Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia.The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1997.to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field.
The "Braves" name originates from the term for a Native American warrior. They are nicknamed "the Bravos", and "America's Team", the latter a reference to the team's games being broadcast on the nationally available TBS until the 2008 season, gaining a wide fanbase.
From 1991-2005, the Braves were one of the most successful franchises in baseball, winning their division title an unprecedented 14 consecutive times in that period (omitting the strike-shortened 1994 season in which there were no official division champions). The Braves advanced to the World Series five times in the 1990s, winning the title in 1995, and earning the moniker "the Team of the '90s". In their history, the Braves have won 16 divisional titles, nine National League pennants, and three World Series championships — in 1914 as the Boston Braves, in 1957 as the Milwaukee Braves, and in 1995 while in Atlanta. The Braves are the only MLB franchise to have won the Series in three different home cities.
One of the National League's two remaining charter franchises, the club was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1871. Then the Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the American League's Boston Red Sox or the NL Central's Cincinnati Reds), the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1953 and became the Milwaukee Braves. In 1966, the team moved to Atlanta. The team's tenure in Atlanta is famous for Hank Aaron's breaking of the career home run record in 1974; the new record stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007.

2007: A good start....
Main article: 2007 Atlanta Braves season
The Braves made their first moves by re-signing Bob Wickman to a one year deal and picking up John Smoltz's option in September 2006. Then they traded starting pitcher Horacio Ramírez to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Rafael Soriano, an American League reliever with a solid 2.20 ERA in 2006. They also denied arbitration to pitcher Chris Reitsma and second baseman Marcus Giles. Then the Braves signed utility-man Chris Woodward to fill a spot on the bench. The biggest trade in the offseason involved first baseman Adam LaRoche and a minor league player for Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mike González and a minor league infielder, Brent Lillibridge. Gonzalez, who converted 24 of 24 save opportunities in 2006, joined Soriano as a set up man for Wickman in the bullpen. The team then signed first baseman Craig Wilson to a one year deal to platoon with Scott Thorman. The Braves also had solid relievers in Macay McBride, Blaine Boyer, and Tyler Yates. In addition, the majority of the Braves' offense, which was second in the NL in runs scored in 2006, returned in 2007. However, Mike Hampton was sidelined for the entire 2007 season with yet another surgery. Mike González was later sidelined for the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Braves' bullpen and offense came through in the clutch early on, helping the Braves to a 7-1 start, their best start since winning the World Series in 1995. The team finished April with a 16-9 record, but struggled during May, finishing 14-14. The Braves also struggled during interleague play, finishing with an NL-worst 4-11 record. On June 24, the Braves fell to .500 for the first time in the 2007 season, but rebounded by winning the next 5 games.
On July 5, Chipper Jones surpassed Dale Murphy for the Atlanta club record of 372 home runs by belting 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On July 31, 2007, the Braves finalized the deal to acquire slugger first baseman Mark Teixeira and LHP Ron Mahay from the Texas Rangers for Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor-leaguers. The Braves also acquired Octavio Dotel from the Kansas City Royals for Kyle Davies and also traded LHP Wilfredo Ledezma and RHP Will Startup to the San Diego Padres for Royce Ring. On August 19, 2007 John Smoltz passed Phil Niekro for 1st place on the Braves' all-time strikeout list. After struggling during the second half of the 2007 season, Atlanta finished over .500 and missed the post season again. On October 12, 2007, John Schuerholz stepped aside from his General Manager position to take over as the team's president. Schuerholz's former Assistant GM Frank Wren will take over as the new Atlanta General Manager.

2008 off-season moves
Wren's first major transaction was the announcement that the team would not re-sign center fielder Andruw Jones (who later would sign with the Dodgers). The second major move was acquiring OF Gorkys Hernandez and RHP Jair Jurrjens from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for SS Edgar Renteria and cash considerations. His third move was signing LHP Tom Glavine to a one-year contract.
The team's first new move for 2008 was acquiring OF Mark Kotsay from the A's (to replace Jones) in exchange for RHP Joey Devine, RHP Jamie Richmond and cash considerations. Days later, Wren traded Willy Aybar and infielder Chase Fontaine to the Rays in exchange for left-handed reliever Jeff Ridgway.

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG