Atlanta Braves emerging as the team to beat in the National League East

Back on May 27, I wrote that I was starting to like the Atlanta Braves chances in the National League Eastern Division (click here to read that). Since then, the Braves have played the best ball in the division and hold a four-game lead at the All-Star break.

The Braves had five players selected for the All-Star game. Second baseman Martin Prado was picked and has hit above .320 for most of the year. He ranks near the top of many hitting categories in the National League. Catcher Brian McCann was picked again, proving that he remains one of the best receivers in the game. Pitcher Tim Hudson has had an ERA below 2.50 for most of the year. Rookie right fielder Jason Heyward was selected despite spending time on the disabled list in June and July. However, he will miss the game because of his thumb injury.

The most controversial selection was outfielder/utility man Omar Infante. Many people were up in arms because Infante is not a regular starter on the team. Personally, I do not believe he should have been selected, but he is hardly the stiff many media folks (mostly from New York) are saying he is. He is hitting above .300 and is an excellent defensive player who can play five positions. The guy can play regardless of what his shortcomings are.

Heading into the second half of the season, the Braves are in good shape to remain a divisional contender. With the return of pitcher Jair Jurjens from injury a couple of weeks ago, the starting rotation is now set in place. The bullpen should remain an asset as long as closer Billy Wagner remains healthy.

The key, as always, with the Braves is the offense. Will the team continue to produce as it has? When the team struggled in April, it was because the offense simply could not come up with a clutch hit when needed. The result was a lousy month that featured a nine game losing streak.

If Heyward returns and the offense can avoid injuries, the Braves should be fine. The Phillies are struggling because of a balky offense and erratic starting pitching (with the exception of Roy Halladay and maybe Cole Hamels). The Mets played well in June and could be a threat. Playing in a pitcher's park, starters like UT product R.A. Dickey have done well.

The remainder of the summer should be fascinating. As always, if the Braves do not win the division, let's hope the Mets do not.

The heat and Carlos Zambrano goin' loco

There is something about the summer that makes people impatient. A common cliché used this time of year is that 'people are reaching their boiling point' when describing conflict.

It makes sense, I guess. Our outward environment definitely can impact us. If the temperature is hot and the humidity is high on the outside, then our internal thermostat can easily explode if we are not careful.

We see this in sports a lot. Carlos Zambrano, who is a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, went off the deep end a couple of weeks ago after giving up four runs in one inning against the rival White Sox.

It was a sunny day, and when he returned to the dugout at the end of the inning, he verbally attacked just about everybody within hearing range. He did not feel some of his fielders hustled when tracking down hits he gave up, and he was not happy about it.

I wonder if he also pointed the finger at himself because he gave up a home run in that inning. It is kind of tough for a fielder to go up into the seats and catch one of those.

Much to Zambrano's chagrin I am sure, his meltdown was done in front of thousands of people and a television audience. Of course, it was repeatedly shown throughout the day on various sports broadcasts.

He came off looking silly because he has struggled all season. Reporters almost reported with glee that he continues to fall short of the expectations the Cubs had for him when they signed him to a $91 million contract a few years ago. The team's response to his tirade was to suspend him.

Still, it is difficult not to feel some compassion. Even if his tantrum was unfair to the people he attacked, we all know what it is like to blow our stack and lash out at people who do not deserve it. We are just fortunate that our mistakes have not occurred in public and been broadcast nationwide.

Of course, we now live in a YouTube world where even the most innocent of mistakes can make it to the Internet if somebody is videoing it. So, I guess the lesson we must all learn is to keep control of ourselves to avoid the possibility of becoming a punch line for people around the world.

As for the impact the heat can have on us, it is important that we remember that it will be gone in a few months. Temperatures will begin to cool soon even if it feels like that time is far away.

Then again, I am assuming that everybody reading this dislikes the heat as much as me. I know this is not true. For every person who hates the heat, there is somebody who feels like the summer is liberating.

To those people I say: Keep away from me.

A common coping technique I use to get through this season of misery is to surf the Internet and look for cities where the temperature is cool.

In the United States, a common town I check out is Barrow, Alaska. Barrow is the northernmost permanent settlement in our country. Even this time of year, we can visit Weather.com and see that their forecast is for temperatures in the 50s.

That sounds pretty good right now. I would never want to live there because of the brutal winters, but just knowing there are people in our country enjoying cool weather right now is good enough for me.

Relief is on the way. Relief that will help us all rest a little easier.

Five things to know about Virginia

Having just completed my first visit to the state of Virginia, here are five pieces of information a person may find useful when traveling there.

1. I traveled to Virginia by car, and most of my trip was along I-81 through the Blue Ridge Parkway. If the area looks that beautiful in July, I can only imagine how good it looks in October when the leaves change color. There are numerous byways off the interstate that drivers can take to investigate the hills more deeply. Unfortunately, I did not get to do as much of that as I would have liked, but I really enjoyed what I saw. Long car drives can be a drag, but meandering through the hills of western Virginia is a nice way to spend time.

2. As I feared, I had to spend part of my time there antiquing. However, if a person finds themselves backed into that corner, the Old City portion of Fredericksburg is not a bad way to spend an afternoon. The city, as well as the state, uses local history as a way to attract tourists. The folks there in Fredericksburg did a good job of doing that. Though this has nothing to do with its local history, I did find shops that sold old albums and singles. I was able to score an original issue of The Beatles' single 'Let It Be' b/w 'You Know My Name (Look Up My Number).' It was a good day.

3. Speaking of local history, it was unsettling how 'confederate' the culture was up there. I know Virginia is considered part of the South, but I expected to see less of that as I traveled north. At times, it was almost like being in Alabama (notice I wrote almost). I understand that the Civil War was a pivotal moment in American history, but sometimes folks cling too tightly to the old culture. It is tough to describe when that line is crossed, but I know it when I see it. I am not referring to places like battlefields and cemeteries. Those locations are fine examples of history, but it seems like I spent half my time there riding on roads named for Jefferson Davis (or 'Jeff Davis' as he is referred to up there). Historical locations are one thing, but naming a highway after somebody comes across as an endorsement to me. I wonder how black people feel about driving on those roads every day. Is it a subtle form of racism? Or maybe not so subtle?

4. I know rain has caused folks in Middle Tennessee a lot of problems this year, but at least we have had some. Even without the flood in Nashville, our area has received good rainfall this year. I can not say that about Virginia. The landscape there was brown and dry. Their growing season likely starts later because they are further north than us, but their corn crop looked withered and was a good two to three feet shorter than here. The soil there appeared sandier than in Tennessee. In some respects, the terrain reminded me of how our land here looked during the 2008 drought.

5. The Cracker Barrels in Virginia are exactly the same as in Tennessee.