A ‘great ride’ ends for Bobby and his Braves, and we applaud
We'll never see his likes again. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
The great manager said it after Game 3: “We’re not the best team in baseball, OK?” But you know what these Braves were?
Pound for pound, they were the most entertaining aggregation we’ve seen around here. And you know what the great manager also called this band of Braves? “The hardest-working team I’ve ever had.”
It ended for both parties Monday, for Bobby Cox and his final ballclub. It ended because these diminished Braves weren’t good enough to deliver big hits or field their positions in the crucible of October. It ended not because they didn’t give it the ol’ professional try after the abject disappointment of Sunday’s Game 3. On the contrary, it ended because a true professional pitcher talked the departing manager into letting him go a batter too far.
Seventh inning, one out. Working with a one-run lead, Derek Lowe walked Aubrey Huff, then yielded a swinging-bunt single to Buster Posey. It was just the second hit the Giants had mustered, a point Lowe surely made to Cox when the manager paid a visit. Indeed, Lowe had begun lobbying when Cox was still on the infield grass. After a short dialogue, the manager patted his pitcher on the flank and let him stay.
And Lowe walked Pat Burrell on five pitches to load the bases.
That was it for Lowe, and that one final walk was enough to lose the game. Such was this team’s margin for error. Speaking of which …
Alex Gonzalez threw high to second on Juan Uribe’s RBI grounder, enabling the bases to stay loaded with the game tied. And then, after Jonny Venters struck out Aaron Rowand, the No. 8 hitter Cody Ross — considered a target of interest for the Braves back in July — drove the go-ahead single into left field.
Being the Braves, they tried to give us a finish, as Ernie Johnson Sr. would say. Rick Ankiel walked with one out in the ninth. Then Eric Hinske, who was very nearly the hero of Game 3, walked. The winning run was aboard. But Omar Infante struck out, and it was down to Melky Cabrera, which tells us something about this season and this roster. Cabrera grounded to Juan Uribe at third, and this fighting club was finally finished.
And then something wonderful happened. Even as the Giants were celebrating at the center of Turner Field, the crowd started chanting, “Bobby! Bobby!” And the great manager, his heart surely breaking, emerged from the dugout to tip his cap and acknowledge the cheers, and then you looked back at the happy Giants and you saw them …
Standing and applauding Bobby Cox.
Said Chipper Jones, who has seen many things: “That was classy.”
People on the outside don’t understand the reverence in which this manager was held in this game. His critics see him as the guy who only won one World Series, but there can be different levels of success — yes, even in professional sports. And Bobby Cox’s last act was his greatest.
He took a team that lost Chipper Jones, Martin Prado, Kris Medlen and Jair Jurrjens along the way and led the National League East for 99 improbable days. He squeezed 91 victories and a wild card out of one of the weakest rosters ever to grace a postseason diamond. And he made the Giants work like crazy to win three games by one skinny run apiece. If you don’t think that’s managing … well, I don’t know what to tell you.
But his team knew, and the winning team in this Division Series knew, too. These Braves weren’t the best team in baseball or even, in terms of aggregate talent, the 12th-best, but they got to October and they gave it a go, and they gave us 26 wins in the final at-bat along the way.
Afterward Cox addressed his final team, or he tried. Said Chipper: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Out of all the teams he’s had, he’s got a soft spot for this club.”
And what did Cox actually say? “Maybe 10 words. He couldn’t get it out. He started to break down.”
Before the game, I was talking with Reid Johnson, a fan from Smyrna, and he called this whole season “a great ride.” And that’s what it was, from Jason Heyward’s Opening Day home run to the final out of Game 4. It was a great ride, a wild ride, a sentimental journey with the best manager we’ll ever see. That it ended Monday night changes nothing. It was, and will forever be, a season to remember and cherish.
Thanks, guys. Thanks, Bobby. Go in peace.
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785 comments Add your comment
BOBBY COX WAS FANTASTIC!!!
