re: Whose better: Bobby Cox or Tony La Russa?

But at the time it made sense. His production began to decline five years prior to 96 due to a rotator cuff injury he suffered in the late 80’s. Ozzie refused to see the writing on the wall until TLR came along.

They blew their load on the Cards. Should’ve saved those runs against, like you said, the weakest Yankees team of their run. Karma came to collect with a vengeance.

Answering the question, La Russa.

But regarding the Braves' inability to win more than one title, IMO there were two issues:

1. The Braves hung their hats on starting pitching. A few of those years they arguably could've had the best rotation ever. Starting pitching is enormously important in the regular season. It's not enormously important in the post-season, which is what baseball pays off the big trophy on. A fourth starter in the post-season is as useful as teats on a bull. You only need three ... some teams have won the big trophy with two ... and a bunch of relievers.

2. The Braves built their rosters, again, with the regular season in mind. And they won a bunch of division titles. But they wound up playing teams who were better constructed again to compete in the post-season, and again baseball pays off the big trophy on the post-season not the regular season. The Seattle Mariners won 116 games in 2001. That didn't get them the big trophy because they barely won the division series and stank it up in the ALCS against teams, again, that were better constructed to compete in the post-season. People have mentioned the '96 Series, so consider this: Torre could bring in Wade Boggs or Jim Leyritz off the bench. Cox kept sending up frickin' Luis Polonia when he needed a pinch hitter.

I don’t think it’s ever a disappointment to ONLY win one championship. I think a lot of people forget how hard it is to win a championship in baseball. A lot of luck goes into it.

Is that you, Beau Bock?

You hate Bobby. We get it.

Are you telling me you believe in the "built for regular season" theory?

Let's put my opinion of Bobby Cox aside.

ETA. Dont hate Bobby at all.Ive met him...was a very classy and nice guy and as I've said before he was great at managing people and personalities...which is 75% of the job of a MLB MGR over the course of 160+ games

1. Yes I would've moved one of the big three for a superduperstar lineup player. Those teams never had one except Chipper. I don't know that I would've traded for a relief ace, but the thing is they always seemed to be trying someone for that role, they never had someone like Rivera who you just penciled in and forgot for 15 years. (Wohlers was never the same after having a brain fart and throwing that breaking ball to Leyritz, and was long gone by that 1997-99 stretch when so many opportunities were missed.)

2. I'm not a Cox apologist, I think the guy is horribly overrated. Get a soothsayer to conjure up Billy Martin from the dead and let him manage those Braves teams and they win 120 games a year and multiple big trophies. A first-rate strategist like La Russa or Leyland would've prospered with those teams.

3. You no longer had to win your division to go to the playoffs as of 1995 and the Braves were not in any danger whatsoever of missing the players for years after that.

4. A team that is built for the post-season doesn't necessarily have four or five sterling starting pitchers, it might have two or three, but it's well stocked in middle and setup relief and has a dependable bullpen stopper. It has a lineup that might not be dripping with home run power, but at least has doubles power and the ability to sustain rallies. It has people on the bench who can step in and fill roles, not just spell the starters when they get hurt and tired. It has a manager who understands that when you get to the post-season ... and I know a lot of baseball purists hate the post-season, think it's a crap shoot, think it doesn't really determine "the best team" ... you CANNOT manage like you did during the 162-game regular season, you've got to have the flexibility to change what you're doing to fit the fact that you've got seven games to work with, not 162.

You want a great example of a team built for the post-season? 2006 Cardinals. They won only 83 games, but they had one Hall of Famer and a couple of other above average players in their lineup, and the rest of the lineup included one of the greatest defensive catchers ever and some other players with tools that could beat you. They had four reserve players who could step into the lineup and they wouldn't miss a beat. They had two excellent starting pitchers and a couple of bodies, but they had a bullpen stopper and three excellent middle relief pitchers. And they had one of the best managers ever.

And they won the big trophy beating "better teams" and IMO probably would've whipped anyone in a short series. Over 162 games, they'd be .500.

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Torre could bring in Wade Boggs or Jim Leyritz off the bench. Cox kept sending up frickin' Luis Polonia when he needed a pinch hitter.

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hmmm Boggs was the starter and Leyritz was a back up with an 86+ OPS.... He had one of the best home runs but to type that out like he was some sort of All-Star is insane. The Yankees bench that season was 36 year old Tim Raines, 34 year old Daryl Strawberry, 32 year old Cecil Fielder, Leyritz, and Charlie Hayes

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I mean you answered your own question....

Bobby had every opportunity in the 90s to be legendary but the cards didn't fall that way. Still a great manager and a hall of famer.

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I don't disagree... as a FIELD manager.

But, IMHO, I think Bobby Cox was a better GENERAL manager than he was a FIELD manager. In his years as Braves GM, he drafted or acquired Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Rong Gant, Steve Avery, David Justice, Chipper Jones... and that's just right off the top of my head. There's probably a lot of other players drafted/acquired in those years that were either major players in the Brave's 1990's run or at least significant depth.

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Starting pitching is enormously important in the regular season. It's not enormously important in the post-season, which is what baseball pays off the big trophy on

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You kind of contradicted yourself. Starting pitching is VERY important in the postseason, so as not to overwork your bullpen. Because of the schedule setup, though, you don’t need to be stacked 4-deep.