The Atlanta Braves are really all that our children know about this crazy baseball life, and we are so thankful for this upbringing for them.

When I was traded from the Oakland A's to the Atlanta Braves before the 2005 season, a childhood dream was realized. I grew up a Braves fan just a few hours south of Atlanta, and it was hard for me to believe that I was going to actually play for the Atlanta Braves and legendary manager Bobby Cox.

Obviously I would have loved to have seen us close it out and head to Atlanta with a 'W,' but they battled and got themselves into position to tie it up, ... After that, I was a spectator in here rooting guys on. You've got to tip your hat to all our guys in the bullpen. They've taken a lot of heat all year. Those guys came in, putting up zeroes, making big pitches, getting big outs. Going 18 innings, I have a lot of respect for those guys. They went out and battled, but they just outlasted us.

Any time you think about Atlanta Braves baseball, you think about the postseason and success, ... Coming over here, I knew that they were going to have a shot to do something special. It's been a little bit of a roller-coaster ride this year, but we're here right now. We feel like we have a good team that's going to be able to go out there and win and put up a championship for the city of Atlanta.

I'm excited about being here in an organization that I grew up rooting for, ... I'm excited about being an Atlanta Brave and pitching in Game 1.