AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2008 > February > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USNo successor-in-waiting planned for Braves, Cox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Since the incomparable Bobby Cox is entering his 27th year as a manager in the major leagues, including more than two decades with the Braves, it’s logical to wonder if his bosses are tempted to lose their minds.
They’d do so by contributing to this epidemic of naming a successor-in-waiting for an incumbent, mostly because everybody else is doing it.
Few sports executives match Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk when it comes to solid thinking. Even so, we held our breath after asking McGuirk the question of the moment: Are Braves officials ever planning to announce that this poor soul or that one is going to follow in Cox’s Hall of Fame cleat steps — you know, long before Cox stops making them?
Without hesitation, McGuirk said, “It never crossed our minds. We’ll have to deal with replacing Bobby someday. It’s incomprehensible to think about dealing with that right now.”
Good. If anybody should manage forever, it is Cox, still sharp and enthusiastic as ever at nearly 67. I mean, what planet are those other executives visiting regarding this kooky trend for hiring future coaches or managers? Supporters say it gives players and potential ones for these teams a sense of stability. Well, such only is the case if those players actually like that successor-in-waiting. And what if you’re Florida State, and you’re locked into Jimbo Fisher to follow Bobby Bowden, which is the case, and then Mark Richt decides a few years from now that he really would bolt Georgia for Florida State?
Fisher or Richt.
That’s a tough one.
“It really does seem odd when hierarchies in sports are set up so transitions are already in place before they actually occur,” McGuirk said. “Then again, that does seem to be a new phenomena, and it’s one that we’re not familiar with.”
Instead, the Braves are among the shrinking majority when it comes to that trend. It’s worse among college teams, especially in basketball. Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has anointed the legendary Mike Hopkins as his successor, and Arizona’s Lute Olson has appointed Kevin O’Neill, already on the job until Olson returns next season after an emotional divorce. Plus, you had a bunch of sons who were designated to replace their fathers, and those sons eventually did so, with Pat Knight for Bobby and Tony Bennett for Dick and Sean Sutton for Eddie.
In college football, Rich Brooks is warming his Kentucky seat for Joker Phillips, and Joe Tiller has somebody named Danny Hope standing by as Purdue’s future head guy.
Even NFL executives are embarrassing themselves, with Jim Caldwell, whose Wake Forest teams finished a combined 37 games below .500, slated to follow Tony Dungy with the Indianapolis Colts. Then there is Jim Mora, a bust with the Falcons, named as the heir apparent to Seattle’s Mike Holmgren, owner of three Super Bowl trips with the Green Bay Packers and the Seahawks.
Just guessing, but Cox won’t manage forever. Which means he will need a successor at some point through conventional means.
Who? Terry Pendleton, the former Braves standout turned batting coach? How about one of Cox’s former coaches who became a manager elsewhere, such as Ned Yost, Jimy Williams or Fredi Gonzalez? Maybe John Smoltz or Tom Glavine would consider the job after retirement.
“Well, I think it’s gotta be somebody, hopefully from within the organization and a type of guy who would try to emulate Bobby, who would try to be like him, but nobody actually can be Bobby Cox,” Tom Lasorda said over the phone from his Los Angeles home. He was a long-time manager in the minors for the Dodgers, plus a coach in the majors for four seasons, before he replaced Hall of Famer Walter Alston with the big boys in 1977.
In fact, many figured during the early 1970s that Lasorda was a successor-in-waiting for Alston, but Lasorda shouted long distance, “Nobody in the organization ever said that to me. I wanted that job real bad, because I paid the price to get it by managing eight years in the minors and six years in the Dominican League. I thought my contributions and my feelings would grant me that job, but I didn’t have any guarantees.”
That’s opposed to now, when guarantees are everywhere. Lasorda added boldly for those among the enlightened, “I don’t like this trend at all.”
Permalink | Comments (83) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
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By blacksheep
February 10, 2008 5:38 PM | Link to this
“Terence, you’re an idiot and you ought to just go the hell back to New York or Indiana or wherever it is you came from”.
Just wanted to be the first one to jump all over your a*.
By AthensEd.
February 10, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
Yep, you can always count on Terrance Mooron to add a Georgia jab in a Braves column..
By Matt
February 10, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
At least TMoore didn’t go all racial on us — saying the coach in waiting stuff is a way around the NFL’s Rooney Rule — heck, he only mentions one brutha our of the 6 total possibilities for the job …
By josh
February 10, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this
congrats on another waste of time TM… way to write an entire article without making a real point.
