Hats Off to Mr. Cox

Some of our faithful readers out there may have no recollection of the Braves finishing anywhere but first, as has now happened 14 times in a row. Let me tell you there were dark days -- Brave-O-Matic was there when you could yell at the best Brave on the field "Dion, you the man!" from the upper deck and have him hear you and acknowledge you. Dion James, that is. Brave-O-Matic was there when Oddibe McDowell was warming up in the bullpen, about to enter a 23-8 humiliation. And Brave-O-Matic was there for Omar Moreno, Jim Presley, Pepe Frias, Rowland Office, Marty Clary, German Jimenez and, worst of all, Andres Thomas.

So even as the elation of 1991 mellows into the quiet satisfaction of 2005, remembering those names (there are others -- I could go on) staves off any possibility of numbness to this team's many and varied accomplishments. Even so, this one stands out. Never before had we faced such depth in our division. Never before had we lost 60 percent of our rotation to injury. And never before has Bobby Cox had to cobble together a winning team from a roster including, at some time or another, 17 rookie players (and three rookie bloggers to boot). It says here that no other manager today -- not Torre, not LaRussa, none of them -- could have done it. Congratulations, Mr. Cox. As always, it's been a pleasure.