Could Cox go out in a blaze of glory?

For years one man has sat in the Atlanta dugout through all of the pennant chases and division races, even as the faces all around him have changed. Braves manager Bobby Cox was a stalwart in the Braves organization, serving two tours of duty as Atlanta’s manager (and one stint as its GM) and he oversaw the team’s only World Series title in the city of Atlanta. Cox is simply known as the Skipper to his players and nearly all of them would run through a brick wall to Cox if he asked them to do so.

It has been well documented the Cox was involved in the “recruitment” of closer Billy Wagner, and the longtime Braves legends such as Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones all have nothing but positive things to say about their manager. In some ways, Cox was the part of the reason that each of those players stayed with the Braves as long as they did/have or the reason he returned to the club.

The current batch of Braves, currently in playoffs after winning Cox’s first and only Wild Card title in his final year on the bench, recognizes the importance of this final playoff appearance for the Skipper. Starter Tommy Hanson says while it isn’t his only focus, he wants to give a good effort for the only manager he’s ever played for in his young major league career. “When you go out there you obviously want to win the game and go out there and do well, especially with it being Bobby’s last year.”

The Braves manager has had an impact on more than just Hanson, Glavine, Smoltz and Jones though over his career. Cox has transformed into an Atlanta icon in his time with the club as everyone can picture No.6 shouting encouragement from the dugout, donning a huge, puffy jacket or probably getting tossed out of a game. Cox has taken the Braves to the playoffs now 15 times since returning to Atlanta’s bench and the Braves have gone to the World Series five times under his hand. Perhaps the most impressive bullet point on Cox’s resume though has to be winning 14 straight division titles.

In 1991, just one season after finishing dead last in the National League, the Braves made the Worst-to-First run to reach Game Seven of the World Series before falling to the Minnesota Twins. At the tail-end of 1990, Cox moved down to the manager’s bench for the last 97 games, going 40-57 before righting the ship to go 94-68 in 1991. The next season the Braves represented the National League yet again in the World Series but again came up just short to the Blue Jays. After claiming a division title in 1993 and missing out on the World Series in 1994 due to the strike, the Braves were right back in the Series in 1995 though this time Cox and company won it all. The team sported a two games to none lead in 1996 but let that one slip away to the New York Yankees. The Braves would lose again to the Yankees in the 1999 World Series but still make the playoffs each year until 2006, when the playoffs were held sans Atlanta for the first time since George HW Bush was president in 1990. After winning 91 games this season, Cox won 90+ games 14 times with the Braves during his tenure and compiled a record of 2149-1709 with Atlanta, 2504-2001 overall. Three times (1991, 2004, 2005) he was crowned National League manager of the year and he skippered the National League All-Star team five times in his career.

But will just numbers define Bobby Cox’s impact? I don’t believe it will. Cox should be remembered, interestingly enough, for his ejection record. Cox was tossed 158 times as of the end of the regular season, but the particular number isn’t important; the reason he was ejected was he was always sticking up for his players. He respects his players and would rather sacrifice his presence in the game to keep his star pitcher or stud third baseman in the lineup. “I treat them like I’d want to be treated. I’d want my boss to stand up for me,” said Cox recently about why he takes the bullet so often for one of his charges. “We’re very fortunate to have found good players and to have good players,” Cox says, giving his players all of the credit after a win while he takes all of the blame after a loss.

With Cox retiring from his role as manager, he should have plenty of time over the next few years to visit Cooperstown, New York, for Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies. Three of his former pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz are locks for entry and Chipper Jones, once he retires, should be up for a bronze bust. “Hopefully I live long enough to see them in the Hall of Fame,” Cox blushed about his former charges before adding simply a “we’ll see,” in regards to his own bronze bust appearing in Cooperstown.