…also can you please stop appearing on ESPN… its bad enough i have to listen to Steve Phillips
By Baseball Coach
February 10, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this
Terence, you should not have brought this up. Everyone knows when a pitcher is in the late innings of a no-hitter, you don’t bring up the subject. The same thing should apply to Bobby. However, if I had to vote for a successor, I’d go with Fredi Gonzalez.
By Chuck
February 10, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this
Gotta say the successor-in-waiting model worked incredibly well for Purdue’s mens basketball team. Coach Keady was allowed to leave on his own terms and Coach Painter has been a fantastic coach and recruiter.
It makes more sense in college sports than in the pros because pro coaches aren’t involved in recruiting. But clearly there’s no need to designate a successor for BC at this point. Why limit the Braves’ options or TP’s, for that matter?
By Robert
February 10, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this
Who? ANYBODY!
If ever there was a man who never should’ve managed - it’s Bobby Cox
The absolute WORST manager of all time in any sport
By Robert
February 10, 2008 6:13 PM | Link to this
“Donkey in the Dugout - Turning World Champions into Division Winners” - by Bobby Cox
By guy
February 10, 2008 6:15 PM | Link to this
Why don’t people like TM enjoy one day at a time and find something positive to write about? What will be will be and none of us will decide who succeeds Bobby Cox anyway. Read Mathew 6:34
By Robert
February 10, 2008 6:19 PM | Link to this
“Terence, you should not have brought this up. Everyone knows when a pitcher is in the late innings of a no-hitter, you don’t bring up the subject. The same thing should apply to Bobby.”
Sorry - but when you’re team is getting no-hit, you’re allowed to mention it AND to try and do something about it
I mean, it’s not like the HOF trio of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz had anything to do with the team’s run of success. And it wasnt the rosters behind those three loaded with HOFers and All-Stars year in and year out.
No. It was Donk. The Genius. Without him, how could the Braves have ever won a single game?
I tell you what. There’s gonna be a lot of folks rethinking Cox’s “accomplishments” when the Braves get a lot better immediately after he leaves.
And Cooperstown? Voting Cox in to the Hall of Fame would be akin to taking a huge s** on the floor right in front of the plaques of the first inductees.
By Tim
February 10, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this
I thought I read an article last year where Bobby Cox said this would be his last season? Anybody else recall that?
By Chris
February 10, 2008 6:25 PM | Link to this
TM- Good Article- To you bloggers that jump all over TM no matter what the guy has to say- Stop hatin’ - TM was all positive and rosey in this article- Give the man a break- It makes you look like idiots-
By Bill
February 10, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this
It’s sort of strange, all these people who are so eager to be critics … and yet they must wait with baited breath for the blog to be online to send in their post. My guess is that they’re the most loyal fans of TM that anyone could ask for … why they act that way? Jeez, who knows, they do not seem to be blessed with anything that would seem close to intelligence. So I guess it’s just their devotion that keeps them going. Good luck to them.
And the column - a good one as usual. Terry is one of the best sportswriters in the country. And, no matter how his fans act, they sure show up.
By BravesFan
February 10, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Thanks TM for a good article. Hey, Robert, what is your problem? You must be a MUTS fan! But you’re rhetoric is typical and completely off mark. Your ignorance about Bobby is showing. Quit embarrassing yourself.
By HBG
February 10, 2008 6:50 PM | Link to this
Robert…
If there ever was a person that should NEVER have blogged… it’s Robert!!! Check out his new book… “Donkey in the Blog” or “101 Ways to make myself look stupid by criticizing a Hall of Fame Manager.” I can only hope that Robert’s keyboard gets something spilled on it and he gets lost on his way to the store to purchase another.. and while he’s out, forgets why he left in the first place.. and then promptly forgets where he lives and ends up under the care of the nurses at Grady.
HBG
By Gene
February 10, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this
I sure remember the Braves before Bobby Cox. I am sure that he is hoping for another World Series, and I hope he gets it. He will be a hard act to follow.
By Matt
February 10, 2008 6:56 PM | Link to this
Unbelievable! Terence Moore wrote an article that doesn’t contain a racial bias!
By pUKING MY BRAINS OUT
February 10, 2008 7:13 PM | Link to this
Everytime this robert fool opens his mouth , I wanna regurgitate.
