The Angels have taken two straight in Boston, go for the sweep tonight, and then head to New York, where newbie Mark Teixeira will squeeze into the lineup. The Braves? Yeesh. Intern Bill on their fall from grace.

The blockbuster deal that happened last night between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is a touch shocking on the surface – you’d think that a player of Mark Teixeira’s caliber would be able to fetch a better return than an average (this year) 1B that lacks power and a pitcher who isn’t Nick Adenhart or Jordan Walden. But the days where a three-month rent-a-player that brought in an enormous return are over, and the Braves organization has earned a little leeway – after all, they’re the ones that put together a string of 14 playoff appearances in 15 years. But as we bury the 2008 Braves, questions arise on what the Mark Teixeira experience in Atlanta taught us, not just on the future of the Braves, but on the question of “going for it” in the 1st place.

At the trading deadline in 2007, Atlanta acquired Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay from Texas for 1B/C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus, P Neftali Perez, P Beau Jones, and P Matt Harrison. Saltalamacchia not only has the distinction of having the longest name in major league history, he was also a terrific hitting prospect that was blocked at catcher by perennial all-star Brian McCann.

So, for one year of Mark Teixeira and three months of Ron Mahay, the Braves gave up five very good prospects, each with a solid chance of making a major league impact, only to miss the playoffs twice and lose their stranglehold on the NL East. We don’t know what’s more baffling – that Atlanta got flat-out schooled in a trade (which NEVER used to happen) or that it was Texas that did it, and those are the guys that gave up Chris Young for Adam Eaton.

The Braves, for this year and the near future, are done. They don’t have the talent to match up with the Mets, Phillies or Marlins, and it looks like they’ve started their rebuilding one year too late. The funny thing is that in hindsight, if the Braves had just held on to Salty, moved him to 1st base, and let him continue his development, the Bravos would currently have a 1B who is probably better than Casey Kotchman and they’d still have all those other high-ceiling prospects they gave up in the Teixeira deal.