As much as his players love giving it their all for him, his coaches may respect him even more. Pitching coach Roger McDowell has been very glowing when discussing his boss with the Braves. “I’m very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to be on the staff with Bobby Cox as manager and everybody knows how great a manager Bobby Cox is but he’s an even better person,” says McDowell, who has served as Braves pitching coach for the last five seasons after Cox helped the team go after him hard to replace former pitching coach Leo Mazzone. “I’ve formed a tremendous relationship and good friendship (with Cox) and hopefully we’ll continue that as the years go on.”

Cox’s coaching tree has yielding several offshoots, as his influence has spread all over Major League Baseball. Jimy Williams left Atlanta after a successful run for a turn as Boston’s manager in the mid-90s then a stint as manager of the Houston Astros. Fredi Gonzalez was a former third base coach for Cox before becoming the Marlins bench boss a few seasons ago. Ned Yost was also a loyal Bobby Cox lieutenant for years before going on to win over 450 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. Yost returned to Turner Field this past season as manager of the Kansas City Royals, and the student and teacher embraced in the Braves clubhouse tunnel before game one of the series. A few of Cox’s former players have also used some of the knowledge gained from playing for the Braves skipper in coaching/managing careers. Ozzie Guillen won a World Series title with the Chicago White Sox in 2005 after spending a few season starring at shortstop in Atlanta under Cox. Terry Pendleton is currently the Braves hitting coach after serving two tours of duty under Cox in Atlanta as a player. Randy St. Claire has also been a pitching coach for both Washington and Florida after pitching for the Braves during his career.

Cox is a lock to get in to the Hall of Fame once he is eligible and Atlanta fans should puff out their chest when he does get inducted. He has earned his spot by putting Atlanta on the map in the 1990s and the 2000s and Braves fans should be thankful for his time here. Now he will try and make one last run to the World Series to boost his resume and ride out with a blaze of glory.

Valdosta could be No.1 by Saturday morning

The Valdosta Wildcats program is in its first year under the direction of Coach Rance Gillespie and to date the Wildcats are perfect. The future of the Wildcats may end up being perfect too. The Wildcats boarded the buses and traveled four hours to face ML King in Hallford Stadium and won a back-and-forth score-fest before the defense stepped up in the fourth quarter to shut the Lions down in a 43-28 victory. Tight End Jay Rome proved why every major SEC and ACC program wants him on their squad next season with two huge TD catches and the recognition of a breakdown in the defensive coverage to score the backbreaker against ML King. Throw in Malcolm Mitchell’s shiftiness at wideout (though he’ll likely play corner at the next level), and this offense really clicks with Ryan Whilden at QB. Whilden is an interesting story in that he was fourth-string two seasons ago and didn’t play football last season to concentrate on his baseball career. He is back this season and leading the potent offense that tossed up 64 points a few weeks back.

With the win over ML King now the stage is set for the Winnersville Classic and the Wildcats get Lowndes at home. If the No.8 Wildcats can best the No.5 Vikings the same night that No.7 Norcross faces No.2 North Gwinnett, the door should be open for Valdosta to leap into the top four if not the top three.

Consider this: with No.1 Camden losing to St. Thomas Aquinas to go 1-1 against out-of-state opponents, wouldn’t an undefeated Valdosta squad, who boasts a 2-0 out-of-state record after beating Lee of Alabama and Lincoln of Florida be moved ahead of Camden, perhaps still living off of the last two years’ state titles? No. 7 Norcross plays No.2 North Gwinnett this week before hosting No.3 Peachtree Ridge next week, at least one team ahead of Valdosta will lose, possibly two teams, thus the Wildcats move up at least one more spot after a win over Lowndes. At this point Valdosta would be No.6 but I’d have a hard time keeping the Wildcats before McEachern, who could also claim a win over Lowndes but the Vikings traveled nearly five hours for that game opposed to across town for the Winnersville Classic, advantage: Valdosta. Also, the Wildcats would be undefeated with a harder schedule than the Indians. If you wanted to keep Stephenson ahead of Valdosta, that is your choice but I would think that the Wildcats, based on strength of schedule would be placed ahead of the Jaguars as well as perhaps Peachtree Ridge, whose big win over Newnan doesn’t look as impressive now that Newnan has fallen to 2-3.