Can someone be permanently banned for being a total Donkus Maximus.
By the way , thank you for the nice article Terence.
By Bullwinkle
February 10, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this
If he wants it, Ned Yost would be perfect to replace Bobby.
By jay
February 10, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this
how about manny acta and the brilliant job he did for the nationals last year. We could use him.
By scottBravesFan
February 10, 2008 8:29 PM | Link to this
How bout everyone get off of Terrence’s back? The guy wrote a good piece so leave him alone.
As for Bobby’s replacement I have to go with Pendleton. I think most of the fans that I talk to think it should be him as well. He’s paid his dues as a hitting coach and he’s had other managerial opportunities elsewhere and took his name out of the running to remain a Brave.
By ryan
February 10, 2008 8:35 PM | Link to this
terry would prolly be the one to replace bobby i think
By Steve L.
February 10, 2008 8:42 PM | Link to this
Robert’s not an idiot, he just wanted some attention. And you gave it to him……
By t
February 10, 2008 9:03 PM | Link to this
Terence,
Hopefully it won’t be PHIL NIEKRO who you were lobbying hard for when Sherholtz and Cox teamed up in 1990.
Thought we would forget that didn’t you? LOL.
By Hank
February 10, 2008 9:18 PM | Link to this
Why dont you write a column about how the braves have no African Americans on their roster? You do consider yourself an African American still? Dont you?
By richbrave
February 10, 2008 9:32 PM | Link to this
TMO:
Thanks for bring us the info that Cox stays without a successor. He’s a great manager. Glad to know he along for the ride for awhile.
By TampaGator
February 10, 2008 9:33 PM | Link to this
Robert, you are “the worst idiot of all time” for calling Bobby Cox the worst manager of all time. You obviously know nothing about baseball. Fortunately, nearly all the players who played for Bobby Cox call him one of the greatest managers of all time…and I think they have a little better insight than you!
By JimD
February 10, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this
For those who don’t know Robert … let me explain. He doesn’t care much for Bobby Cox.
By Robert
February 10, 2008 9:52 PM | Link to this
My name is Robert. I’m an alcoholic, and I love donkeys too much. I’m also a Mutts fan and I’m so tired of living in New York. I wish I lived in the South where the weather is beautiful and the women are hot! Go Mutts!
By AdirondackDave
February 10, 2008 9:55 PM | Link to this
Interesting article, Terence. Thanks. I hope Bobby stays around for many more years though I often don’t agree with him on strategy and line-ups, particularly the platooning and over use of washed up position players. Still, 14 straight is one for the ages… and Bobby and JS deserve a lot of credit for that.
By Mike Fowler
February 10, 2008 9:57 PM | Link to this
Nice article Terence. Good info on what the Braves are thinking.
By Laurance
February 10, 2008 10:11 PM | Link to this
Terrence,
You must have really been hurting for material. Only that could explain why you would write a column about certain trends in the NFL, college football, and college basketball, and then claim that the Braves are in the increasing minority among sports teams in not having lined up a replacement coach (despite the fact that no other baseball team has). Good gracious.
Get a life.
By Turner-Cox Field
February 10, 2008 10:14 PM | Link to this
They should go ahead and rename the stadium..or make a Bobby Cox Way around the ball park.
I can’t imagine the Braves playing with out Bobby in the Dugout. The Braves better do something BIGTIME for Bobby when he does retire.
By Deion
February 10, 2008 10:15 PM | Link to this
Wow Terence, no racist views in this article? Must be in a good mood today. Thought for sure you were going to call for the Braves to interview minority candidates for the 1,000 time!
By Tom Robinson
February 10, 2008 10:23 PM | Link to this
the Atlanta braves have consistently underachieved under Bobby Cox’s direction. Losing in the first round of the playoffs had become a habit. Now they can’t even make the playoffs.
Face it, the Braves are going now where with Cox at the helm. he should have been fired after 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
2007 missed Playoffs - 3rd place NLE
2006 missed playoffs - 3rd place NLE
2005 lost in first round to wild card team (astros).
