a great hometown appeal that even fans of rival teams couldn`t help but like. Hearing him during the Braves broadcasts was like hearing your uncle telling a story for over three hours on a hot summer day. That`s how much of an insitution he was with the Braves. Now there`s an empty void now that Skip is gone. The Braves games will never be the same without him. However we`ll always have the memories. So here`s my tribute to Skip.


Here`s Skip back in the early days of TBS with his longtime partners in crime Pete Van Wieren and Ernie Johnson Sr.






Skip in his brief stint as a boxer as evident with him sparring against the Greatest himself.






R.I.P. Skip and thanks for the memories. You`ll always live on in the hearts of every Braves fans and we`ll do the Chop for you.