07 Yunie and 08 Unis

When a certain Braves-flavored magazine arrives in my mailbox every month, I have a funny way of reading it. I skim the front cover, look at the pictures of the first article (usually a tour of a Brave's home), find the birthday list, then flip to "Beyond Baseball", which is totally the gossip section. (The April issue -- with Chipper and Teix on the cover, now available at newsstands -- has an adorable picture of Matty with his two babies in the Beyond Baseball section. Exactly as cute as I thought they'd be! I just want to wrap that whole family in a big huge hug!)

Tangents. After reading BB, I go back to the beginning and read the mag cover-to-cover. The spotlight for April was a "home visit" article was with Yunel Escobar. His touching story of escaping from Cuba and getting his family out in pieces is told, and there is a detailed comparison of their home in Cuba to their new home in Miami. He and his wife Minerva split last fall, according to the article; all divorces are sad to me, but I'll always remember Minerva for glowing with pride when Yunie got his first major-league hit last year. He pointed to her in the stands, and the tears were streaming down her face while she cheered for him. I'm choking up now, just remembering it. (Such a girl!) She was lovely, and I wish her the best.

Now Yunie's parents and his 11-year-old sister, Yunay, live in his house. They seem very happy to be in America, and we're happy to have Yunie on our team. Pick up a copy if you can -- it's not subscription-only anymore, and there are some very interesting tidbits in this issue!


Okay, on to a different topic. There are rumors swirling that the Braves will have another alternate jersey this year, a blue one similar to the reds they wear for Sunday home games. A very interesting blog called Uni Watch has this to say:

A little birdie tells me that the Braves' long-rumored blue alternate jersey may make its debut in the team's very first game of the season, this Sunday against the Nats. "GM Frank Wren wants it to be a big surprise," reports my source. "The Braves have delayed putting out their merchandise catalog this year solely because the road alternate jersey is featured in it. The feeling is that by unveiling them in this fashion (nationally televised game on ESPN), sales will be through the roof as soon as the catalog is sent." Nice to see uniforms reduced to nothing more than a sales gimmick.

Hmmm...I didn't even realize I hadn't gotten my Spring 08 merchandise catalog yet. It usually comes in January or February, and I've been getting it for nine years -- you'd think I would have noticed. Another reason to look forward to Opening Day!