2004 lost in first round to wild card team.(astros)
2003 lost in first round (cubs)
2002 lost in first round to wild card team (giants)
2001 lost NLCS to diamondbacks
2000 lost in first round (cards)
1999 lost WS to YANKEES in 4-0 sweep
1998 lost NLCS to Padres
1997 lost NLCS to Wild card team (marlins)
1996 lost WS to YANKEES after leading 2-0
By Murphy
February 10, 2008 10:42 PM | Link to this
Well, since the Vick column did not allow for comments, then I will leave them here. What a STUPID argument to blame his problems on his associates. This mess is HIS and HIS alone. It is WAY too early to start campaining for people to forgive a man that most think is not really sorry for what he did, but sorry that he got caught.
By t
February 10, 2008 10:51 PM | Link to this
Tom Robinson,
Not exactly sure how competitive your workplace is. Not sure how many awards you won at work between 1991 and 2005, but I’m pretty sure NONE of them compare to a MLB National League East or West Divisional Title. LOL.
Not sure if you turned your company from worst to first any given year much less 14 straight years.
In case you didn’t know Mr. Sportsfan ClosetTypist, NO professional manager in ANY sport has EVER come close to equaling that feat.
Get a life!
By Desperado Dave
February 10, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this
I haven’t a clue who the Braves name to replace Bobby Cox when and if he retires. I don’t even want to think about it. Somebody has to think about it. I just don’t have any desire to be that person. Who is this Terrence Moore guy anyway? Never heard of him.
By t
February 10, 2008 11:08 PM | Link to this
Tom Robinson
Bottom line is he’s Bobby Cox and you’re Tom Robinson.
How about you posting your resume here and list your accomplishments the last 12 years.
AHole
By Jeremy
February 10, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this
Hey Tom Robinson, Underachieved? What were the Braves doing before Cox came? Before cox they couldn’t make it to the play offs. I’ld rather the Braves make it to the play offs and lose then be dead last in the league. Or would you rather have them do as bad as the falcons?
By joebrave
February 10, 2008 11:18 PM | Link to this
Terrence Moron,Stay your Godamn @ss off of anything to do with the Braves!!!!!! You are one pathetic SONOFABITCH,and Yo Mammy was a Streetwalikn Ho!!!!!
By Roger
February 10, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this
Tom Robinson, you a*******hole! Why don’t you post the list of managers that DID NOT make the playoffs during the times you mentioned? I am sure the list would be much larger. Go back to NY or Philly, please!
By BRAVE
February 10, 2008 11:47 PM | Link to this
Terrence Moore: DON’T TALK OR REFER TO THE BRAVES. You are full of negativity. You don’t know anything about baseball in the first place, did you play as a kid? You fn loser your fatass was at home playing video games and writing in your diary. DON’T BRING YOUR NEGATIVITY TO A SPORT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.
By Matt the Brave
February 11, 2008 12:10 AM | Link to this
I finally figured out what Terrance Moore does at the AJC. He looks at what other people have written 3 months ago and decides that it needs to have the race card played in it. For example, the above article. What a third rate writer for a second rate newspaper. And people wonder why no one takes Atlanta seriously. It’s because we don’t have a paper that matters anymore!
By jackie
February 11, 2008 12:26 AM | Link to this
have the braves signed a token a -a on the team yet?
By tj
February 11, 2008 12:32 AM | Link to this
Robert
I don’t know who the hell you are and don’t really care, but you need to see a shrink. You got real problems.
By bravesfan79
February 11, 2008 1:03 AM | Link to this
dirondackDave: Man couldnt agree more on what u said about not agreeing on Bobbys overuse of washed up or just plain crappy utility players. Like woodcrap last year…how come it seemed he always batted with 2 runners on in the 7th or 8th with 2 outs. And he had HOW MANY rbis last year!?? like 7!! Bobbys decision to put 3 career crap utility players on the roster in wilson, orr and woodcrap, OVER a .350 spring training hitting Escobar cost us the season last year! I said it then…and ill say it now!!
Remember the first half of last year when chipper first got hurt…. we went from being 10 games over .500 to being .500 again… WHY!??
ITS HARD TO WIN WITH 5 .200 and worse hitters in the starting lineup!! (Andrew, woodcrap, orr, wilson, pitcher)
By the way Terrance im embarrased you represent Atlanta when i see you on Espn talking about how college football dosent need to change anything. Did the BCS pay u off like the presidents!??
By bravesfan79
February 11, 2008 1:13 AM | Link to this
Matt the Brave: I take AtL seriously because its my home…and i beg to differ man but our paper is whats circulated to all the states around us. How many Birmingham, Montgomery, Tampa Bay newspapers do you see around here?? 0 thats right…. 0!
