I'll never forget that game in Pittsburg. That was the high tide of baseball for me. Going to the World Series was great, of course, but making it. that was just awesome.
Now, I hate baseball. They need to get a little further away from steroids and strikes for me to go back. Of course, it would help if they were on television again. It sure used to help get through the summers. That and Darl's countdown. Isn't it almost time for that? :-) Oliver Barry CRS,GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks Realty 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 Phone: 615-826-4040 Fax: 615-822-2027 Mobile: 615-972-4239 Appreciating Bobby Cox requires perspective By Pat Dooley <mailto:[email protected]> Gainesville SUN Columnist I don't know if he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of baseball managers. One World Series ring probably isn't enough. I don't know who the next Atlanta Braves manager will be. There has been little speculation and there shouldn't be any until he has managed his last game. I don't know how many titles he would have won if Mark Wohlers didn't hang that slider to Jim Leyritz. Or if Mark Lemke's line drive had been fair instead of foul or if the Braves front office had given him a closer like Mariano Rivera. What I do know is this - you can't really appreciate Bobby Cox if you started following the Braves when they started winning. To truly appreciate what Cox accomplished in Atlanta, you have to have lived through Luman Harris. Or at least Chuck Tanner. You have to be able to remember when Dave Bristol took the manager's job twice in the same year and managed to finish a mere 37 games out of first place. You have to remember when Ted Turner was the manager for all of one game (a loss, surprisingly). You have to remember Cox's first stint as Atlanta's manager when he lost 93 games one year and 94 the next. In other words, to really appreciate the work Cox did in Atlanta, you have to understand how awful the franchise was in its first three decades after moving south from Milwaukee. I know. I remember. Not only does that make me old, it makes me long for the old days, and by old days I mean, oh, six or seven years ago when the Braves won the division every year and, get this, were actually on television! But that was then and this is ouch. The division belongs to the Phillies and the Braves are probably going to finish a couple of games over .500 in Cox's final season as manager. They'd like to do better for the 68-year old Cox, but baseball is not a game of emotion. That's one reason Cox was so great for so long. While Cox certainly wasn't afraid to show his anger (first all-time in getting thrown out of games) he always has been able to make his players understand that a baseball season is like a flight to Australia. It feels like it takes forever and you have to be patient. Don't get too down when you lose. Don't get too excited when you win. There's another game in a few hours. I've always said that Cox would have won a bunch of World Series if they were best-of-31. He was wired for the long haul and so were his teams. As a result, the Braves won 14 straight divisional titles and one championship. And somehow, that became a bad thing. Me, I loved it. I loved knowing that every season I was going to follow a team that was going to win more nights than it lost, that there would be a postseason filled with bitten nails and butterflies hatching. Atlanta was the model franchise for that run, built on pitching and more pitching but only once enough pitching to win the whole thing. He gave me what is still my favorite sports moment. Cue Sean McDonough. "He hacked at the 2-0 now the 2-1. Line drive and a base hit! Justice will score the tying run! Bream to the plate. And he is safe! Safe at the plate! (voice cracks). The Braves go to the World Series! (I get goosebumps). For that and everything else, I thank Bobby Cox. The Brave Nation owes him a debt of gratitude for taking us on a great ride. We wish him nothing the best in retirement. But, man, I wouldn't want to be his gardener. He's gotta yell at someone. Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at [email protected]. You can listen to The Pat Dooley Show weekdays from 4-6 p.m. on 104.9 FM. And follow at http://Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley. -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