The road to the top three is certainly there for the taking if Valdosta keeps winning and a win this weekend could very well shuffle the top ten up in a hurry. But that’s the great thing about Georgia high school football: the rankings don’t matter, just making the playoffs is all you need to do. A win this Friday would be nice but Valdosta needs to just win enough to make the playoffs because No.1 in December means a lot more than No.1 in October.

BRAVES WIN THE WILDCARD!

After blowing a huge NL East division lead and watching a wild card lead slip away to no existent, the Atlanta Braves officially made the playoffs Sunday after holding on against the Phillies and then watching as the Giants finally squashed the San Diego Padres.

Sunday the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 2-0 hole as starter Tim Hudson plated the go-ahead run as the Braves scored eight straight runs before the bullpen gave nearly all of an 8-2 lead back. Billy Wagner surrendered a two-run double in the eighth before striking out four straight to end the game and putting the Braves up one-half game in the Wild card standings. The Giants then helped out the Braves but shutting out the Padres 3-0 to put the Braves back into the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

Brooks Conrad and Omar Infante, who Braves manager Bobby Cox switched in the infield to second and third, respectively, both knocked in a pair of runs, helping Tim Hudson improve to 17-9 on the season. Hudson was pitching on short rest for the second straight start but was still able to deliver seven innings, allowing just four runs, on two hits, both homers.

Now the Braves will travel to San Francisco to play the Giants on Thursday with game two of the best-of-five on Friday. Game three will be in Atlanta on Sunday with a game four Monday, if necessary. Derek Lowe will likely pitch game one Thursday and Hudson could be available to go Friday on four days of rest from his start today.

The stars came to PLAY last night at Hallford Stadium

Last night on an evening where college players were dominating on the gridiron, several future college players were excelling on the high school field. Three members of the Score 44 were in action at Hallford Stadium Saturday night as Valdosta traveled up to DeKalb County to square off against ML King. Demarco Robinson of ML King returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to get the action going early. After Valdosta was held to a three-and-out Robinson was at it again, hauling in an 18-yard diving catch in the endzone for a 14-0 Lions lead.
After a punt pinned King on the three-yard line, two tackles for a loss, including one in the endzone gave Valdosta its first points of the game. Following the free kick, the Wildcats drove down the field thanks to a long pass to Wesley Bee to set up a six-yard one-handed touchdown catch by Jay Rome. The tight end is wanted by every school in the country with Alabama and Georgia leading with Clemson hot on his trail.
One interesting note about Rome, unlike many tight end prospects that stand 6’5 with a great build and tremendous speed, Valdosta uses Rome as a true tight end. Rome blocks with regularity and can often be seen dropping back into the backfield to serve as an extra fullback. So many times physical athletes like Rome are used simply as a huge wide receiver target and they must learn the TE position in college.
After Valdosta intercepted a Jonquel Dawson pass around midfield the Wildcats threw a simple screen pass to Malcolm Mitchell that the future college defensive back juked- jived and spun into a 54-yard touchdown. Mitchell played mostly wide receiver in the game and his great hands and size played well on offense. He showed moves that should benefit him as a cornerback at the next level where his 6’1, 190 frame will be the new prototype for cornerback.
The Wildcats took the 15-14 lead but managed to post one more score before halftime on a fourth down, play-action pass to the tailback.
In the second half, Valdosta took the opening kickoff and drove down before Mitchell once again found the endzone, this time on a 28-yard post pattern where Mitchell cut once and simply outran several potential tacklers, displaying the speed that has most college scouts drooling.
With MLK trailing 29-14, the Lions went to the air on a 68-yard pass and run to one of Dawson’s secondary targets. Robinson was bottled up by the Wildcats defense, leaving Blake Tibbs wide open to split two defenders.
With ML King down by just nine, Jay Rome was at it again, this time splitting the defense on third-and-goal from the 15, hauling in a pass and galloping to the endzone. Rome had been bracketed by the defense with one in front and one behind since his first score, but on third-and-goal, the Lions went with the two on either side of Rome, which he simply just outran for the score.
ML King scored quickly again to make it 36-28 as they went to the air again. This time Kevin Byard hauled in a 75-yard scoring toss just beyond two defenders. Valdosta would tack on a four-yard TD run from Dashay March to up the score to 43-28 before the Lions let two opportunities slip through their fingers.
First Robinson seemingly had a 65-yard catch and score but it was ruled that the quarterback crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball. Then the QB fumbled into the endzone, giving Valdosta the ball back at the twenty. Valdosta nearly ran the clock out before giving the ball back with under one minute to play.
For the Wildcats, it was an impressive victory as the team traveled four hours to play in a hostile environment. Valdosta now must turn its attention to Troy Braswell and the Lowndes Vikings, ranked No. 5 in the state in the Winnersville Classic. Should Valdosta claim that game, coupled with Norcross set to play Peachtree Ridge and North Gwinnett in the next two weeks and Camden losing over the weekend, Valdosta could be looking at a spot in the top three next Monday.