Im a big reader of the news…and the ajc is what ive read for years. No other newspaper has ever been as good to me. I remember being in dothan growing up at my grandparents and reading the whole 3 pages of the sportsection..2 bad 2 of the pages were highschool sports and talking about Alabama football…even thou it wasnt football season!
Ajc is a great newspaper and hopefully they keep putting resources into it instead of downsizing like the LA times.
Just because Mr Moore is to sports writing what the Hawks Billy Knight is to GM’ing…should be no reflection on the AJC.
By Robert
February 11, 2008 2:42 AM | Link to this
Do you folks honestly think that the powerhouse Braves of the 90’s wouldnt have been able to make the playoffs without Bobby Cox managing?
Folks, you take Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, in their primes, back them with an All-Star fourth and sometimes even a fifth starter, and give them an offense loaded with All-Stars and future HOFers, and my dead grandmother who didnt live in this country, didnt speak a word of English, and didnt know a baseball from a golf ball, couldve managed them to the playoffs
The test to measure Bobby Cox is NOT how many times in a row the Braves could beat four other teams or how many times in a row they could win the Little Legaue World Series
It is also not to take a poll and see how many of the kids think he is the coolest babysitter.
It is to see what his teams did when faced with equal or near-equal talent in a winner-take-all situation.
And in those situations, Cox’s team consistantly lost. Nay, they found a way to lose. They couldnt execute basic baseball plays. Or they had the wrong guys in the games in the wrong places at the wrong times. Not only that, they made sad excuses, calling it “bad luck” or blaming the umps. Or, worse yet, and maybe their most common maneuver of all, they simply didnt show up at all.
It is difficult to directly compare one manager to another, because you cant run the scientific experiment where they both manage the same team and you compare results. The closest we can come here is (as I have pointed out before) to use the 81 and 82 Braves, which were very similar in makeup and were managed by Cox and Joe Torre, respectively.
Now, I am NOT saying that Joe Torre is god’s gift. I am NOT saying that Torre hasnt been missing something for the past 7 years. I am also NOT saying that the late 90’s Yankees needed Torre to be great. ALL I am doing is comparing what Torre could do with a certain roster with what Cox did with that roster.
The 81 Braves were 50-56 and finished 5th. The 82 Braves, with nearly an identical roster, but with different allocation/use of resources, were 89-73 and finished first in the division.
Now the Cox apologists will be quick to say that Torre benefited from the team being a year older and more experienced, and to say that if I want to talk turnarounds, then let’s talk Cox in 91
Well, ok, but how about we first talk Cox in 1990?. The 1990 Braves went 25-40 under Russ Nixon (who I am thinking is on noone’s list of great managers, not even Mama Nixon’s). Cox then took over and under him they finished out the saeason 40-57.
How do those two performances compare? Well, Nixon’s version had a .385 wpct, and Cox’s a .412. So you could say Cox did marginally better. Then again, a 40-57 team is behind a 25-40 team in the standings. (an eye opener, eh?)
Any way you look at it, bottom line, Cox may have proved marginally better than nincompoop Nixon, while Torre (a REAL manager) made an obvious and dramatic improvement over Cox
No manager (including Torre) has been the beneficiary of having such a prolonged run of quality teams. No manager may be more beloved. And I am sure the guy could tell you baseball stories that would entertain for days and that he gives the kids great donkey rides at the fair.
But when you look at what did he do with his teams when the true measure of his abilities was in play, or look at what he did with his teams compared to what someone else did with the same (or nearly identical) team, then, if you do so without a bias towards him, …
then you can do nothing but be left wondering - what in the WORLD is all the fuss about? WHERE in the world did folks come up with this notion that he is something special as a manager.
Now there is an answer for that. It comes from the Braves corporation and the incredibly successful ruse it has put over on the fans, thru the media. You see, for the Braves as a corporate entity, success is what? $$$$$ - asses in seats, leafing theu programs, waving big foam tomahawks and munching sdtadium hot dogs. And you make money how - by drawing as many fans as possible for 81 home games a year. Thus, regular season success is paramount
Atlanta fans are the ONLY fans in any city and any sport that value a 90-win regular season (or its equivalent) over what every other team’s fans want - CHAMPIONSHIPS
Give me an 81-81 team that makes a wild card and parlays it into a title once every generation. Give it to me any day of the week over a team and a franchise and a mentality that thinks they have established themsleves as something by winning a run of division titles.
