Fresh Loaf

Longtime Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray, who died this week at 68, once described himself as the “wise-ass cynic” of the Caray broadcasting dynasty. Eschewing his famous father’s effusiveness, he won over Braves fans with his dry, pithy humor and unabashed honesty. He was often at his best when the Braves were at their worst.

“The bases are loaded again and I wish I was, too.”
— Caray, during a disastrous outing by the Braves’ bullpen in 2007

“It’s another partial sellout.”
— A line Caray used often in the late ’80s when games were drawing just a few thousand fans

“Have you looked at the standings lately?”
— Caray’s response to then-owner Ted Turner after Turner asked him to stop being so negative in the booth during a losing season in the ’80s

“Good point. Say whatever you want.”
— Turner’s answer

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There’s the great story where Ted Turner, not long after he purchased the Atlanta Braves, told Skip Caray to lay off criticizing the team from the television booth. Skip’s response to Turner was something like, “Have you looked at the standings lately?” To which Turner said, “Good point.” And he never tried to temper Skip again.

Like any long-time Braves fan of a certain age, I grew up listening to Skip Caray. First, through the crackle of AM radio and then on TBS. Skip was often a curmudgeon in the booth, but he did it with wit and a basic honesty that was endearing. During the Pistol Pete Maravich era, he called the Atlanta Hawks games and was always especially cynical. But, as with the Braves, Skip’s call of the game was often the only reason to stay tuned in.

When I started covering the Braves for Atlanta magazine 10 years ago, I got to see Skip around the press box and in the dugout, where he’d often hold court. He wasn’t the friendliest person to strangers (remember how he’d go off on people who called his pre-game radio show with inane questions), but I did get the chance to talk baseball with him a few times.

One night I was at a game and my father called. He was listening to the game, and Skip had just spent air-time talking about one of my stories and recommending it to his listeners. It wasn’t even a sports story.

I’ll always believe that was the moment I’d “arrived” in my father’s eyes, because Skip Carey had given me his blessing.
(more…)

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SKIP CARAY: The voice of the Atlanta Braves dies at 68.

OLYMPICS: Beijing’s unprecedented attempts to clear its polluted skies for the Games are drawing scientists from around the world seeking the rare window to study pollution’s dynamics and health effects.

BOLT FROM THE BLUE: Obama starts making moves on seven historically red states, including Georgia, where he opened five offices over the weekend.

LAKE LANIER: Has an alligator in it.

SHOOTING: At Jermaine Dupri’s party at Club Dream early Saturday was reportedly over guests who were angry at being double charged; the only injury reported was a security guard who was shot in the arm but later released from the hospital.

THE VARSITY: Turned 80 this weekend.

TOO EXTREME: The Augusta Chronicle’s editorial board writes that the recently foreclosed “Extreme Makeover” home in Clayton County shows that charity can be taken too far.

COAST NOT CLEAR: Jellyfish, the “cockroaches of the open waters,” are growing in numbers on coasts around the world and forcing many beach closures, which scientists say is a result of overfishing, pollution and rising temperatures killing off their natural predators.

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BRAVES: Trade Mark Teixeira to the Angels for 1B Casey Kotchman and a minor league relief pitcher. The move comes the same day that Murphy’s Law became a constitutional amendment for the Braves, as they learned ace Tim Hudson may be out for the year and Chipper Jones went back on the DL.

DELTA: A dead woman was found in an airplane bathroom this morning on a flight from L.A. to Atlanta.

CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO: A private consultant briefs the Chattanooga City Council on the progress of planning a high-speed rail line from that city to Atlanta. The finished report, expected by early 2010, will whittle down 24 possible alignments to six: three maglev and three VHS (very high speed).

BEER: More popular than wine by double digits again.

“MONKEY FROM MARS”: The GBI museum in Decatur has the remains of a monkey that three men tried to pass off as an alien in 1953.

SUPER GRAND REOPENING: Super Grand Buffet, the Duluth restaurant that recently made news for getting a health score of 15, has been reinspected and this time got a 100.

