From our resident Braves blog Talking Chop comes this instant analysis of the extension:
A good move I say. The Braves needed to address this issue and I think this handles it in the best way possible. Perhaps this contract was already signed or nearly signed, and the events of the last couple of days — the rumored rift between Cox and Wren — that story needed to be shot down, and they used that moment to finalize and announce this extension.
Bobby Cox will go down as one of the great managers of all time, and we’ll have all of next season to wish him farewell as a manager. It sounds like he leaves on his own terms as well, with no one pushing him out. That’s the right call for the Braves. There’s no reason to force out a legend like that, especially when he’s still liked and respected by his players and peers.