Smoltz, Glavine, Chipper, Cox and the End of an Era

It's been a good ride boys. Time for some others to step it up.

I guess we've all heard that John Smoltz signed with the Boston Red Sox. I went to Winchester yesterday and earlier today to hang out with a few friends thinking nothing of importance would happen. Wrong. I know this is a common problem. Players come up, they do great, they stay around and help the team, and then they grow old. What do you do with them? Do you sign them to a contract out of respect or do you let them go, thanking them for everything? It's a problem that everyone has to face. You don't want the players to leave because they've meant so much to the team and have been there as you grew up, but at some point, you realize that their skills have declined, injuries took their toll, and/or the team is better off going in another direction. It's not an easy situation, and retirement is really the only graceful way to end it. Smoltz didn't retire, and if he can still play and wants to, he has every right to go wherever he wants. Glavine probably won't retire, and ditto above about Smoltz. Chipper's decision is coming up soon. Again, I understand that every team faces this decision, but I argue that this group of players leaving is harder on Braves fans than other teams. Why?

1) The Success. Remind me again how many teams have won 14 straight division titles and have had the same domination. Oh, that's right -- zero. Actually, the only other team I can see this with is the Yankees. They've had so much success for the last 12-13 seasons that they're in the same boats. You can admire the Red Sox for knowing when to let players go, but they really haven't had that much success recently until about 5 years ago or so. Their players weren't as important to the fans because they didn't lead to wins (whether that's fair or not). Smoltz and Glavine (and Maddux) were the dominant pitchers. Three Hall of Famers on one staff. Every year, you knew the Braves would be the best pitching team in the NL. Everyone else was playing for second. They weren't only good. They were dominant. The fans became endeared to them. Granted, it was easy because they were so good, but we become more endeared to good players. The Yankees are the next to see this when decisions come up with Posada, Jeter (especially), and Rivera. Good luck.

2) This Off-season. It's been one of the worst in recent memory. Maybe I'm hyperbolizing, but I can't remember such a terrible one. Lose out on the needed ace (Peavy), watch the potential ace go away to another team (Burnett), watch a home-grown guy wrench our hearts out (Furcal), and now, one of our most-beloved is leaving (Smoltz) with one almost sure to follow (Glavine). Add in last season's failure. Add in the terrible current outlook. And we just can't bear it. It's not that it's not fair. It's not that it doesn't happen to other people. It's just ... painful. We wanted to believe in them last year, and we still want to believe. Seeing them come back gives one the belief that the past can return. The future is scary because it's different (different but has to happen eventually). You don't think the success will ever return because the people that brought it aren't there, and after the last three years of not winning, you definitely don't think you can do it after them. It's irrational. It's illogical. It's being an ardent fan of a team.

3) The Last Three Years. After an unprecedented streak of 14 division crowns, the Braves have stunk it up. The current team is largely made of the same players (Chipper, Johnson, Escobar, McCann, and Francoeur) and has lost some key ones (Maddux, Smoltz, Andruw, and Teixeira) with no real great options left. If the good players leave, what does that leave us? A rough outlook.

4) The Way Smoltz Left. It wasn't that it was unfair. It wasn't that you can't understand. It was that it was so unexpected. We knew he was coming back. No one really thought he'd leave. I doubt even the Red Sox believed he would leave. It was out of nowhere and just added to the crappy situation that is this off-season. With Glavine having already left once, it looks even bleaker that he'll return.

Don't pity me. Don't take this as anything more than the emotional release of a depressed and shocked fan of a team that has watched its team hit a relatively short period of decline but still has a brilliant look for the future. I just needed to get this out. Whether or not it's the worst thing that has ever happened is not the point. The point is that it's therapeutic. These men have meant so much to me, to the team, to the city, and to baseball that it's hard to see them go. Anyway, here's on to a logical look at each of the four people from the title.

Smoltz: He's the only one that has left so far. I don't blame him. He took the best offer he had. I'm not going to chastise him for leaving. He gave everything he had to the organization for 20 years, but he simply found a better situation and pay in Boston. Now, if he wears a different hat than a Braves hat when he goes to Cooperstown, I'll be pissed. That's for another day, though. As for a strictly baseball look. The Braves aren't losing much. They couldn't expect a lot out of him. As much credit as I give Smoltz for being competitive and great and awesome, he just had major shoulder surgery on a 40 year old arm. He hasn't been put through a real stress test that he'll face in a month or so. Forgive me for not getting carried away about a bullpen session or two. He could be fantastic next year and win 16-20 games, but I wouldn't count on it. I'm not sure he'll even be able to start.

Glavine: He hasn't left yet, but I find it hard to believe he'll be back. He wasn't very good last year, and he also had major surgery on an old arm. If he signs with the Braves, it will be because the Braves gave him a courtesy contract and no one saw much value in him. His skills have really declined, but there are worse fifth starters.

Chipper: This one is especially hard for me. He's my favorite player playing on my favorite team. He's Jason's Derek Jeter. A loved player that is Hall-caliber but is facing a tough decision soon. Chipper's contract is up after this season. He'll be there at the beginning of 2009, but who knows by August 1, 2009. The Braves are essentially rebuilding, and if they can get serious value at the deadline for him, they should think about it. They should probably do it. The Braves still need a future third baseman and pitching -- maybe more depending on how good Heyward and Freeman really are. If they don't trade him, they face a tough call. Do you give a contract to an aging, injury-prone player still playing (if he is) at a high level when he plays? Or do you let him go, knowing you need to move on eventually and this is as good of an excuse as any? Do you have a replacement plan for him, or are you just going to wing it? If he's still playing well, then they should try and give him a one or two-year contract. Anything else is irresponsible with the potential bevy of prospects about to hit the big-league team. Anything longer just blocks possible improvements. Not giving him anything would be terrible if he's still playing well. They don't have an immediate replacement, and he's still good. If he gets hurt and/or declines, then the decision is easier, isn't it? Wouldn't it be better to let Chipper end his career as a DH for an AL team, letting him get his counting numbers to ensure his already sterling resume to get into Cooperstown? Tough call. I love Chipper, and I want him to be a Brave. But I also know that I love the Braves, and I want them to win. Being sentimental and emotional about Chipper, or any player, leads to bad decisions.

Cox: I love the man. He's energized. He's respected. He defends his players. He gets the most out of them. But he sure makes some questionable decisions. Why does he abuse his bullpen? Does he have to play the right-righty/lefty-lefty matchup every time? Does he give his players enough time off? He makes some weird decisions sometimes. I wonder if he has always done it, and I just haven't noticed until I became more cognizant. Or is this a recent development? Or is it that he simply has a worse team than he did in the past, a team that could cover his mistakes? Another 90 loss season, and he's gone. Another 90 win season, and we'll be singing his praises. Regardless, I want this to be his last season. The Braves need to move in a direction. Find some new blood. Just not Pendleton. Please god, no.

We've been building up to this for awhile. I guess it just really hit with the loss of Smoltz. Are you serious? I just need a hug. I'm still trying to grasp this. But it could all work out for the best. It's an end of an era, a wonderful one at that. But it doesn't mean the next one will be horrible. We're in the interim period. We will be for at least one more season. After that, the McCann-Jurrjens-Francoeur (please remember how to hit)-Johnson-Escobar era begins officially. Let's just hope it's half as good as the last one. No one will ever top it. That's for sure.