Saving Private Teixeira

There's a scene in Saving Private Ryan where Tom Hanks' character is asked why he's risking his life and the lives of his men for one soldier, and his character responds, "because [Ryan's] my ticket home." Home can be many different things to many different people. I became a Braves fan in the late '80s and watched their run of NL East titles throughout the '90s and early '00s. First place in the NL East feels like home to a Braves fan. Right now, we are fourth place in the division with a record of 49-53. We are not home. We are somewhere in Europe getting shot at by lugers and panzer tanks...somewhere like Omaha Beach.




For me, the 2008 baseball season has come to resemble the film Saving Private Ryan, especially the film's opening scene. This season has embodied two questions for Braves fans: which players will survive the season without a stint on the DL and how can we get back to being a championship contender. In other words, how can we save Private Ryan and earn our ticket home?

There are currently six Braves on the DL and five of them are pitchers: Manny Acosta, Jeff Bennett, Peter Moylan, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and leftfielder Matt Diaz. Eight other Braves have spent time on the DL as well: Chuck James, Mike Hampton, Rafael Soriano, Martin Pardo, Omar Infante, Brayan Pena, Buddy Carlyle, and Mark Kotsay. The total number of DL stints is over twenty. Then, when you add in Jeff Francoeur's back and forth trips from the majors to the minors, it's no wonder this team hasn't won three in a row since Memorial Day. (Hopefully, this stat changes today against the Phillies).

John Smoltz's injury imparticular calls up images from Saving Private Ryan's opening scene. When he first got hurt, the team thought he could move to the bullpen for the rest of the season. Now, he's out for the year with a shoulder that might as well be full of shrapnel. The situation, sadly, reminds me of the guy in the film who gets shot in the helmet, takes his helmet off to look at it, and then catches one in the head.

The lone bright spot so far this season was Chipper's pursuit of .400, but even that's cooled off; he's currently batting .369. All of this information brings me to a conclusion I hate to make--the Braves need to save Private Teixeira.

The Braves need to save Mark Teixeira from finishing another season on another team that does not make the postseason and trade him. I hate saying this because I like Teixeira as a Brave and it means I'm admitting we won't make the playoffs, but we need younger pitching and he's the only way we can get it. Hudson is our second youngest starting pitcher and he's over thirty.

The Braves acquired Teixeira last season, giving up prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, in a last ditch effort to catch the Mets and the Phillies. The effort didn't work, and it's not working this year either; and it's not Teixeira's fault. He's played fine. The frequency with which he hit homeruns for Atlanta last year caused most Braves fans to have flashbacks of '93 and the acquisition of Fred McGriff. It's just the rest of the team and the stadium have yet to catch fire with Teixeira like they did with the Crime Dog, so it's time to send him on his way and find our way home because there's no reason for our guys to keep taking bullets when we have no chance of capturing the beach.

I mean, can anyone really blame his teamates for not wanting to risk it all for Mark Teixeira? The guys in uniform and everyone in baseball pretty much know he won't be a Brave next season, so let's try and punch our ticket home with him and trade him cause I'm already tired of finishing behind the Mets and the Phillies and want to get back in first as soon as possible; and there's only one way to do that. Trade what valuables we have and begin rebuilding. Mark Teixeira is extremely valuable. Send him on his way. Deep breath. Gulp. Exhale. On our way home. Looking for peace.

(By the way, the score at Normandy today was the Braves nine and the Phillies ten, so we still haven't won three in a row since Memorial Day; but at least Mike Hampton started his first game since 2005. There's hope in that, right?)