Ray Glier

You wondered if the Braves had one of these moves left in them, or were they just going to slip away, bit by bit, and become a permanent step-child to the Mets.

They had stopped being the Braves. Once upon a time, General Manager John Schuerholz could do shrewd deals because the Braves had a deep farm system and were among the top six teams in payroll.

True, Schuerholz had made some dazzling moves during the past 18 months, grabbing Edgar Renteria for minor-leaguer Andy Marte, who has disappeared, and putting together a left-field platoon of Matt Diaz and Willie Harris, which is hitting .333.

But Atlanta has been sliding toward modest. It had slipped to 15^th in payroll and the farm system seemed to be thinning out. The organization was in transition because of economics, mixing a lot of young players with veterans and walking a ledge.

The Braves are 55-51 on the season, and were 79-83 last year. That’s 134-134 since Opening Day 2006, i.e. modest.

And then came Monday’s move to acquire Mark Teixeira, and the Braves are modest no more. There was only one player on the market who could spin heads and the Braves got him, just like the old days.

The last time the organization acquired a sensational first baseman, Fred McGriff ignited a second-half surge that carried Atlanta from 10 games back in July to a NL West crown over the Giants in 1993.

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While McGriff was taking batting practice before his debut, the press box caught fire in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and the Braves similarly were ablaze and ran down the Giants. Atlanta, it should be mentioned, still had Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, but you get the point. One move can be a spark.

Is this that spark? The NL East has had a sudden shift because the Braves have a lineup that includes shortstop Edgar Renteria (.333), Chipper Jones  (.341), Teixeira (.297) Andruw Jones (more on him later), Jeff Francoeur (.297), and Kelly Johnson (.287).

The platoon in left field, Matt Diaz and Willie Harris, has been terrific. The catcher, Brian McCann, is a two-time All-Star and getting his groove back after early season injuries.

For most of this season the Mets looked too good because, 1-8 in the order, they were simply better. Now that Atlanta doesn’t have to rely on the 49-year old Julio Franco at first base and Chipper Jones is well past his injuries, Atlanta can match up with New York.

More important, the Braves have a little of their swagger back. There was a sense in Atlanta that it was a matter of time before they were eased out of the race, but Teixeira is new fuel.