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Salon.com has an interesting, schadenfreudey story about the foreign takeover of Budweiser.

Among other things, the story offers a practical explanation for the watery lager’s popularity in the South:

Budweiser is especially popular in the South. Because of the Bible Belt temperance movement, a lack of German immigrants and a hot climate unsuited for brewing, the region developed few indigenous beers. It’s also close to St. Louis. Shipping was easy and, until the Braves moved to Atlanta, the Cardinals were Dixie’s team.

Can any of our Beechwood-aged readers attest to the plausibility of the explanation offered in the quotation?

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HOMELESSNESS: New study quantifies homelessness in Georgia, finding that 20,000 people were homeless statewide one night in January and 75,000 went without a home at some point during the year.

NICHOLS TRIAL MOVED: To Atlanta City Court.

NOT THE LAST STRAW: The Athens Banner-Herald sees the silver lining in Gwinnett voters’ straw-poll rejection of MARTA.

IN TRANSIT: CNN reports on Americans weaning off driving and the rise of public transit; as usual, Atlanta is used as the example of the city lagging behind.

IN-THE-RED STATE: Gov. Perdue announces that the state budget is $600 million short. Maybe Atlanta and Georgia aren’t so different after all.

GOING AGAINST THE GROIN: Mike Hampton comes out of another minor league game after “tweaking” something, this time his groin, after just 29 pitches.

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JEKYLL: The first new development in three decades on the island, a Hampton Inn, breaks ground Monday.

AERO HEADS: Jacoby Development’s large-scale “aerotropolis” redevelopment of the Hapeville Ford plant could be the southside city’s big break, but commercial real-estate experts say it’s also a big risk.

REVIVAL: State gives $10,000 to proposed new Allman Brothers museum in Macon.

CEASAR MITCHELL: Running for mayor.

TRIALS OF JOB: Mayor Franklin announces she’ll cut another 165 jobs to deal with the budget shortfall.

THE LONG RUN: USA Today profiles the Braves’ baffling inability to win one-run games.

CLASSICAL GAS: Norcross gas station took part in a $1.99/gallon marketing gimmick that had a line of cars waiting 30 minutes or more to fill up.

NICHOLS TRIAL: Judge says it needs to be moved.

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OBAMA: Will hold a town hall meeting at McEachern High School in Powder Springs Tuesday that’s open to the public, although no more tickets are available.

THIS BUD’S NOT FOR YOU: Anheuser-Busch continues to fend off the hostile takeover bid by Belgian beeremoth InBev, which wants to replace the American company’s board of directors.

BUZZ KILL: While Georgia has mostly avoided colony collapse disorder, the phenomenon continues in 24 other states and could spread here, scientists say. UGA will spend the next four years studying disappearing bees as part of a $4.1 million research grant.

BEAR MARKET: Bear populations are up in North Georgia.

SWAMPWISE: Clayton County’s 140-acre manmade wetlands water-treatment site, which treats 10 million gallons of water a day, has become a model for such facilities, drawing visitors from as far as Australia, Mexico and Newfoundland.

THAT’S SO RAVEN: Commerce man is training two ravens to be the official mascots for the Baltimore Ravens, the first task of which will be doing a season-opener stadium fly-through in front of 70,000 fans on Sept. 7.

WILY COYOTES: Berry College biologist is studying the behavior and ecological role of urban and suburban coyotes.

BRAVES: Beat the Astros on Teixeira’s 17th-inning, bases-loaded RBI single in the longest game in Turner Field history.

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ELECTRIC BUGABOO: Fuel costs, new plant construction and repairing an aging power grid are driving electricity prices up as much as 29 percent in some parts of the country; Georgia Power’s rate hike takes place this month.

CLAYTON: Corrective superintendent John Thompson brings in a second member of his inner circle to help lead Clayton schools out of SACS ire.

BEACH EXCEEDING GRASP: Jekyll Island beach erosion is becoming a problem.

MEX APPEAL: Mexican musical acts are enjoying growing success in Atlanta, as are Clear Channel radio stations VIVA-FM (105.7) and El Patron WBZY-FM (105.3).

