"I never considered anybody else," Schuerholz said. "I'd tried to get him to manage for me in Kansas City (after the death of Dick Howser) and he wouldn't so I decided I (would) go to him if he wouldn't come to me. I couldn't think of anyone else to manage the Braves."

Time has passed, but one thing remains the same — there's nobody better than Cox to manage the Braves. That point has been reaffirmed once again, with the extension Cox recently received. Schuerholz may have moved upstairs, giving way to Frank Wren as the general manager, and Ted Turner may have sold the team to Time Warner, which in turn sold to Liberty Media, but one thing doesn't change — Cox is filling out the lineup card this year and will be back next year, too.

Oh, each spring it seems, Cox talks about packing his bags and enjoying retirement. He turned 67 a week ago. He has been managing in the big leagues for the better part of 30 years — with a 4½-year hiatus as the Braves general manager. He is fourth on the all-time managerial win list — behind Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony La Russa — and shares the distinction with Joe McCarthy of being the only mangers with six 100-win seasons under their belts.

Since he began his second tour as Braves manager on June 22, 1990, there have been 141 managerial changes in the big leagues.

So what's the lure?

"My love of the game has never changed," Cox said when he told Wren he would accept the extension to manage the Braves through 2009.

Cox was asked by the Atlanta media about his spring time statement that he wanted to start doing things he wanted to do instead of needed to do. He shrugged.

Bottom line is Cox wants to manage. He's not the retiring type. He doesn't fit in a front office. He tried that. He had success, laying the groundwork for a Braves franchise that won a professional sports record 14 consecutive division titles, but happily turned those chores over to Schuerholz so that he could return to the dugout.

It is where he belongs.

Cox gets to the ballpark around noon, whether at home or on the road. He will huddle in a room just off the home dugout at Turner Field, enjoying a cigar, watching the weather maps, and talking baseball with anyone who wanders by, or, on the road, will put on his uniform and enjoy the afternoon from the bench in a visiting dugout, not missing a chance to add to his information bank.

And it's not just big leaguers that Cox has in his mental database. He will rattle off questions about prospects, from Single-A to Triple-A, having never lost his thirst for the minor leagues.

"I love the day-to-day of baseball," said Cox. "When I do retire, I could never completely walk away. There's a lot of pressures and expectations (with managing), but you thrive on it."

Even back-to-back third-place finishes in the NL East the last two years didn't diminish Cox's desire. He has the Braves back in the NL East mix this year and is determined to enjoy the pressures of October again.

It was just a matter of Cox coming to the realization on his own. The offer to return for 2009 was originally made by Wren last November. It was discussed again in the spring. Cox put it on hold. He wasn't looking for more years or money. There has not once been a negotiating hangup for him as the Braves manager. He just wanted to check and make sure the desire was still there once the season started.

It was.

And baseball is better for it.

Cox is what is good about the game. He respects the uniform. He respects the players.

And they respect him.