Changes In Atlanta? It Might Be Closer Than You Think

Before anyone reads this article and starts to think that I am rushing Bobby Cox out of his position as manager and out of a Braves uniform that is not the case.

To me, Bobby Cox is the best manager in the game and will always know how to run a ball club. Simply put, however, the Braves haven't made the playoffs in two seasons, and are slipping out of the race this year as well.

A friend and fellow Braves fan suggested to me that the change the Braves need is at manager. I was immediately disgusted because of the love I have for Bobby Cox and the Braves. However, the more I thought about it, I started to prepare myself for a new Braves regime to take over the one we are currently so close to that won 14 straight division titles.

In some ways the dismantling of the dynasty team has already begun. Greg Maddux has been gone for five years, and Tom Glavine made his departure as well, only to return. John Smoltz may have thrown his last pitch as a major leaguer, and with Chipper currently in a contract year, a new-look Braves team could grace Atlanta in the near future.

I'll start with Chipper.

A rarity in the new age of athletes demanding money and changing teams like their socks, Chipper Jones will more than likely spend his entire career in an Atlanta uniform.

An unofficial captain of the Braves, Chipper has been the glue of the Atlanta team throughout all of the division championships and National League domination. Aside from his off-field qualities, Chipper has always been a solid performer and from where I sit is a sure-fire hall of famer.

A .310 career hitter, with almost 900 more walks than strikeouts, 400 home runs (as a switch hitter), an MVP award, and a World Series ring, Chipper no doubt has a full resume. Like all athletes he is experiencing injuries later in his career, and after this years run at .400 it is not clear as to how long chipper will continue to play.

Next comes the big three.

The arms stockpile of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz have a combined 865 wins in their careers, with 648 of those wins, almost 75%, coming in Atlanta uniforms.

Now I know that Atlanta fans have already had their chance to get used to Greg Maddux in another uniform, Glavine coming and going, and Smoltz being pushed more towards retirement everyday. Nonetheless, with Glavine and Smoltz still in and around the Atlanta clubhouse its hard not to think about the glory days.

It will indeed be a sad day when both these Atlanta fixtures step away from the game, leaving us with great memories and heavy hearts. A pitching conglomerate with stats like these may never be seen again, combining for 7 Cy Young awards all with the same team.

Bobby Cox.

What else can be said about the fourth winningest manager of all-time?

He is one the best to ever run a ball-club. A great leader and even better manager of his personnel, Cox has been in an Atlanta uniform for over 20 years, and 18 years with straight with his current stint. 

A Manager of the Year four times, (3 Braves in the NL, and 1 with the Blue Jays in the AL), he is the only one of three managers to win the award in both leagues.

With a contract that is up at the end of next season it seems as though all signs point to Bobby Cox retiring at the end of next season. This would be the end of another unprecedented run as a manager staying with a team for the better part of 20 years.

With John Smoltz almost sure to never pitch again. Tom Glavine in a one year contract. Chipper Jones in a contract year, and with Bobby Cox signed only through one more season it is sure that the team will be missing four of its most significant parts sooner than later and it is time, as Braves fans, that we all get used to it.

A changing of the guard will soon be at hand.