SMOLTZ: Despite having just undergone surgery that has ended many pitchers’ careers, and despite being 41, he says he’ll try to pitch again.

MASCOT CASE: Future Olympic cities such as London try to do as Atlanta didn’t when picking a mascot. Says the blue pariah’s creator, graphic designer John Ryan:

I hope that I can prove that I have something else that I will be known for before I die.

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SACS ED: Although Clayton County has garnered the most publicity, enough other Georgia school systems have had accreditation-threatening SACS encounters in recent years that the state BoE requested the creation of a task force to educate school boards around the state about appropriate behavior.

SMOLTZ: Shoulder surgery is successful; doesn’t answer any questions on return to pitching, though.

GLAVINE: I don’t even want to say it.

HOT PANTS: Some “blue jean bandits” may have been caught in Dawsonville after a lengthy police chase and manhunt.

FARE ENOUGH? Atlanta cabbies say gas prices are making their trade unprofitable at current rates, ask City Council to raise them.

BRAIN PLANE: Wings Air will begin offering a 20-minute, $49 Athens-Atlanta flight Monday, with another carrier awaiting airport contracts to follow suit.

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DEFENSES DOWN: The Fulton County Superior Court’s chief judge calls the mass layoffs of public defenders — which was announced Friday with lack of state funding as the reason — irresponsible, saying it could create a legal crisis.

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES: Major restaurants and grocery store chains are voluntarily withdrawing raw tomatoes suspected of starting a 17-state salmonella outbreak, as officials continue searching for the source. Georgia tomatoes are fine.

OLD SHOULDERS NEVER DIE: John Smoltz is having season-ending shoulder surgery today.

CLAYTON: Corrective superintendent says the school district’s mandate-meeting progress can be quantified when SACS officials visit next month.

FIREBOMBING: Gwinnett radio station is attacked by a former employee armed with Molotov cocktails; a bystander corralls him, but the two of them are injured by the ensuing fire.

VOGTLE MAJORITY: The Marietta City Council unanimously votes to spend $405 million on the $14.2 billion nuclear expansion of Plant Vogtle. Since the city won’t need the energy until 2036, it will sell it to other utilities for 20 years, reducing the overall cost to $200 million.

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OBAMA AND CLINTON: Meet in Washington.

PREZ DISPENSER: Georgia has six public universities, including Georgia Tech and Georgia State, that have recently lost their presidents and are searching for new ones before fall classes begin.

TRAINING DAY: Gwinnettians will vote in the July 15 primary whether to pay a penny sales tax for MARTA service in the county. Although the last such vote in 1990 failed, recent polling indicates many now think itsmarta, perhaps due to horrible traffic and gas prices. As a backup to rail, though, county leaders are hoping to at least introduce diesel-electric hybrid accordion buses to the historically train-trepid public.

DOWN AND DROUGHT: Lake Lanier is still 13 feet below normal despite winter rains, meaning the next best hope is for a hurricane to hang out in North Georgia for a while this summer.

CHIPPER JONES: Hits 400th career home run.

CARTERSVILLE ADVENTURE: Illinois man has a big morning in Cartersville.

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CLINTON: To suspend campaign for the presidential nomination Saturday; begins campaign for the vice-presidential nomination. Jimmy Carter says Obama picking her would be “the worst mistake that could be made.”

PAIN IN THE GAS: Drivers are increasingly procrastinating buying gas as prices skyrocket go up, meaning they run out more. In Georgia, taxpayer-funded HERO trucks will give a gallon or two of gas to stranded motorists, but HERO truck drivers say they’re starting to be spread too thin.

REEF MADNESS: Since our governor prioritized a fishing initiative over sustainable development or transportation relief, it would be nice if we at least had good coastal fishing in Georgia. So the DNR is sinking old ships and building artificial reefs to build fisheries up from the bottom of the food chain.

SMOLTZ: Out for season with shoulder injury. Could be career-ending, but Smoltz is famously resilient.

HOLYFIELD: Losing $10 million home in Fayette County and falling behind on child support.