October 12th, 2010
7:43 am
MARK BRADLEY. THANK YOU FOR STANDING UP FOR OUR MANAGER!! AND THANK YOU FOR SUCH A POSITIVE FINAL ARTICLE ABOUT HIM. HE WAS SURELY THE BEST……
Gen Neyland
October 12th, 2010
7:44 am
Bobby Cox will not just fade away. He has too much baseball in his blood to do that. The Braves are gonna pick his brain for a few more years and allow him the opportunity to continue to build it’s system. And Cox will be all over it…
That aside, I expected no less than the ‘ Bobby ‘ chant at games end. If the Braves were to fall in a playoff series of this, his final season, I’m glad it happened at home so the fans could acknowledge him…Kudos to the San Fransisco Giants for following suit.
Thanks Bobby
October 12th, 2010
7:44 am
We will miss you. Bobby. GREATEST manager,EVER. GOD BLESS YOU.
KrisB
October 12th, 2010
7:45 am
Bobby Cox has shown loyalty and dedication to all his players and the city of Atlanta for over 20 yrs. In 1991 I was at the ball park for the first home playoff game and the end of this season had the same electrifying energy. The ups and downs have been such a wild ride.
Thanks Bobby! You will be missed!
BOBBY COX WAS FANTASTIC!!!
October 12th, 2010
7:45 am
BOBBY TOOK A MINOR LEAGUE TEAM TO THE PLAYOFFS. THAT IS WHAT MANAGING IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!! ASK WASHINGTON NATIONALS IF THEY WOULD RATHER TRADE PLACES.. OR PITTSBURGH.. OR MANY MANY OTHERS OUT THERE.. BOBBY COX WAS THE BEST.
YOU WILL WISH WE HAD HIM BACK OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS WHEN WE DONT GO TO THE PLAYOFFS AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOBBY COX WAS FANTASTIC!!!
October 12th, 2010
7:49 am
MARK BRADLEY IS THE BEST WRITER AJC HAS.. FANTASTIC ARTICLE!!!! THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MANAGER LIKE BOBBY COX.. HE WAS JUST GREAT. HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE SAY THESE NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT THIS MAN.. IT IS JUST REDICULOUS. HE TOOK MUCH LESS PAY THAN OTHERS TO STAY HERE.. HE TOOK MUCH LESS PAY TO HELP OUT WITH THE PAYROLL. IT WAS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY TO HIM.. HE LOVED THE GAME..
YES HE HAD GREAT TEAMS IN THE 90S AND ONLY WON ONE SERIES, HOWEVER, YEAR AFTER YEAR, WE WERE THERE.. WE HAD A CHANCE.. HOW MANY TEAMS HAVE HAD BETTER ROSTERS AND NOT MADE IT???? WE WILL MISS YOU BOBBY.
10-1 lead after 3
October 12th, 2010
7:52 am
Good gosh dang riddance! The city’s nightmare has come to an end. Twenty years of mismanagement is now over. (And the dingbats at the stadium applaud this perpetual underachieving albatross?) Yikes.
Miss Ya Bobby
October 12th, 2010
7:53 am
Good story mark well done ..Thanks Bobby for lots of memories and being one of the greatest coaches in Braves and MLB we as the true fans will miss you I have been a fan since they couldnt give away tickets to fill Fulton County Stadium Till now where everyone wants that tickets thanks BOBBY WE LOVE YOU COACH
10-1 lead after 3
October 12th, 2010
7:54 am
Has it occurred to anyone (especially those who were giving a standing ovation at the end of last night’s fiasco) that the Braves should have won this series? Another farce of a post season.
Thomas
October 12th, 2010
7:56 am
It’s all about respect!
Atlanta news | Minute by minute (Oct. 12) | Atlanta News | Minute by minute
October 12th, 2010
8:00 am
[...] Cox addresses players after the game. >> Mark Bradley: A great ride ends for Bobby and his fans. Column. >> Game story | [...]
