Looks like somebody stoked the fires in the NL East.
In my opinion, the Atlanta Braves became the prohibitive favorites to win the NL pennant with their acquisition of Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira. Arguably the biggest bat available at the trade deadline, Teixeira gives the Braves the league’s most potent offense. Parting with Salty was tough, I know, but Tex gives the Braves an unbelievably formidable lineup. Kelly Johnson, he of the .389 OBP, will be batting 8th for crying out loud! As if that weren’t enough, word has it that Atlanta is close to a deal to acquire Kansas City Royals closer Octavio Dotel to solidify the bullpen. Atlanta’s the team to beat in the NL now, in my opinion.
Not to be outdone, the Mets have acquired a much lesser name, Minnesota second baseman Luis Castillo. He’s not the burner he was in his salad days in Florida, but he provides steady defense and a .300 average. He’s a definite upgrade over Ruben Gotay, in my opinion. Even with Chase Utley on the DL, the Phillies made a move today, acquiring Kyle Lohse from the Reds to fortify their rotation. I’ll give you a moment to allow the absurdity of the previous sentence to wash over you. How bad does your rotation have to be that you look to the Reds for an upgrade? Amazingly, the Phils are still only 3 games out of first place in the division, so I don’t blame them for trying.
Man, I wish the Cardinals were good….
already & not yet 
Definitely an upgrade over Julio Franco! I like the Braves chances to win the NL, but I wish they could get one more starter also.
Gettin’ a little greedy aren’t we? Not content with the best bat and the best bullpen arm available at the deadline?Just kidding. I actually read that the Braves are in on Bronson Arroyo, who, if he’s dealt, would easily be the best starter on the market, his poor ’07 notwithstanding. I’m not exactly sure what kind of rebuilding program they’re following in Cincy (“Hey, let’s jettison all our decent starters! That’s a great idea!”) but it’d be a coup for Atlanta. At some point, though, they have to run out of prospects to deal.
Absolutely not content. I hate the Yankees, but I long for the days when the Braves were the Yankees of the NL and Ted would spend whatever it took to get players and make trades. Word is that the new ownership is going to open the budget up a little more, so hopefully Schuerholz can turn the money into results.I’d take Arroyo over minor league journeyman Buddy Carlyle anyday.
Ok, I’m a couple of days late commenting on this, but I’ve been out of the country.Nice moves by the Bravos overall. It’s been several years since we made major moves at the trade deadline, so it’s nice to see that Schuerholz can still pull the trigger when he needs to. Teixera has Atlanta connections (played at Georgia Tech), so I think there’s a decent chance we might be able to re-sign him. Of course, only time will tell if giving up Salty was too high of a price to pay, but Cox and Schuerholz have been right more often than they’ve been wrong when parting with prospects (remember Jose Cappellan?). I guess the thing I like most about the deal was the flexibility it showed on the part of Braves’ management. Since there was really no good starting pitching available, they still did what they could (strengthen the offense and the bullpen).While we’re on the subject of trade deadline deals, can anyone explain what the Pirates are thinking? I’ve been sympathetic until now, but now I honestly think that the Pirates management is actively trying to wreck the team. First they bring in a very stiff Izturis who just happens to play the same position as their best player. Then they trade for sub-average pitcher with a bloated contract (Matt Morris). Morris instantly becomes about 20% of the salary of the entire team, and he’s not even their best pitcher.No wonder the Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 1992….
The Morris trade is Exhibit Q why Dave Littlefield should be canned. I was beginning to wonder if Brian Sabean had lost it, but he deserves Executive of the Year for convincing Littlefield to a) take Morris and b) pay his whole contract. Ridiculous. With Izturis and Morris in the fold, Littlefield is one Pat Meares signing away from a trifecta of idiocy.
Castillo is going to be a good fit for NY. I still have them winning the division.