NEW YORK -- Bobby Cox is retiring?
Yes, but not yet.
Good, that makes sense, because after spending time with Cox on Tuesday, I found it very hard to believe he was going to walk away now.
Good, because after a managing career that will land him in the Hall of Fame, Cox deserves one last chance to win again.
• Cox says he'll retire after 2010
Good, because he just didn't seem ready to retire now.
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| Bobby Cox doesn't seem ready to give up his lineup card. (US Presswire) |
Like so many other players who have played for Cox, Lowe has nothing but praise for the Braves manager. Like so many other players playing for Cox now, he wants a chance to put Cox in the playoffs one more time, to give him a chance to add a second World Series title to a résumé that is plenty full as it is.
"It's something we want to do for him," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "We want to win another championship for him."
They just might do that. The Braves won't win this year -- their fourth straight miss after 14 straight division titles -- but they have a team that should go to spring training with a real chance to win next year.
The current rotation could return unchanged, with Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson. It would rank, quite possibly, as the best five-man group in the game.
The lineup, with Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche added at midseason, is much better than the one the Braves had at the beginning of 2009. And if the Braves want to add another big hitter, they have enough pitching depth to consider trading one of their starters (Vazquez, maybe).
"If we had had the same team going into this year that we have right now, I think we'd be pretty close [to being able to win]," Cox said. "If pitching is a good spot to start, then we've got a good shot to do something." He wants that shot. He wants that chance.
And after all the years and all the success, there's no question he deserves it.
If Cox had truly wanted to retire now, that would have been fine, too. He's 68, after all, and he has spent more nights in hotel rooms and more hours in airplanes than anyone should.
| No one comes close |
| Bobby Cox is finishing his 20th consecutive year managing the Braves. No other current manager has been on the job as long. Cox also managed the Braves from 1978-81, giving him 24 years as Braves manager. |
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The top five managers in terms of time on their current jobs: 1. Bobby Cox, Braves (68 years old), 20 years, 15 postseason appearances 2. Tony La Russa, Cardinals (65), 14 years, 12 postseason appearances 3. Mike Scioscia, Angels (50), 10 years, 5 postseason appearances 4. Ron Gardenhire, Twins (51), 8 years, 4 postseason appearances 5. Eric Wedge, Indians (41), 7 years, 1 postseason appearance |
But when you watch Cox before games, when you sit with him in the dugout and hear him greeting everyone in every ballpark by name, you come away with the feeling that there's really nowhere else he'd rather be.
I think back to a conversation from May 2008, a few days after the Braves announced that Cox would manage this season.
"That retirement, I don't know," Cox said then. "I've talked to a bunch of guys that retire and play golf. Some of them like it. But you can travel for one year, then you can golf for 16 months, then what do you do? I think of that."
He says now that he will retire, but only after one more year. He says he's ready, the way John Schuerholz said he was ready to step down as Braves GM two years ago.
Schuerholz agreed that Cox still has the enthusiasm for the game, and for the job.
"I think mine is there, too," Schuerholz said. "I feel like I have game. The reality is we all age. It's a natural process. I felt like I could still do the job, but I made the decision that 26 years was enough. I just knew it was time."
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Schuerholz was able to stay on as club president, remaining involved while lightening his daily workload. The Braves say Cox will stay on as a consultant after he retires next year.
If he retires next year.
Yes, I know, he already announced it. Yes, I know, if he stayed on past next year he'd be managing when he's 70.
And yes, I know, there are those who will tell you that Cox's managerial skills have already slipped a tad, that things get by him that wouldn't have gotten by him in the past.
But just as I never really believed that Cox was ready to retire now, I'm not sure I totally believe that he's going to be ready next year.
He just seems so happy doing what he's doing.
"I think he's having a blast," McCann said.
We'll remember Bobby Cox for all those division titles, for winning 14 in a row when most managers who won once were struggling to win a second. We'll remember him for the arguments with umpires, and for all the times he was thrown out of games.
But we'll also remember him for how much he loved the job, for how much his players loved him.
"I would say he probably stands up for his players more than anyone," said Lowe, who has played for eight different managers in 13 big-league seasons. "He's what you want from a manager, in how he treats everyone.
"There's not one bad thing to say. You just want to win so bad for the guy."
They'll have a chance to win for him. One more chance.
Yes, Bobby Cox says he's retiring.
But not yet.
