Forward thinking.....some can do it, some can't.

Greetings once again, where we bid farewell to Braves manager Bobby Cox. It's been a great ride, and I got to celebrate a World Series title in 1995. Some will say that there should have been more championships, but I'll take the one, and be happy with it, from a fan's point of view. This comes from a fan that stayed at the park the entire time against the Mets on July 4, 1985. Some may recall it as the 19 inning game. Some may recall it as the game where they shot fireworks in downtown Atlanta at 5 in the morning. In any event, it was great. And I use that team to jump into today's topic: forward thinking. Back then, the Braves biggest draw was Dale Murphy. He was the golden boy. But, they never surrounded him with any talent to be competitive, and eventually, Murphy was traded tho Philadelphia for Jeff Parrett and Jim Vatcher. And, by the time he was dealt, his prime years were used up on a team with no direction. It wasn't till the Braves brought Cox back as the GM that some forward thinking started to creep in to the consciousness. The Tigers will probably never deal with the Braves again, since they were fleeced for John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander. But, when COx went back to the dugout, the Braves got John Schuerholz from Kansas City.....the same Kansas City that won the Series in 1985. And, if you can win there, that pretty much says it all. Schuerholz surrounded the bigger Royals players with complementary pieces to win, the same way he did in Atlanta. But, now that Schuerholz is the team president, it seems that forward thinking has taken the first MARTA bus out of town. Chipper Jones should have been traded two or three years ago, when he still had some value. But, like the Murphy deal, they are holding on to a player that they feel still has something left. I mean, even Tom Glavine and John Smoltz left town. Cox's undoing in this post-season was career minor leaguer Brooks Conrad. His hands-of-stone display in the field cost the Braves Game 3, and ultimately cost them the season. Had someone with a little forward thinking been in command, that would have never happened. Don't believe me? Look at the Yankees. Their ability to seperate emotion from production is almost cold, but it gets results. Tino Martinez? Thanks for the help, but we're going in another direction. Paul O'Neill? We appreciate all you've done, but we're bringing in someone else. They even let Bernie Williams walk, and he was a Yankee legend. But, because they have some forward thinking, they can do things like that. Sure, they have money.....but they assess their needs, and go out and address them. They don't rely on one player to keep them at the top. Their forward thinking is the model that everyone should use, but, sadly, most don't. They'll all say the same thing: "Well, the Yankees just have more money than we do." Ever thought why that is? Forward thinking.....that's what. Once Boston got rid of Dan Duquette and got someone in there that would take some chances, they won 2 championships. Once Texas got rid of their GM that treated the Rangers like a giant fantasy team, and got someone with cache, like Nolan Ryan in there, they started to turn it around. Atlanta, you can do it, too. Next season will be my 30th season as a Braves fan, and I want to see some forward thinking displayed. Don't bring Jones back. Let him go, release him, whatever. Re-tool the team if you have to, and I don't mean with re-treads like Troy Glaus and Eric Hinske. You were already set back with the Teixeira deal when you dealt Elvis Andrus. Bring the kids up, like you did in 1990, run them out there, and let them figure it out on the job. If not, be prepared for Jason Heyward to walk the first moment he can......to the Yankees or Red Sox.


Till next time.......


Patrick