By Robert
February 11, 2008 2:57 AM | Link to this
1991 was such a thrill that it is easily forgivable for one to have missed or ignored the warning signs. The Braves win that series if they execute a few simple fundamentals. How in the world does a player who has his fundamentals down get deeked on the basepaths? They win that series if they skillfully manage the key matchups. Let’s bring in Liebrandt to face Puckett? WTF?
1992 - You can say Toronto was better. They probably were, but not a lot better
1993 - This is where it became obviosu there was a problem. The team gets better. MUCH better (and you need look no further than the addition of Maddux entering his prime). But despite getting better, now they not only dont win the WS, they cant even get there. They lose to a Philly team that wa good but that wasnt in the same zip code with the Braves in terms of talent
1994 - Conveniently forgotten about, but the Braves were 6 games back of the Montreal Expos (and fading) when the season shut down. WTF?
1995 - The pitching rolls. All is well in Mudville. Never mind that noone couldve screwed this up. Never mind that it wasnt a full season. Never mind that the opposing manager in the WS was Mike Hargrove
1996-1998 - O-fer? Choke, whine, and hello where are you guys in three straight years? WTF Are you KIDDING me?
1999 - Last chance. Take out the Yankees and you can stake a claim as the team of the 90’s and as a dynasty. This WS was competative thruout, yet it was in doubt for all of seven innings. Until Einstein left Maddux in to face Brosius leading off the 8th in Game 1
After that, basically nothing. Progressively diminishing returns, ever-ready excuses and apologist explanations. The starters werent all flamethrowers. Or the relievers werent out and out the best of the best. Or the last bat off the bench wasnt a future HOFer. Or the wind didnt blow right. Or whatever. Padding a streak that might’ve been worth valuing if the opportunities it had provided to date had been made the most of. But since they hadnt, just empty padding to an empty streak
By Capt. Caveman
February 11, 2008 3:06 AM | Link to this
FYI - Robert is just a trouble maker from DOB’s blog. I don’t even respond to his stuff. It’s ridiculous and he only does it to get people to respond.
By t
February 11, 2008 6:00 AM | Link to this
Bottom line is Bobby Cox is the “manager” not the “owner” of the Atlanta Braves (even though he developed a lot of talent for Joe Torres Braves and Toronto in the 80’s before returning here to help do the same).
He does the best he can with what he is given. Name me anyone in baseball (including you and Terence More) that can do what he did in his profession for 14 straight years with the payroll he had.
That’s why he is “Bobby Cox” and you’re “Robert”. LOL.
That’s why he is headed into Disney this morning and your shift doesn’t end until 7AM.
t
By Randy Howard
February 11, 2008 6:59 AM | Link to this
Did any of the previous replys come from anyone that actually read Moore’s article? This heir apparent trend is just as obnoxious as “He has 95 RBI”. RBI’s was OK for decades, then some politically correct, Radio, sports talk show nut, with nothing else to talk about decides that RBI’s is actually incorrect, damn tradition. Terrence’s point about Richt (GOD Forbid) is a perfect example of what could and probably will happen more often than not. Baseball, more so than any other sport is a game of tradition; Hotdogs and Beer, Peanuts and Cracker Jacks, the 1st pitch, the 7th inning Stretch and the discussion’s of Who’s on first and who the next manager will be. You know, with all the research being done with Cloning, we could have Bobby, John, Tom, Greg and Steve back in their prime for the next 100 years and we could win 100 straight division titles and maybe a couple more World Series.
By Robert
February 11, 2008 7:30 AM | Link to this
“He does the best he can with what he is given. Name me anyone in baseball (including you and Terence More) that can do what he did in his profession for 14 straight years with the payroll he had.”
I daresay almost any man could’ve done it. The best Bobby Cox can do is to jam one hoof up his left nostril and another hoof up his right nostril and make a huge donkey dung mess on the dugout floor
By mart
February 11, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
I agree, Mr. Moore. It’s a silly, stupid trend to have successors-in-waiting. The best available candidate should be hired when the time arises. Some of these teams are merely locking themselves into regret and mediocrity.
Go Braves.
By bdhypes
February 11, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
Good column,Mr Moore.I dread to think of the day Bobby retires,but I do not want to be reminded on a daily basis with his “sucessor-in-waiting”constantly being bantered about.Everyone mentioned would be strong canidates,although I am partial to Terry Pendleton.The haters ammuse me,do they not remember when The Braves were eliminated by tax return day?
