The end of the Atlanta dynasty will officially come to an end next year as manager Bobby Cox announced on Wednesday that he would retire after 2010. Cox has managed the Braves since 1990; during his long tenure in the Braves' dugout, he led the club to 13 consecutive division titles (three in the NL West and 10 in the NL East), plus a world championship in 1995.

Cox said he will start a five-year consulting agreement, advising the team in baseball operations, following his tenure as manager.

The 68-year-old skipper currently has 2,409 wins, fourth on the all-time list behind Hall of Famers Connie Mack (3,731), John McGraw (2,763), and current Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (2,550). Cox and Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy are the only managers to reach 100 wins in six seasons.

The four-time Manager of the Year began his career in the big-league dugout as manger of the Braves from 1978-81. He also managed Toronto from 1982-85 before returning to Atlanta as the Braves' general manager. In 1990, Cox stepped out of the front office and back into uniform to manage the Bravos again.

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This superstar reached a major milestone in his home state on this date in 1974 at the end of his long and distinguished career.
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Giants 5, D'BACKS 2 Giants Keep Hope Alive
The Giants kept pace with Florida, both four games back of Colorado in the NL Wild Card race, by beating the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Juan Uribe hit a home run and knocked in three runs for the Giants; SF starter Jonathan Sanchez improved to 7-12, allowing two runs in 5.1 innings. Brian Wilson punched out the Snakes in the ninth to record his 36th save.

Rangers 9, ATHLETICS 8 Hunter Survives Pounding
The Rangers, fighting for their postseason lives, edged the Athletics at the Mausoleum yesterday behind a home run and four RBIs from Hank Blalock. Texas is still seven games behind Boston for the AL Wild Card and 6.5 behind LA in the AL West, leaving no margin for error for the rest of the season. David Murphy and Marlon Byrd each had two RBIs and Tommy Hunter improved his rookie record to 9-4 despite allowing seven runs in 5.2 innings, inflating his ERA to a still-fine 3.67. The two clubs finish off their season series this afternoon in Oakland.

Padres 6, ROCKIES 3 Friars Ring the Bell
The Rockies' lead in the NL Wild Card race dropped one notch after losing to the Padres. The loss snapped Colorado's eight-game win streak. Will Venable smacked a home run and a three-run double to lead the Padres as Heath Bell racked up his 40th save, tops in the senior circuit. Jason Marquis took the loss for the Rox, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings. The Rockies lead Atlanta and San Francisco by four games in the wild chase with 10 left to play.

Twins 8, WHITE SOX 6 Duensing, Twins Dun Sox
Rookie Brian Duensing won his fifth straight decision to help the Twins keep pace with the Tigers in the AL Central race with an 8-6 win over the White Sox. Minnesota won for the ninth time in its last 10 games to remain within striking distance at 2.5 games behind Detroit, which also won Wednesday. Nick Punto drove in three as Duensing improved to 5-1 after allowing three earned runs in 5.2 innings. Chicago starter Mark Buehrle dropped to 12-10--including an almost unbelievable 1-7 since his perfect game--after giving up four earned runs in 3.1 innings.

Red Sox 9, ROYALS 2 Carmines Edge Closer to Prize
David Ortiz powered the Red Sox closer to the AL Wild Card berth with a home run and four RBIs in an easy win over the Royals. Boston ace Josh Beckett improved to 16-6 after allowing two runs in six innings, registering seven strikeouts. Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury each knocked in a pair of teammates off of Kansas City starter Luke Hochevar (7-11).

ASTROS 3, Cardinals 0 Redbirds on Verge
The Cardinals missed a chance to clinch the NL Central after being unable to figure out Astros starter Bud Norris. Norris pitched six scoreless innings--the second time he has held St. Louis to no runs--as the Astros blanked the Cardinals. Veteran John Smoltz (3.18 ERA in 34 IP since his acquisition) pitched well for the Cardinals, allowing two runs in six innings. The Cardinals' magic number was reduced to one, however, after the Cubs lost to Milwaukee.

BREWERS 3, Cubs 2 Fielder Means Power
Prince Fielder slammed his 42nd home run and pushed his major league lead in RBIs to 131, powering the Brewers to a 3-2 win over the Cubs Wednesday. Rookie southpaw Chris Narveson struck out 10 for his first win as a starter. In the sixth inning, after a single by Ryan Theriot, Narveson fanned Tyler Colvin and Derrek Lee to end his outing. Lee, hitting .387 in September, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Brewers after coming into the game 6-of-8 with two homers and six RBIs.

MARLINS 7, Phillies 6 Yikes!
The struggles of Brad Lidge continued Wednesday night as the Philadelphia closer allowed two runs and the Phillies lost to the Marlins, 7-6. Lidge gave up RBI singles to Jorge Cantu and Brett Carroll in the last of the ninth to drop to 0-8 on the season with a league-leading 11 blown saves and a 7.48 ERA. Ryan Howard doubled, homered, and drove in four for the Phillies, whose magic number stayed at five in the NL East. Raul Ibanez also went yard for the Quakers, while Cody Ross and Gaby Sanchez poled homers for the Fish.

Braves 5, METS 2 Hudson Flows in Flushing
Tim Hudson continued to look strong after his return from elbow surgery as the veteran righty pitched six strong innings to lead the Braves past the Mets. It was Atlanta's first sweep in New York since 2003. Clinging to its scant postseason hopes, the Bravos won their 11th game in their past 13 tries. Adam LaRoche had three hits and two RBIs to lead the Atlanta offense.

