The Braves Cannot be Serious.

I really hope this trade is some kind of joke. Mark Teixeira who has averaged .286/.373/.536 and 35+ HR a season with a career OPS+ of 132, has just been traded for Casey Kotchman (his average stats are .274/.337/.426 with 14HR and an OPS+ of 101). It is safe to say that the Atlanta Braves were either drunk or robbed at gunpoint for this trade. They gave up one of the best 4 first basemen in the game for an average player whose only redeeming on-field quality is that he doesn't strike out much. I know they received another player in Stephen Marek, a B-Level Double-A pitching prospect but that was seemingly a throw in just so the "trade" wasn't straight up.


Originally it looked as if the Braves were requiring elite pitching prospect Nick Adenhart to be part of the deal, and honestly, then this deal might have made some sort of sense. Adenhart has been considered a top level prospect for the past two seasons. The good people at Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the 27th best prospect in all of baseball. He is a right handed pitcher who has a plus curveball and has posted a 3.81 ERA in 467.1 minor league innings, he also earned his first big league victory this season. The Braves should have been able to pull Adenhart from the Angels' hands considering they were giving up one of the best offensive 1B in baseball who plays gold glove caliber defense.


In the end, this trade makes the Angels the clear-cut favorite to win the AL and most likely the world series. They have extraordinary starting pitching, a now powerful lineup, a closer who is about to set the record for saves in a season, and most importantly, they know and play the fundamentals better than anyone out there. On top of all that, they have the best manager in the game, Mike Sciocscia.



July 30th---the day after the trade I am still perplexed. I have spent the last 24 hours trying to explain to others, as well as myself, how this trade could have happened. Tony Reagins roofied Frank Wren, brought him to a Tijuana whore house and is now blackmailing him with the pictures. Anything less then that is absolutely unacceptable.