By Mike
February 11, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this
Terrance, You’re an idiot. As always. Naming a successor is for college sports in order to stabilize recruiting. Florida State and Penn State are perfect examples. If I am a high school recruit, I know there is a good chance Bowden or Paterno wlll not be there my full four years. That means transition, instability, new assistants and a whole new ballgame. I may not like the successor who is yet unnamed. If I know who the successor is in advance, I can evaluate that, ask questions concerning assistant coaches and better evaluate the school.
This idea is new and unproven, but I applaud the innovation. Actually, older coaches like Bowden and Paterno are hurting their schools by lingering on - and I like Bowden and Paterno! This idea may not work, but one thing is for certain - it’s too early to be evaluated by an idiot like you.
By Mike de la Hoz
February 11, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this
First, Bobby Cox and Terrance Moore are both overrated, especially the latter.
Bobby’s good/above average but his post season record drags him down.
Baseball has no motivation like football and basketball (especially college) to line up a successor, at least not so consciously. MLB franchises are not as at risk for a huge financial shift should a big name coach leave. There are plenty of qualified people waiting in the wings.
By swhite
February 11, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
Wow….can the man win? Terrence writes an article about “Monopoly” and his detractors would have something negative to say about that! Damn people…give it a rest! I would love to read the blog and not see it get personal!
By Mike de la Hoz
February 11, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Bobby won only 1 of 5 World Series. If you are worth your salt you win at least 2 of 5.
He is the greatest regular season manager of all time in my mind.
By Mike de la Hoz
February 11, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Bobby won only 1 of 5 World Series. If you are worth your salt you win at least 2 of 5. (in Atlanta)
He is the greatest regular season manager of all time in my mind.
By Vincent Migliore
February 11, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this
Glavine has no interest in managing after he retires because he wants to spend time with his family. Maybe sometime in the future though.
By What!!!!!
February 11, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
Moore is the only person alive who still thinks Mike Tyson was framed and is still a boxing god. I have held my nose and read some of this crap over the years that Moore attempts to write. Moore is the Atlanta Constipation’s Jessie Jackson. He blames everything on racism. No black ever makes a mistake in Moore’s mind. It is always someone else’s fault. Blacks are never to blame, only victims. It is more’s kind of thinking that have kept blacks down, if you actually believe they are down. He sees everyone else as racists and blacks as victims. Most of the crap this fool writes would not even make a late night horror movie. The reason the Constipation keeps him around is only because he fits the liberal whining theme of racism blaming and liberal whining for yet another victim. Bonds, Tyson, NBA thugs, nope, Moore is fully behind them. Moore likes to whine about racism against blacks, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME not realizing he himself is being racist’s against white for HIS hate speech. (Now I will wait and see if the liberals will even post this rant against Moore and his racism.)
By Tom E. Hawk
February 11, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this
The successor-in-waiting for Cox is Glen Hubbard.
By TampaDawg
February 11, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
TM you are a joke for a sports writer. Why do you always have to take a shot at Georgia? What does CMR have anything to do with this? Also I don’t like the subject at all. I don’t think you should name the next coach expecially with Bobby Bowden its pretty much like giving him a shove out the door before he’s ready. And if I did have to choose my choice would be T.P great man and very smart with baseball.
By Southpaw
February 11, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Ya know- I’m no fan of Moore’s, but I fail to see what all the fuss is about. For once, he’s done a well written column that isn’t bashing the local team or playing the race card. Can’t we applaud him for that- or is it mandatory you bash the guy at every opportunity?
By David Duke
February 11, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this
Blobby Cox couldn’t manage a 7-11, much less a major league baseball team. He’s the biggest joke of a manager to ever hideously stretch a uniform. He has had some great talent and it has been squandered. He and the “homeboy upstairs” are quite a team. Winning regular season crowns is good enough for Atlanta. When cox retires he will be whisked into the Hall of Lame where he belongs!
By Barry Bonnell
February 11, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this
The next manager of the Atlanta Braves will be Bobby Petrino.
By Jay
February 11, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
It is mandatory to bash everything Terence writes.
The firejoemorgan guys should really start reading his junk.
