bad day for the braves

Not only did the Braves effectively give up on the 2008 season by trading Mark Teixeira on Tuesday, but they also suffered another demeaning loss, their fourth straight. Jorge Campillo allowed two runs in seven innings, netting the score at 2 a piece. But Albert Pujols, who had already knocked a two run homer in the sixth, crossed home plate in the eighth, giving the Cardinals a one run advantage. St. Louis broke things open in the ninth racking in five runs (one earned) off of reliever Mike Gonzalez in their 8-3 victory.

The mood in the Braves clubhouse was practically morbid. Atlanta has not been sellers since 1990, although I’d be ok if they could follow up this “horribly unlucky year” with 1991 repeat. (However, I’d prefer to win game 7 of the World Series, but I may be a bit greedy in my daydreams.) Chipper Jones summed up the mood best, ''This is a first for all of us. We've never been sellers before. We're usually the ones adding, not subtracting. It's tough to come to grips with, because we felt coming out of Spring Training that we'd be right in the mix all year long.'' So did I!

With the likelihood of signing Teixeira low, this deal made sense. They would have needed a first baseman and if Casey Kotchman can stay healthy, he could be manning that position for quite a while. But this move is just a drop in the bucket if they hope to be in contention next season and beyond. They still need a power bat, some pitching and an outfielder. A tall order when they have very little to offer out into the trade market.

On the flip side, I can understand how hard it must be to effectively give up with two months to go in the season. If the Braves can look at it as an opportunity to get a two month head start on 2009, maybe they can begin to have a more positive mind set and hopefully start to draft a plan for the upcoming free agent market. No matter what GM Frank Wren says, the Braves don’t have enough players within the organization to get the job done.
(Photo: John Bazemore/AP)

News&Notes: Scott Thorman was placed on the temporarily inactive list after being named to team Canada’s baseball team for the Beijing Olympics...Pictures from Saturday's Braves/Phillies game are up. Scroll down to check them out.

It's been fun blogging with you,
Kate