Bobby Cox might call it quits?

So apparently the word out of Atlanta is that Bobby Cox may retire and not manage beyond this season.

Per the Atlanta Journal Constitution, when asked if he would be back for a 25th season as the Braves' manager, Cox responded, "We'll see," and when pressed further, he said, "We'll see, OK?"

Hmmm. I didn't know that this was even an issue but when you think about it, Bobby has the record for career ejections for a manager so there appears to be not much more that he could possibly accomplish in baseball.

While I can respect his decision to retire, if that is really what he is going to do, it sure must a kick to have license to hurl abuse at authority figures on a regular basis with the only penalty being that you have to go take a shower or you would face an unlikely short suspension. I know that I would not want to give that up.

Actually there is probably no need to speculate as to whether Bobby will retire as I think I know a sure-fire way to tell if he will quit.

Remember Ted Williams' last at-bat when he hit that dramatic home run?

I see the same thing happening here.

If Bobby Cox gets thrown out in the last game of this season, he's retiring.

I just know it.

I can't wait.

Tony LaRussa is losing his touch

I note that Tony LaRussa was ejected in the Cardinals loss to the Braves last night. My eyes popped out a bit when I saw that this was LaRussa's first ejection of the year.

Tony?!

One ejection? All year?!

Where is the competitive fire? I know you are a baseball guru and all but part of managing is getting thrown out. You are not above that, you know.

Were the umpires perfect all year?

There were no egregious blown calls in 143 games?

There wasn't one umpire that you did not want to work over in a lopsided game?

I guess when you have Pujols, you don't have to do that stuff. Makes the job easier. That's the best I can come up with. A woefully inadequate explanation, I know.

Across the diamond, Bobby Cox shakes his head and makes a note to himself to have a little talk with Tony after the season. Manager to manager, you know.

Bobby Cox ejection watch

After being in a mini-slump for a little while, Bobby Cox finally came to life and was able to get ejected from last night's Braves game against the Marlins and this extends his major league record for ejections to 149.

The AP game story is not very specific as to the facts other than he was thrown out in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes. Sounds like a pretty generic ejection but they all count.

"I think, honestly, I could umpire-just call everything a ball except for pitches right down the middle," Cox said after the game.

Ok, again this does not appear to be one of Bobby's better ejections but I do give him points for the sarcasm which kind of spices things up a little. He's trying.

This career ejection number 149 gives Cox a commanding 18 ejection lead over second place manager, John McGraw who had 131 ejections. As most of you know, John McGraw is dead. Not to be too morbid, but this is the perfect opportunity for Bobby to extend his lead; when his closest competitor is dead. No need for complacency now.

If he could maybe get thrown out of a game this weekend*, he could really gain some momentum and then there would be no stopping this juggernaut.

The only thing that possibly could stop him would be flawless umpiring and well do I need to go further.....

*p.s. rather than doing another post. He did it! 150 tonight! I don't know the facts yet but I know he is gone from the game and can't come back. This has a magical feel to it!

Bobby exits early again

I note that Bobby Cox of the Braves was ejected in the bottom of the ninth inning in yesterday's 3-1 loss to the Pirates. As you can see, Bobby was in danger of actually managing the whole game but in the end, he pulled it out in the clutch and was ejected in the bottom of the ninth.

I knew that Bobby Cox was the all time major league leader in managerial ejections with 144 and John McGraw was in second place with 131. What I did not realize is what a commanding lead Cox has over the nearest active manager as he leads Tony LaRussa by more than 50 ejections.

What this means is that Bobby has a chance to join baseball's immortals like Cy Young and Joe Dimaggio in owning a record that will never ever be broken. He could join the inner-ring pantheon of baseball gods. Frankly in my opinion, this just does not get enough attention.

Actually major league baseball could even help Bobby in his bid for baseball immortality by assigning noted incompetents like Doug Eddings and Angel Hernandez to umpire more Braves games. Bobby would really rack em up then. Think about the numbers he could put up. There would be no stopping him.

If I were an advisor to Bobby Cox, this is what I would tell him:

1. Argue everything and anything. Instant replays on those home runs are not always right especially if the call goes against you and replay seems to confirm the call on the field. Be persistent.

2. Be demonstrative too. Don't be shy. Hats were made for throwin and dirt was made for kickin. (Actually, Bobby has this one down pat)

3. As for language, let it fly. You know all the words that will ring the bell. Use them. (Though I would not actually know, I suspect that Bobby has this one down pat too.)

4. Don't let them cheat you. You are not just a potted plant out there. Make them respect you. (But not enough that they would feel reluctant to throw you out. It's a fine line there.)

After all, baseball immortality rides on this.