Kell proves it is the real deal in 2010

The Kell Longhorns were reclassified down to the Class-AAAA-level before the start of this season and that could be just the edge the Longhorns need to go the farthest the team has ever reached come November and playoff time. The Longhorns, after starting the season 5-0 with four wins over Class-AAAAA competition, faced an unbeaten Pope team Friday night at Kell Stadium and the home team would not disappoint the Homecoming crowd. Brian Randolph capped off two 91-yard drives in the first half and had three total scores in the first 24 minutes of play to help Kell jump out to a 21-0 lead on Pope High School. Junior tailback Chris Gaines was also churning up yardage left and right while quarterback Austin Petrik was able to find receiver Hunter Marshall whenever the situation called for a pass.

Right before halftime Pope notched a 33-yard field goal, its longest of the season to pull to within 18 points at intermission. Pope would take the second-half kickoff and drive for a score after a lengthy halftime while perhaps Kell was still thinking of its Homecoming queen. Pope QB Holland Frost would find his favorite target Garrett Brown on an 18-yard TD toss and then Kyle Falvey snatched a Frost bullet for the two-point conversion to pull to 21-11.

Then Pope forced a three and out to get the ball back and once again drive the field for a score. This time Frost himself kept and carried it in from 10 out on third and two. The extra point made it 18 straight points and trimmed Kell’s lead to just three.

This is where Kell said, “ENOUGH!” The Longhorns drove eighty yards and picked up several third down conversions before Petrik found Hunter Marshall on a four-yard fade route to move ahead 28-18 as the Longhorns finally answered the Pope momentum. A Pope field goal in the fourth quarter pulled the visitors to within seven but once again, like the No.4 heavyweights they are, Kell marched down the field before a four-yard Petrik to Brent Boxberger TD connection ended any threat of a Pope spoiling of Homecoming.

The final score was 35-21 and Kell proved just how good the Longhorns are, to jump out early, take Pope’s best shot and then answer with an authoritative smack of two touchdowns. Brian Randolph was the story early but the hard-running of Chris Gaines late combined with Petrik’s two TD passes and Kell might be an outside shot to end Cobb County’s state title drought.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel resigned

in case you didn't know, Aaron Sorkin is rumored to have based the West Wing character Josh Lyman on Rahm Emanuel. Let me say ONE thing Mr. Emanuel, JOSHUA LYMAN WOULD NEVER HAVE RESIGNED TO GO RUN FOR MAYOR OF CHICAGO!

You, Sir, have failed. Lyman resigned from Deputy Chief of Staff to go find Santos, but he was staying in the game for some one ELSE's benefit, not for his own.

Shame on you Emanuel. You, Sir, are NO Josh Lyman!

The Picks will return....

when Georgia actually wins a game. This isn't fun right now. Sorry.

You'll get no witty remarks from me until CMR can get his squad together!