That wacky Florida Marlins front office is at it again.
Future Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox is making the final stops on his farewell tour around the National League, and the Marlins came up with a unique gift for the Atlanta Braves manager for his last game in South Florida on Sunday.
Nothing.
Cox has received ovations and at least an acknowledgment in every city the Braves have visited this season. Even the Minnesota Twins honored Cox during an interleague series.
But Jeffrey Loria, owner of the team that is making millions while keeping his payroll among the lowest in the league, all while building a taxpayer-supported stadium, apparently has a grudge against Cox, who was critical after Fredi Gonzalez was fired as manager back in June. What Cox said then, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
\"I know that guy [owner Jeffrey Loria] is unpredictable, but I was still [surprised],\" Cox said. \"After everything he\'s done for that guy, are you [kidding] me?\"
\"... They\'ve gone down to the end [competing for a playoff spot] every year, playing their asses off,\" Cox said. \"That guy [Loria] doesn\'t appreciate anything.\"
As the Miami Herald pointed out, Cox has been manager of the division rival Braves for longer than the Marlins have existed. And while the Marlins certainly don\'t owe Cox a thing, it\'s still a little classless to be the only team that doesn\'t at least put a message on the scoreboard, or make an announcement when he brings the lineup card out. You would have thought that\'s the least the Marlins could have done.
Apparently not. Keep hoping and dreaming and you will soar, Marlins.
Power Rankings: The Braves slipped one notch to sixth in this week\'s About.com MLB Power Rankings, with the top four (Yankees, Rays, Twins, Reds) unchanged.
Bobby Cox gets a unique gift from the ever-stingy Florida Marlins originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 03:05:28.
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