BBrown
October 12th, 2010
8:01 am
Mark, this was perhaps your best column ever! The following paragraph of yours says it all –
“He took a team that lost Chipper Jones, Martin Prado, Kris Medlen and Jair Jurrjens along the way and led the National League East for 99 improbable days. He squeezed 91 victories and a wild card out of one of the weakest rosters ever to grace a postseason diamond. And he made the Giants work like crazy to win three games by one skinny run apiece. If you don’t think that’s managing … well, I don’t know what to tell you.”
al
October 12th, 2010
8:01 am
We love you Bobby!!!!
bob
October 12th, 2010
8:06 am
The Prado injury sealed the Braves fate for 2010.
Thanks Bobby for 28 years. The 3 years as GM were probably the most important, and always overlooked.
ncdawg
October 12th, 2010
8:08 am
just ain’t gonna be right without him in the dugout
Larry
October 12th, 2010
8:08 am
A retraction…
I have hammered Cox over the years about his game management and I was doing the same during and after last night’s game. However, I would like to retract my earlier comments on page one about his now “1-15″ record and apologize for being rude, arrogant and immature during such an emotional time for him and his family. He may not, in my opinion, have made good managerial decisions in the past but he certainly seems to be a god man and a good role model.
I was wrong to do this!
Larry
Tom
October 12th, 2010
8:13 am
WHen the phillies win, they should give brain mccann a big check for giving them home field advantage.
Baker G
October 12th, 2010
8:14 am
Good Riddance!
Todd
October 12th, 2010
8:17 am
I’ve been a fan of the Braves since I first saw a game at Fulton County Stadium and saw Hank Aaron blast one out back in ‘67. There have been good years and bad, but my late father and I always supported the Braves. I’ve been a fan through good and bad and in time even got to cover some of the games for the media. I respect Bobby Cox and wish him a long and well deserved retirement. Thanks for so many great memories! GO BRAVES!
steve whitmire
October 12th, 2010
8:18 am
GOOD WORK ALL SEASON MR. BRADLEY, very entertaining team these 2010 Braves, a team with heart and true grit if not overwhelming talent, if we had caught a few breaks, who knows, with Chipper down, Prado and Jurgens and Wagner and Medlin hurt, our best wasn’t quite good enough, we’ll miss you Bobby and it’ll be a long winter but for now, this chapter is closed
Larry
October 12th, 2010
8:19 am
Can you image a braves team with the the payroll of the the yankees. .. and coached by the greatest manager of all time Bobby Cox… You think the Phils or the Yankees are unbeatable… We will miss you Bobby… You got the most out of the hand you were dealt
nb
October 12th, 2010
8:21 am
No mention that he beat his wife.
jfreak13713
October 12th, 2010
8:24 am
GREAT SEASON BRAVES! GREAT!
juice sourcer
October 12th, 2010
8:25 am
Amen Mark…nothing else to say.
DawginLex
October 12th, 2010
8:27 am
From waking up my 3 month old and my wife in 1991 to last night.
THANK YOU BOBBY COX
YOU DID IT THE RIGHT WAY
DawginLex
October 12th, 2010
8:29 am
From 1991 to 2010
THANK YOU BOBBY COX
YOU DID IT THE RIGHT WAY
RM
October 12th, 2010
8:30 am
I think most of all I will miss hearing Bobby yelling from the dugout, encouraging his players when they are at bat. Come on kid! No matter what the score or situation was. Classic! You will be missed Bobby! Thanks for the memories!
Na Na Na-Na
October 12th, 2010
8:35 am
See you later Booby! Finally, now can we get a manager in here who can teach guys how to hit, and to actually win. That’d be great, thanks.
curtis jones
October 12th, 2010
8:38 am
Yes, Mark, the game, and the season ended with Melky at the plate. Because the HOF manager had inexplicably pulled Matt Diaz earlier in the game….after Diaz had gotten a hit and threw a runner out at the plate. Now that’s HOF managing, right there.
TampaGator
October 12th, 2010
8:39 am
As a man…Cox is more than decent and to be admired for his player management skills. But…as a tactical manager (especially in the playoffs over the years)…with the talent this man had to manage over his career…he was far less than great. Sorry, just the truth. He was just a horrible playoff manager….but an excellent regular season manager. He obviously did his best job of managing during his final regular season….but once again got outmanaged and made poor decisions that cost the Braves in the playoffs. Sorry again, but just the truth. Enjoy your retirement, Bobby. I am happy for you. Now, Braves management, go get an tactical manager that can take the young talent on the Braves a really do somehting with it….and let him tell Chipper Jones to get in shape and stay in shape….or retire with Bobby.
