1. It appears that Mark Teixeira (pronounced tuh-SHARE-uh) is headed to the Atlanta Braves. I’m not surprised that he prefers the Braves to, say, the New York Yankees. He played college baseball at Georgia Tech, so he probably has friends (and maybe family) in Atlanta, and the Braves are perennial contenders. I have no hard feelings toward Teixeira for leaving my adopted Texas Rangers. It’s the way of the world. You might say that he’s been traded, so it wasn’t up to him whether to leave, much less to leave for Atlanta. But he could have stayed. He could have told Rangers management that he wanted to stay and that he would settle for less money than he might earn elsewhere. Don’t laugh. Money isn’t everything. I could earn a lot more money by practicing law than I do by teaching philosophy. That I don’t change careers shows that I value other things besides money. As for preferring Atlanta to other teams, while Teixeira doesn’t control the team to which he’s traded, he can make it clear that he won’t be happy in certain places and announce that he will leave as soon as he becomes a free agent. To Braves fans, let me say this: You are getting a solid, reliable player with excellent sportsmanship. Until this year, Teixeira played every day. Like his teammate and friend Michael Young, he took pride in playing hurt or tired. He’s also a superb first baseman. He plays first base the way Brooks Robinson played third. As for Teixeira’s hitting prowess, look at the numbers he has put up. If he stays healthy, he could make the Hall of Fame. Good luck, Mark. It’s been a pleasure to watch you play every day for the past five years.

2. My friend Hawk is a disgrace to the great game of baseball. Just as politicians consult the polls to know what they believe, he consults the standings to know which team he likes. I’ve known Hawk for about five years. Until the other day, I had no idea he liked the Chicago Cubs. Note the coincidence: The Cubs start playing good baseball; Hawk climbs aboard the bandwagon. It makes me wonder about his moral character. To repeat: You don’t choose your team. You’re born with it. And you’re born with only one.

3. Memo to fans of the Milwaukee Brewers: It’s over. The Cubs have passed you (in the all-important loss column) and won’t look back. Your young players got off to fast starts, but that won’t continue. Francisco “Coco” Cordero is 0-4 with five blown saves, after having blown 11 in 2006. When he loses his confidence, he blows saves right and left. You will come to hate the sight of him.

4. Cal Ripken Jr and Tony Gwynn were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Some people will hate me for saying this, but I never liked Cal Ripken Jr. I thought (and continue to think) that he was overrated (look at the 162-game average for his career) and that he put his consecutive-games playing streak above the welfare of his team. He knew his managers didn’t dare sit him, for fear of a fan backlash, and he exploited it. Miguel Tejada did the same thing until recently, when a broken wrist forced him to go on the disabled list. At first, Tejada thought he could wait out the injury by pinch-hitting once a game. In his first attempt, he tried to bunt with one arm. Even Tom Grieve, one of the television announcers for the Texas Rangers, said it was ridiculous, and Grieve rarely criticizes anyone. It’s admirable to want to play every game. It’s not admirable to hurt your team for the sake of a personal accomplishment.