The second half hasn’t started yet, though the Atlanta Braves done the traffic Wednesday to try to stay atop the NL East .

The Braves acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who has seventeen home runs during the All-Star break, upon Wednesday in the five-player traffic with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Atlanta sent shortstop Yunel Escobar as great as maladroit pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto as great as perceived Gonzalez as great as dual teenager leaguers, shortstop Tyler Pastornicky as great as pitcher Tim Collins.

“This traffic improves the bar for the second half of the season,” Braves ubiquitous physical education instructor Frank Wren pronounced in the statement. “We have been seeking during ways to make firm the bar offensively as great as Alex Gonzalez is the proven maestro player who gives us combined power. He is the leader as great as the plain descent participation in the lineup as great as the peculiarity defensive shortstop.”

The Braves now reason the four-game lead over the second-place New York Mets. The two-time fortifying NL hold up Philadelphia Phillies have been in third place, 4½ games during the back of Atlanta.

Gonzalez, 33, is batting .259 as great as had 50 RBIs for the Blue Jays. His 43 extra-base hits during the mangle were scored equally for fifth-most in the American League.

In twelve vital joining seasons, Gonzalez has 131 home runs. He is the career .248 hitter.

The 27-year-old Escobar is the career .291 hitter though is struggling this deteriorate with the .238 average, no home runs as great as nineteen RBIs. Last season, he strike .299 in 141 games, achieving career bests in home runs (14) as great as RBIs (76).

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous believes Escobar is value the gamble.

“We feel which Yunel Escobar will positively spin it around,” he said, according to The Canadian Press.

“There’s positively an component of risk there, though you feel he has the really great event to spin it around. we consider if Yunel Escobar was you do what he did in the past, he’s not accessible to us as great as this traffic does not benefaction itself.”

Reyes, 25, appeared in only the single diversion for the Braves this season. In 41 career appearances (37 starts), he is 5-15 with the 6.40 ERA. He was pitching in Triple-A for the Braves though was optioned to Double-A by Toronto after the trade.

Pastornicky, 20, has the .258 average, 6 homers as great as 35 RBIs for the Jays’ Class-A Dunedin bar this season. Collins, additionally 20, has the 2.51 ERA in 35 appearances for Toronto’s Double-A group in New Hampshire.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The New York Yankees will wear dual arm rags to commend a passings of former principal owners George M. Steinbrenner III as well as longtime open residence announcer Bob Sheppard.

The group voiced a Steinbrenner memorial vegetable vegetable patch will be ragged upon top of a interlocking “NY” upon a left breast of a Yankees’ home jerseys, as well as upon top of a letters “YORK” upon a left breast of a Yankees’ highway uniforms. Both locations have been over a heart.

The Sheppard memorial vegetable vegetable patch will be ragged upon a left sleeve of a Yankees’ home as well as highway jerseys.

On Tuesday night for a All-Star Game, physical education instructor Joe Girardi, a Yankees’ players as well as a Yankees’ coaches wore black armbands upon their left sleeves in respect of Mr. Steinbrenner.

Andrew Marchand covers ball for ESPNNewYork.com. You can follow him upon Twitter.

George Steinbrenner picked up the phone, as well as it was great to listen to the receptive to advice of his voice. Not many people have ever finished which explain — happy to listen to from Steinbrenner, which is — though this would be the last bark from the loudest lion.

The last night The Boss was unequivocally The Boss.

He was in disappearing illness in the tumble of 2007, as well as his group was in the disappearing state in the American League Division Series. Steinbrenner hated losing to his hometown team, the Cleveland Indians, so the call was placed to his apartment during the Regency to see if the owners of the New York Yankees could serve the single last explosion from his past.

“His office is upon the line,” Steinbrenner pronounced of Joe Torre. “I consider we’re profitable him the lot of money. He’s the highest-paid physical education instructor in baseball, so you do not consider we’d take him behind if you do not win this series.”

Steinbrenner ripped the umpires which night for permitting the biblical disease of Game 2 bugs to deplane upon Joba as well as Jeter as well as the rest, as well as he all though affianced to re-sign Alex Rodriguez. But some-more than anything, among the call of reports which he no longer had the genius to run the world’s many important team, Steinbrenner longed for to have something ideally clear:

“I have full control,” he said.