SadDawg
October 12th, 2010
8:42 am
Dang, Mark. Excellent stuff. Now my eyes aren’t dry.
Ekim
October 12th, 2010
8:45 am
To all of those who say “we would have won this series if not for the losses of Chipper, Medlen, Wagner,” etc…
I say bunk.
We would have won this series with one simple thing: a competent umpiring crew.
10-1 lead after 3
October 12th, 2010
8:47 am
As anyone noticed that, with a better manager, the Braves could have won this series. Bobby “one championship in 30 years of managing” Cox should have been run out of town a decade and half ago. Instead, the wingnuts at the stadium stand an applaud. Braves underachieve again.
(By the way, is the city planning on hosting a parade for this spunky, overachieving, never-say-die, group of great athletes? Seriously.)
GoBraves!
October 12th, 2010
8:48 am
Bobby should come back for one more year. Wagner too. This is too tough to take. 2011 could be better. Chipper will make a comeback. Heyward will improve. Jurrjens will be back. Freeman could be ready to take 1st. Just get a power hitting outfielder somehow.
Glad he is gone
October 12th, 2010
8:49 am
Mark,
Based on the amount of negative responses here, I take it that readers aren’t buying into your fairwell tribute, if that is what your article is about as I did not read it.
Another example of you trying to sell newspapers and the ads that go in them vs accurately reflecting the mood of the journal’s audience, An audience that does not appear to endearing to Cox.
JeanE
October 12th, 2010
8:49 am
Thanks, Bobby, for everything. The Braves won’t be the same without you. I am so proud of this team, I have loved every second of this wonderful season! Hold your heads high, and that includes you, Brooksie. You all played hard and gave it everything you’ve got and almost pulled it off. I love your heart, character and sportsmanship. Go Braves!
oldfart
October 12th, 2010
8:49 am
“There’s no crying in baseball.” Well, maybe a little, also on this end. Anyone who knows the game and followed the Atlanta Braves all the way from their inception has to have a tear in their eye over Bobby’s departure. Many of the posters here are only showing their ignorance of the game for the best ambassador of the game Atlanta has ever seen. No, he isn’t perfect and hasn’t been perfect, who is? A good hitter gets a hit less than a third of the time, a good pitcher averages giving up 2 or 3 runs a game. There may be no crying in baseball but there is almost no perfection either, except in a few precious moments and we seldom had those before him in this town. He has been the best manager this town has ever seen and over the long haul one of the best baseball has ever seen. The haters here simply show their ignorance in bemoaning an end to a season that didn’t start with enough arrows in the quiver and got worse from there. Sure I would have loved some more series wins but you had to have gone to some of those AFC games when you could buy a general admission seat, move down to field level with your cooler after the 2nd inning and watch Aaron and Neikro play amongst mostly journeymen with 2,000 others. Remember it wasn’t just Turner’s money that changed things. It only changed after he let baseball people like Bobby take over and run the team. Godspeed Bobby and I hope you have a long and fruitful retirement having given 51 years to this game that some of us still love. I hope the Braves have the wisdom to continue to use Bobby as an ambassador in some capacity as trite as this sounds, “for the love of the game”.
Shug
October 12th, 2010
8:50 am
Well said, 10-1. What are the odds of winning only one time in fifteen trips to the playoffs? It still galls me that the Marlins have won more championships that the Braves since Cox became manager. Any yet there’s not a dry eye in the house.
Give Me A Break
October 12th, 2010
8:53 am
Hey, oldf#rt, try that line in any other city in the country. Only in Atlanta do we glorify losers.
ijudgenot
October 12th, 2010
8:54 am
This team was one of the least talented team Cox managed. The fact that they played above their individul heads the majority of the season is a testament to their feelings for Cox. They had workable parts but it would take a manager who could arrange and rearrange the lineup to win it all.
