Braves.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com

Cardinals 8, Braves 3
(The Bye-Bye Tex Edition)

Top of the Order: The Braves officially raised the surrender flag above Turner Field, first trading Mark Teixeira to the Angels, and then losing their fourth in a row as Corky Miller’s eighth-inning throwing error allowed the eventual game-winning run to score.

The Trade: Teixeira to the Angels for first baseman Casey Kotchman (as speculated in this space Tuesday morning) and Double-A pitcher Stephen Marek.

The Good: Jorge Campillo pitched quite well yet again, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven strong innings, walking one and striking out five. Campillo threw 100 pitches, 71 for strikes, and featured real good control all night. Gregor Blanco certainly did his job at the plate: 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Greg Norton, starting at first base, had two hits and an RBI. Jeff Francoeur drove in a run with a base hit and scored a run.

The Bad: Brian McCann did not play for a second consecutive game as a result of that concussion suffered Sunday afternoon. That’s a shame, because Miller has absolutely no business whatsoever being on a major-league roster, and the Corkster showed it loud and proud Tuesday. First, he went 0-for-3 at the plate, dropping his average to .096 (hey, with Chipper Jones and his big-league leading .369 average on the DL, we gotta monitor somebody’s average). But Corky’s on the roster for his defense, remember? Yeah, right. Miller un-corked (sorry, couldn’t resist) a horrid throw when Albert Pujols tried to steal third in the eighth, the throw sailing into left field and Phat Albert walking home with the tie-breaking run. Rafael Soriano allowed the run – albeit unearned – to take the loss. Norton made a throwing error in the ninth as the Cards opened the floodgates. Mike Gonzalez walked three in a row in the ninth, allowing five runs (only one earned, thanks to the Norton error). Blaine Boyer came on for his 745th appearance of the season (or so it seems) and promptly allowed two inherited runners to score.

View from the Sports Garage: Normally, we discuss the game in this space. This morning, we’re discussing The Trade, which came 363 days after the Braves dealt five prospects – including promising catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia – for Teixeira. The words World Series were mouthed by more than a few folks when Tex arrived in town, words that now seem like they were uttered a century ago. A lot of folks were critical of that deal when it went down, and they’re howling now with the Braves selling at the deadline for the first time in nearly two decades. Hindsight always is 20-20, but if I’m the Braves, I’d do the Tex deal again in a heartbeat. It’s not his fault things didn’t work out for this franchise during his stay here – he hit .295 with 37 homers as a Brave. The Braves were squarely in the hunt when he arrived here last summer, but Edgar Renteria injured his ankle, the back end of the starting rotation fell apart in August and the Braves couldn’t recover. This season, Tex got off to his traditional slow start, the injuries and one-run losses mounted, and at the end, Tex’s solid play since the middle of May wasn’t enough to carry this team. Now he’s gone, as is all hope for the Braves contending this season. But it’s not the end of the world, not at all. In Kotchman, the Braves get a good young first baseman who wears out left-handed pitching, plays excellent defense and is under contract through 2011. Atlanta had to get a first baseman, and with Arizona not willing to part with Conor Jackson, Kotchman was the best one available. A nice piece to add to an already good core group of young players. In Marek, the Braves receive a hard-throwing strikeout artist who features a mid-90s fastball and a good curve. He might not be the big-name prospect fans would like to see, but he’s definitely got a lot of talent and could be ready to help this team as soon as next summer. He has been both a starter and a reliever in his minor-league career, and will begin his time in the Braves organization at Double-A Mississippi.

This team clearly has shifted its focus toward 2009 and beyond, and that’s wise. No way the Braves crawl back from an eight-game deficit in the NL East, scaling past three teams in the process. General manager Frank Wren got good return for Teixeira, who reportedly rejected a substantial contract offer from Atlanta during spring training (thanks Scott Boras, you jerk). Now the focus turns toward this week in Birmingham, where Tim Hudson will have his elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews. If Hudson requires surgery and will miss part of next season, the Braves have to get a front-line starting pitcher in the offseason. Easier said than done, I know, but Atlanta will have no choice. A power-hitting outfielder also must be a priority. There certainly will be more trades to come this week, most likely Will Ohman going to one of the dozen or so teams that have expressed interest in the left-handed reliever. Mark Kotsay also could be leaving town, as several contenders would love to have a veteran stick and good outfielder (and a good clubhouse guy, too). Like I told somebody Tuesday evening, the Tex trade is only the very beginning of what will be a very interesting next few months for this franchise.

On deck
Braves vs. Cardinals
7:10 p.m. today, Turner Field

The Skinny: It’s only been five days since Jair Jurrjens (10-5, 3.02 ERA) toed the slab, but nobody can fault the 22-year-old if he feels like it’s been five weeks. Last time out, Jurrjens shut down the Phillies over eight sparking innings, giving up just three hits as the Braves won to improve to 3-1 on that critical road trip. Eh, safe to say things have changed drastically for this team since. Jurrjens, with all of one calendar year of major-league experience under his belt, now stands as the team’s ace entering the final two months, with Hudson on the shelf presumably for the rest of the season. Speaking of aces and injuries, the Cardinals get theirs back tonight, as Chris Carpenter (first start of the season) makes his return from Tommy John surgery. The eyes of Redbird Nation closely will watch every pitch the right-hander makes tonight as the Cards try to keep pace with the Cubs and Brewers in the NL Central. As for Braves Nation? Eying the future, baby.

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