RAYS 5, Mariners 4 B.J. Is a Bear
B.J. Upton knocked in two with a single in the eighth inning and the Rays hung on to beat the Mariners at the Trop. Upton drove in three in the game. Tampa Bay loaded the bases on a single and two walks against loser Mark Lowe (2-7) in the eighth inning to set up Upton's game-winner. The defending AL champions, eliminated from contention on Tuesday, need to win four of their final 10 games to record the franchise's second-ever season over .500 season. More importantly, the Flat Fish need to finish above .500 to avoid joining the not-so-select group of pennant-winners that slumped to losing records the following year.

BLUE JAYS 7, Orioles 3 Brooming the Birds
The Blue Jays broke out their brooms on Wednesday night and beat the Orioles to complete a three-game sweep of the hapless Chesapeake Birds. Scott Richmond improved to 7-10, winning for the first time since June 24, allowing three runs in five innings. Travis Snider provided the offensive support for the home nine with a home run, two runs, and two RBIs. Jeremy Guthrie (10-16) took the loss, allowing seven runs in seven innings.

NATIONALS 5, Dodgers 4 Anacostia Blues
Andre Ethier couldn't handle pinch-hitter Pete Orr's fly to right field in the ninth inning, which allowed Justin Maxwell to score and the lowly Nationals to squeak by the mighty Dodgers. The Nationals avoided their 100th loss of the season for the time being, with Ryan Zimmerman's 31st homer of the year tying the game in the sixth by providing three runs and the majority of the Nats' offense. Orr was credited with a sacrifice fly and Ethier was given an error on the play, though the winning run would have scored even if he had gloved the fly. Chad Billingsley fanned nine in his six innings of work, allowing only one hit--Zim's homer.

Tigers 11, INDIANS 3 Good News From Guillen
Carlos Guillen is getting hot at the right time for the Tigers. The switch-hitter--who had been batting exclusively left-handed since coming off the DL due to a persistent shoulder problem--hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate. Guillen also rapped a double and drove in four to help the Tigers pound the embarrassing Indians. Rookie Rick Porcello gave up just one run on six hits in five innings to improve his rookie campaign record to 14-9. Three of those wins are against Cleveland, as Porcello became the first pitcher to go 3-0 against the Indians in a season since Baltimore's Milt Pappas in 1958. Miguel Cabrera had a two-run homer for the Tigers.

Reds 12, PIRATES 2 Redlegs Beat the Crap Out of Bucs
The Reds and Pirates have had their share of frustrations this season, though Cincinnati hasn't been humiliated like Pittsburgh by setting an all-time record for consecutive losing season. The Reds took their frustrations out on the Pirates' pitching staff with a 12-2 laugher as Joey Votto slapped four hits and scored three times. Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce, Laynce Nix, and Corky Miller each knocked in a pair for Cincinnati, which scored a dozen times despite not hitting a home run.

Yankees 3, ANGELS 2 Burnett Back on Track?
Erratic A.J. Burnett may finally be back on track and the Yankees are hoping his success lasts through the postseason. Burnett struck out 11 in only his second win since July as New York took a one-run victory over LA. The Bombers' big inning was the fourth, when Robinson Cano hit a two-run single and Melky Cabrera followed with an RBI double to plate all the runs NY would need. Five NY relievers blanked the Angels the rest of the way, capped by redoubtable Mariano Rivera and his 42nd save.

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He was a devastating line drive hitter with plus power, though he never reached 400 home runs despite playing for 22 years.
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On this date in 1940, Jimmie Foxx became part of two milestones with one swing of his bat. Foxx, then a member of the Red Sox, hit his 500th home run off Philadelphia's George Caster in the sixth inning, becoming the third future Cooperstown resident to hit home runs in that inning. Ted Williams and Joe Cronin had homered before Foxx connected, and Jim Tabor later homered in the sixth inning as the Red Sox became the first team in American League history to blast four round-trippers in one inning.

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The outfielder reached his milestone off the Orioles' Dave McNally in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
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Tigers broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell talks about Al Kaline on Ball Talk. Check out some of the interview.
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On this date in 1974, Detroit right fielder Al Kaline connected for his 3,000th hit in Baltimore, the city of his nativity. At the time, he was the 11th player in history to reach the mark.

The Tigers' great doubled down the right field line off Orioles lefty Dave McNally in a 5-4 loss. Kaline finished his career with 399 home runs, many of them of the line-drive fashion.

Kaline was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, earning induction on his first year on the ballot. That honor was much rarer in those days; many all-time greats (e.g., Joe DiMaggio) weren't awarded their bronze plaque on the first try.

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The Baseball Early Bird is a free daily newsletter published jointly by the two leaders in the field of baseball reference: Sports Reference LLC--which produces Baseball-Reference.com--and 24-7 Baseball, L.L.C.--which produces the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.

Gary Gillette--who remembers that some people thought Al Kaline was an underachiever in his prime because he never hit close to .340 again and wasn't a big RBI man--is the Early Bird's Executive Editor and Co-Publisher. He also edited and contributed to today's issue. Sean Forman is the Early Bird's technical guru and Co-Publisher.

Dan D'Addona, who has a Buddha-like shrine to Al Kaline in his house, wrote today's issue.

Feel free to send us your comments, suggestions and criticism. E-mail the Early Bird.
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