Why Hasn't The Teixeira Deal Worked?

As Atlanta faces a decision about whether to deal away Mark Teixeira or lose him in the off-season to free agency, the question is no longer whether or not the Teixeira deal will work, but rather why it has not worked.

It started with such promise around this time last year as the deal looked to make the Braves front-runners in the National League. Atlanta had hung around all season long without any production from first base (Julio Franco?). The need was clear and Tex was the answer. He returned to Atlanta (a former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket) hitting home runs and driving in runs, but the Braves floundered in August and September to fall out of the race.

Several experts picked the Braves to represent the National League in the World Series in 2008, but as of July 24th, they are 4th in their own division. It has been a nightmare season for the Braves who have essentially gotten nothing from the Teixeira deal.

Why?

(I'd be lying if I said the success of the C.C. Sabathia deal for the Brewers isn't irritating me and did not inspire this piece. I really thought the Tex deal would do the same thing for Atlanta).

There is no getting around the injuries that have plagued the Braves this year. Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, Soriano, Moylan, Diaz, Chipper, Yunel, Kotsay...you get the picture. Teixeira has been one of the few Braves to stay healthy. Perhaps if his teammates had been on the field rather than in the training room, the Teixeira deal would have worked.

For whatever reason, several Brave's offensive production has faltered since Tex's arrival in Atlanta. As the season wound down last year, the pop left Willie Harris's bat. This year, it left Matt Diaz's stick and then Jeff Francoeur's. I would add Corky Miller (currently hitting .106) to the list as well, but I don't think there was ever any pop in it. Teixeira cannot be blamed for the failures of his teammates. Baseball is not a sport where one guy makes everyone around him better. If it was, Tex would be Atlanta's own Stephon Marbury.

(On an NBA side note, how did the Hawks let Josh Childress go...to Greece? The Hawks are a heart-breakingly bad franchise that has followed up the brilliant Boston series with zero acquisitions and now the loss of Childress).

The Braves' pitching has been surprisingly good this year after last year's misery. Remember, Atlanta was trying to make a playoff push last year with Buddy Carlyle and Chuck James in the rotation. The pitching cannot be blamed for this year's struggles, but it certainly doomed the Braves in 2007

What about Tex himself? Doesn't he get some blame? Maybe. When the Braves were dropping one-run game after one-run game to start this season, Teixeira was slumping. He hit just three home runs in May while Chipper Jones was hitting over .400 in front of him. While the Mets were imploding and the Phillies were struggling, the Braves were losing series to the Nationals and Pirates. If Tex was hitting in May, the Braves could easily have 7-10 more wins right now in games that were decided by one run.

The bottom line, however, is that it makes no sense why the deal has flopped. Teixeira has been as advertised - really good. Sadly, the Braves have been pretty bad. The deal was a good one, but the results have been tainted by injuries, slumps and one of the weirdest seasons in Braves' history.