Trade Deadline Excitement

So, I realize that baseball posts are fairly self-indulgent (as if blogging in general were not) because most of you folks that keep up with this blog couldn't care less (though there may be a couple out there who do), but I couldn't resist with the recent Braves happenings.

The Braves GM, John Schuerholz, resembled a kid at a baseball card show these past couple days before the trade deadline today. A recap of the moves made:

• The big move was the acquisition of Mark Teixeira, a power hitting first baseman, from the Texas Rangers. He's not only a great bat but also a gold glove first baseman. First base has been the glaring weakness in the Braves lineup, and Teixeira is the best we could have gotten to fill that place. The Braves also got relief pitcher Ron Mahay. We had to give up a lot to get them: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and Neftali Feliz, which are the top three Braves prospects, as well as Matt Harrison and Beau Jones. I hate losing such great prospects, but that's all they are: prospects. There's no substitute for proven talent. This deal makes the Braves a contender NOW, and a big one. Teixeira now gives the Braves 4 potential 100 RBI guys, which is huge. It also puts a big bat behind the surging Chipper Jones to force pitchers to pitch to him. Right now he's got Andruw Jones behind him who has been struggling. There isn't a weak point in the lineup now.
  
• The Braves also acquired relief pitcher Octavio Dotel from Kansas City for starting pitcher Kyle Davies. This is a great move in my mind, as Davies has been mediocre and Dotel has been an excellent relief pitcher. This along with the other trades gives the Braves the deepest bullpen in the National League.
  
• Finally, the Braves got reliever Royce Ring from the Padres for Wilfredo Ledezma and Will Startup.

The only hole that the Braves didn't fill was that of another starting pitcher. There were efforts to get Bronson Arroyo from the Reds and either Jon Garland or Javier Vasquez from the White Sox, but these fell through. In my opinion, though, I don't think it's as big a deal since we got an extra big bat and solidified the bullpen. We've got John Smoltz and Tim Hudson as a big 1-2 punch at the start of the rotation, then Chuck James, Buddy Carlyle, and Jo-Jo Reyes, who have all been decent lately, and have faced most of their struggles in the late innings. Having depth in the pen allows Bobby to bring in relievers that much sooner and takes a lot of pressure off of the starters.

These moves put the Braves as the favorite to win the NL East and put them as great contenders for a World Series appearance. I'm excited to see what happens...stay tuned.

Photo Blog II

A cold beer to the first person that can guess where this was taken. I really love this shot. It's been the wallpaper on my phone since it was taken.

Poem of the Day XV

Nirvana
by Charles Bukowski from Run With the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader

not much chance,
completely cut loose from
purpose,
he was a young man
riding a bus
through North Carolina
on the way to somewhere
and it began to snow
and the bus stopped
at a little cafe
in the hills
and the passengers
entered.
he sat at the counter
with the others,
he ordered and the
food arrived.
the meal was
particularly
good
and the
coffee.
the waitress was
unlike the women
he had
known.
she was unaffected,
there was a natural
humor which came
from her.
the fry cook said
crazy things.
the dishwasher
in back,
laughed, a good
clean
pleasant
laugh.
the young man watched
the snow through the
windows.
he wanted to stay
in that cafe
forever.
the curious feelings
wam through him
that everything
was
beautiful
there,
that it would always
stay beautiful
there.
then the bus driver
told the passengers
that it was time
to board.
the young man
thought, I'll just sit
here, I'll just stay
here.
but then
he rose and followed
the others into the
bus.
he found his seat
and looked at the cafe
through the bus
window.
then the bus moved
off, down a curve,
downward, out of
the hills.
the young man
looked straight
forward.
he heard the other
passengers
speaking
of other things,
or they were
reading
or
attempting to
sleep.
they had not
noticed
the
magic.
the young man
put his head to
one side,
closed his
eyes,
pretended to
sleep.
there was nothing
else to do-
just to listen to the
sound of the
engine,
the sound of the
tires
in the
snow.

© Charles Bukowski

Photo Blog I

Several months ago I decided to check out the bar at the top of the Westin in Atlanta. For those that aren't familiar with it, it's one of those rotating restaurants that looks out on the city. This was one of the wall decorations. I looked up from my table and thought this was a great shot, especially since it most likely goes unnoticed as the feature presentation is, of course, the gorgeous view of downtown Atlanta. I love the lines in this photo, and the way the "IX" was captured so perfectly in the shadow.

Just Thought I'd Check In

April, huh? Has it really been since the beginning of April since I last posted? That's what it looks like. Blogger doesn't lie. Sorry for the hiatus. I will offer no excuses, I mean, it's not like you pay for this. At any rate, it's nice to be back in action. I've got a new feature I'd like to add to The Man on the Train: Photo Blogs. I realized that I've taken some nice shots over the last year or two with my cell phone camera, so I thought I'd upload them and post them for the world to see. The quality isn't great, of course, but I love the spontaneity of it. You never know when you'll get one of those moments where the world aligns itself just right for a picture. I hope to continue to post photos as I take them. Perhaps I will also add digital camera photos as well, but my cell phone is always with me and usually yields more universally interesting pictures. Hopefully I can update a little more frequently, I've got a few old ones to post over time, so please stop by again. We'll sit, drink sweet tea, talk about old times, it'll be fun. Thanks to those of you who have been stopping by anyway. Heck, I've even gotten comments on months old posts. It's nice to know you're not alone in cyberspace. Until later...