Braves clinch 14th straight division title
The Braves extended their major league record when they clinched their 14th consecutive division title Tuesday night after beating the Rockies 12-3. Only the Yankees have more than half that amount of consecutive division titles (8 from 1998-2005). Bobby Cox worked his magic again, this time getting the most out of 17 different rookies to plug a number of holes due to injury (Hampton, Thomson, Hudson, Chipper, Estrada) and underperformance (Mondesi, Jordan, Kolb, Martin). Between his time with the Blue Jays and Braves, Cox has won 15 straight division titles (when he managed the team for a whole season). With an unprecedented number of rookies on a division champion team, Cox should win his 3rd Manager of the Year award as Braves manager this season (he previously won in 1991 and last year, 2004). John Schuerholz worked a number of pivotal deals (Hudson, Sosa, Farnsworth) without which the Braves would not have made the playoffs. Now for the hard part: it’s time for the young Braves to focus on reaching the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2001 and the World Series for the first time since 1999.