Born upon the Fourth of July, passed 9 days after his 80th birthday, George Steinbrenner tranquil his group similar to no owners in the story of American sports. He was the shipbuilder who became bigger than the ship. He was the Yankee who became bigger than the Mick as well as the Clipper as well as the Babe.

That’s his legacy: A abounding child from Cleveland — unfortunate to win the capitulation of the cold as well as apart father, unfortunate to be the titan in the many iconic city — finished up incomparable in hold up than the sluggers who tangible Yankees mythology.

Steinbrenner didn’t need “Seinfeld” to turn America’s boss. He was already important for perfectionist soundness in others notwithstanding his own outlandish imperfections, for berating as well as terminating employees faster than he could swallow ones pride as well as sinecure them back.

He was the living, respirating dichotomy — an owners who could bask in Bucky Dent’s memorable home run in Fenway Park in 1978, as well as afterwards be certain to glow Dent during Fenway the dozen years later. Steinbrenner could gracelessly poke Don Mattingly toward retirement, though console him during his Kingdome locker after Mattingly mislaid the a single as well as usually playoff array of his career.

In 1996, Steinbrenner could applaud his initial championship in eighteen years, as well as afterwards erase the staff part of mins prior to the Canyon of Heroes march for permitting the players’ wives to float upon the players’ floats.

Steinbrenner won 7 World Series titles as well as determined himself as the initial father of giveaway agency. He outlayed billions in office of jaunty glory, as well as got himself dangling for giving income to the United States President (illegal debate contributions to Richard Nixon) as well as to the two-bit layer of odds (digging-up-dirt contributions to Howie Spira).

There’s the reason because there was zero some-more unaccompanied than being The Boss’ unaccompanied partner.

“George Steinbrenner is the Yankees,” his ubiquitous manager, Brian Cashman, once said. “It’s unfit to suppose this group but George Steinbrenner owning it.”

The Boss scarcely cashed out in talks with Cablevision in 1998, as well as walked divided from the understanding when he satisfied nobody sells the authorization he called the Mona Lisa, positively not George Steinbrenner.

He desired being the greatest leader in the greatest city. When the Yankees faced the Mets in the 2000 World Series, Steinbrenner put everybody upon notice similar to never before.

“From the association standpoint, the city was ours,” Cashman said.

“The Boss told me, ‘You’d improved win or else.’ you felt similar to if you mislaid to the Mets, it would’ve discontinued the 3 championships. It would’ve been similar to they didn’t count. you was regularly unapproachable of what we’d done, as well as I’d never prior to been frightened of losing. But you was frightened of losing to the Mets.”

Steinbrenner thrived upon fear. As the former partner football manager in the Big Ten, he was upon the consistent poke for rebellious dummies as well as the reason to emanate the fourth-and-1 clouded cover of dust.

On Jun 15, 2005, it initial became transparent Steinbrenner was coming his last goal-line stand. At the headlines discussion called to betray the skeleton for the brand brand new Yankee Stadium, someone asked The Boss if the brand brand new play ground would suggest Rodriguez the accessible left-field target.

“A-Rod doesn’t need any help,” Steinbrenner said, “but you do not consider the Yankees did right by Babe Ruth when he was here. They should’ve been improved to him. We’ll be improved to A-Rod when he gets ready to retire.”

Reporters as well as Yankees officials shot any alternative the oddest of looks. When the headlines discussion ended, the single group central whispered, “He’s not what he used to be, is he?”

Slowly, surely, Steinbrenner used from open perspective as the sinister forces of inlet as well as age conspired opposite him. He’d chased everybody from Catfish Hunter to Roger Clemens, even pumping iron with Clemens upon the revisit to the Rocket’s home.

All of which free-agent recruiting, all of which contention with Billy as well as Reggie, all of which back-and-forth with Yogi — the sights as well as sounds have for the erotically appealing mural of the difficult life.

George Steinbrenner overwhelmed them all prior to failing Tuesday sunrise with the unaccompanied legacy.

Without ever stepping to the plate, the Boss became bigger than the Babe.

Ian O’Connor is the columnist for ESPNNewYork.com. You can follow him upon Twitter.

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