Inside the Majors

Archive for the ‘NL East’ Category

In what has been announced to be Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox’s last season in the dugout, the Atlanta Braves are certainly taking their longtime manager on a roller coaster ride through the standings.  Once dead and lifeless at the bottom of the NL East cellar, including a hitless outing against Rockies’ flame thrower Ubaldo Jimenez, the Braves have surged to a 2 game lead over the second place Philadelphia Phillies, including a 3 game sweep of the Phillies earlier this month.  In a city where the Braves’ winning ways were once customary, this revival atop the standings stands in stark contrast to recent seasons.  From 1991 to 2005, with the exception of the players’ strike in the 1994 season, the Braves won an unprecedented 14 straight pennants, with a lone World Series title in 1995. Since the 2005 season, the Braves have been sitting at home come October watching the playoffs from the other side of the television screen. Read the rest of this entry »