The new manager hopefully will demand a conditioning regimen for all the players. The Braves seem to be the most out of shape club in baseball, therefore all the injuries. Brian McCann has to be the most out of shape player in baseball. He is like a throw back to Babe Ruth. A talented fat guy who can really hit the ball. he is already a 4 time ALL STAR just based on his hitting ability. Think what he could bew if he was made to get in shape. heyward can be a superstar but it will take getting in better shape also, and working on his outfield techniques. The kid missed a lot of balls that were catchable. Like the effort to get to ball but you have to catch it to make it a great play. The Braves are stuck with Gonzalez for next year because the Cuban kid does not seem to be ready for AA less the major leagues.Hopefully next batting coach will demand that Gonzalez learn to hit the ball to right field. I hope they give Diory a chance to show if he can hit .270 and play great defense. If he can then let Gonzo go by way of trade for spare out fielder..The bench of Ross, Diaz, Hinski, Infante, and Conrad is solid as backups. The big challenge for the new nanager will be how he handles Chipper. Chipper will want the same treatment that Bobby afforded him, if the new manager does that then morale will decline on the team. He is to be given respect as a future HOF’mr but not cuddled like Bobby would do. Not let him dictate where in lineup he should hit regardless of his ability to hit with power, and when he should be off because of a hangnail.
GOP Cannon
October 12th, 2010
8:54 am
Thank you Bobby for an awesome season!
Michael C
October 12th, 2010
8:55 am
“See you later Booby! Finally, now can we get a manager in here who can teach guys how to hit, and to actually win. That’d be great, thanks.”
Or we could go back to what it was like in the early 70s, with Ostrich races to get people into the park.
Some people think that this winning the regular seasion championship is just a given. It is anything but. Ask the Pittsburgh Pirates, who in 1992 really came close to beating the Braves in the NCLS. Now hardly anyone knows they exist; they haven’t had a winning season since. 2010 – 1992 = 18 years of sub-.500 baseball. Think it couldn’t happen? Think again. We already have an ownership group that is in it for tax purposes. A free agent miss here, a young player going down there, and pretty soon you’ve got a slippery slope that takes a generation to recover from.
Be careful what you’re so happy about.
Phil
October 12th, 2010
8:56 am
Thank you Bobby…. For leaving!!!
Dr. R
October 12th, 2010
8:57 am
There are many fans who won’t truly appreciate him until he’s been gone awhile and we see how special he is. Thanks, Bobby, for 20 great years.
Give Me A Break
October 12th, 2010
8:59 am
For what it’s worth, since Bobby Cox became manager, the Braves have only won one more championship than the lowly Pirates (or Royals).
Chris
October 12th, 2010
9:01 am
Thank you Giants for being every bit of a class act! It took a lot of heart and dignity to stop in the middle of your celebration to honor Bobby Cox. Now do us all a favor and go beat those Phillies!
Peter
October 12th, 2010
9:01 am
Well he has taken a decent team and got them places we never thought we would see….I hop[e he really enjoys his retirement.
Next agenda……FIRE WREN…….. with the slow, fat under achieving group we have, get rid of the guy who built this team, he is horrible.
Let’s count the ways of the blundering Braves……MORE errors then any team should commit, least stolen bases of any contending team, worst outfield of any contending team, least power of any contending team.
Yes pitching got us here, and 2 errors a game in the playoffs knocked us out.
You trade away Escobar for Gonzales ? REALLY ? Blanco for Ankiel ? Really ?
Please Wren brought us Lee……why do we want guys that all know are already hurt during a season……..will they Magically get better when they join the Braves ?
HURT OLD Guys……..that is what Wren brought to the team to finish up the year……Look at the Braves Record, and errors since the team make over…..that is improving ?
meh
October 12th, 2010
9:01 am
thanks Bobby!
meh
October 12th, 2010
9:03 am
and props to the Giants. You’re running a classy team Mr. Bochy. Now, go beat them dag gum Phillies.
John OTC
October 12th, 2010
9:05 am
I heard that since Bobby started managing the Braves, the other NL teams have burned through 106 managers. This is one of those times when you know you are watching history as it happens. Thank you Bobby Cox!!