By treboR
February 11, 2008 4:34 PM | Link to this
It’s gratifying to see Bobby Cox recognized as the great manager he is, and for Robert to be seen as the biggest jackass ever on an AJC blog.
By Matthew At The SLC
February 11, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this
Great article and point Mr. Moore. Amazing how these cross burners can steer any subject to race in order to spew their intollerance.
I can only imagine what Bobby Cox and the Braves could have done if Time Warner spent to money on a true closer durring the 90’s run. Anybody with a resembnlance of baseball knowledge knows that it was the lack of a closer is what cost the Braves more World Championships and not Bobby Cox.
Blaming Bobby Cox is just the popular “sound byte” amongst the unimformed who might be Braves fans but not baseball fans. They might like the Braves but they have no idea about the sport of baseball itself.
They are those football “fans” that teams have who blame the quarterback no matter what, even if it is the defense that messes up. Theyt love their team but have no clue when it comes to the sport of football.
If you blame Bobby Cox for the Braves not winning more than one world title then you are clueless regarding the sport of baseball.
By richbrave
February 11, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this
MATT SLC:
Go post dude. Rightous. Right on.
By Robert
February 11, 2008 7:08 PM | Link to this
” can only imagine what Bobby Cox and the Braves could have done if Time Warner spent to money on a true closer durring the 90’s run. Anybody with a resembnlance of baseball knowledge knows that it was the lack of a closer is what cost the Braves more World Championships and not Bobby Cox.”
In a word, NO.
You see, in 1996 and 97, Mark Wohlers was a true closer. A guy who was a little wild and who threw 100mph.
What did Cox do? Lost the WS in 1996 by using his true closer as a set-up man.
So, no.
You give Cox X, and turns X into manure. No matter what X is. The man is manure making machine.
By Robert
February 11, 2008 7:11 PM | Link to this
In 98 and 99, Cox’s primary closers had ERA’s under 2.50 and 30 or more saves. What more do you want to define a guy as a true closer?
The way I’m thinking, you’d define a true closer as a guy with whom Cox could’ve won that second WS ring.
That’s not a true closer. That’s a much rarer commodity - a true miracle worker
By Nelson
February 11, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this
I 100% agree with Tom Robinson. Cox is very good for assamble the team every year in spring training, but still I can’t forget he left Yunel out for that mediocre player ( Woodward) who didn’t solve any problen in the entire season! , good enough in the regular season ( dispite of his lack of authority or too much baby sitting with the players, like He did last year with Andrew, keeping him in the clean-up position with the worst slump of his carreer!), but is the worst manager ever in the play-off, where today’s game is more important than every thing else. When you are in the play-off you has to manage the game like this is the last one and you has to win or die, when he do that the Braves will win, meanwhile forget about a new WS title.
By Bravosimos
February 11, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this
**Name 3 managers in baseball right
now that have won more world series
than Bobby. TP or Yost when Bobby is
gone which hopefully won;t be soon.
Go Bravos**
By Nelson
February 11, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this
Hey T Moore, With what authority T Pendelton will manage if he was not able to make Andrew hit the opposite field or let say it correctly: any of the 3 fields!!!!!
By Bravosimos
February 11, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Nelson I hope your foreign and not as ignorant as you type; and learn baseball before you type again.
By Nelson
February 11, 2008 8:03 PM | Link to this
As far as I know Bobby won 1 with the Braves and another with Toronto Blue Jays, am I right or not?
By Nelson
February 11, 2008 8:21 PM | Link to this
Yes Bravosimos I’m a Cuban Rafter, I came in 1991 with all my family and I very proud of it, please forget any bad spelling or gramatical errors, but i think I have the right to give my opinion since I’m a Braves fan since that year and have to pay money to watch them on Direct TV mlb extra innings down here in Florida! Bring more Cubans to the team ( look how Yunel plays!) and you will see a huge improvement specially a new manager! Nelson.
By richbrave
February 11, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this
Senoir Nelson:
Your take on Brayan Pena, por favor.
By Nelson
February 11, 2008 8:53 PM | Link to this
Certainly he is not so good (Brayan Peña), but is far better than Corky Miller and many other Bobby gave the back-up catcher position just because the “experience” needed to help Mc Cann. I hope Javy can make the team and he is not afraid to block home like he was when he was the regular catcher!
By joebrave
February 12, 2008 12:14 AM | Link to this
Terrence SONOFAWHORE,And Robert,@SSHOLE OF A DONKEY,SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!