I HATE THE 90s: Temperatures will start reaching the 90s today and through the weekend, combining with a code orange smog alert to make breathing unpleasant.

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CAMPAIGN RELIEF: Clinton is expected to concede the delegate race to Obama today. * She’s saying she’ll “do whatever it takes” to put a Democrat in the White House, which was taken by Obama supporters as a hint she’d accept a VP offer.

* UPDATE: Now the Clinton campaign denies AP reports that she will concede the nomination tonight. Sigh.

WATER RETENTION: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approves plan to keep more water in Lake Lanier and other Georgia reservoirs.

CHAMBLISS: “Amazed” by public support for the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility in Athens.

KSU PROF: Gets $201,000 grant, seen as boon to smallish university’s research cred.

SMOLTZ: Comes off DL, blows save.

BORDER TOWNS: Would lose their edge, literally, if that Georgia/Tennessee border change ever happened.

A TAX TO GRIND: Mayor Franklin proposes 4.8 percent shortfall-alleviating property-tax increase, which is palatable to some City Council members compared with her original estimate of 20 percent or more, but still too much to others.

WHAT ALES US: Beer prices are rising as ingredients cost more and production is down. Apparently, beer may not be recession-proof.

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ARTHUR TESLER: Sentenced to five years this morning for lying to investigators about the fatal 2006 shooting of Kathryn Johnston.

BRAVES FAN DIES: Falls from the upper deck during the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s game.

GUN TRIAL: Smyrna gun shop owner Jay Wallace is in New York this week, preparing for his legal showdown with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is expected to take the stand in his federal trial over gun control.

TICKLED PINK: Federal judge orders the Clayton County sheriff to stop setting up road blocks on the dead-end street leading to Pink Pony South in Forest Park. The strip club sued the sheriff in February, alleging he was unfairly targeting its customers.

CRCT BREAKER: State Superintendent Kathy Cox throws out the social studies portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests that Georgia middle school students recently bombed, saying the performance was “implausibly low.”

NORREESE HAYNES: Will find out in early June if he can get his Clayton school board seat back. During a hearing Wednesday, his attorneys apparently seriously threatened to ask for federal troops to march into Clayton:

While the judge did not give a resolution to either side, the hearing was filled with moments of confusion, theatrics and even threats from plaintiff attorneys to take the case to a federal court and ask for federal troops to march into the county, if Benefield did not decide in Haynes’ favor.

BEACON GREASE: The Roswell Beacon, a startup weekly, gets national attention for a controversial cover depicting Obama in a rifle’s crosshairs.

STATE OF EMERGENCY: Declared for Cherokee County following Tuesday’s tornado and hailstorm. According to this news graphic, the storms have dislodged the entire state of Georgia from the earth, where it’s now floating away.

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‘WITHIN REACH’: Obama gives a quasi-victory speech in Iowa without actually declaring victory, after Clinton runs away with Kentucky and he wins Oregon, leaving him about 70 delegates shy of securing the nomination.

HAMILTON JORDAN: The right-hand man of President Jimmy Carter, and part of the “Georgia Mafia,” dies at his home in Atlanta at the age of 63.

TED KENNEDY: Massachusetts senator’s malignant brain tumor is likely life-threatening, although no treatment plan has yet been announced. Reuters examines the prospects of the Kennedy legacy after his tenure.

TESLER GUILTY: Rookie cop involved in Kathryn Johnston shooting is found guilty of lying to investigators, but is cleared of two more serious charges.

BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DROUGHT: Some Georgia pols seem unaware that being in a drought doesn’t mean it never rains.

MATT RYAN: Signs with the Falcons for $72 million over six years.

SMOLTZ: Shuts us out of his life.

AUTISM AND VACCINES: Georgia Supreme Court considers whether suits alleging vaccines caused autism are pre-empted by a federal law.

HARTSFIELD SATISFACTION DOWN: Canceled flights, lost luggage and waiting in lines while holding their shoes doesn’t satisfy airline passengers as much as it used to.

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CAMPAIGN IN THE NECK: Clinton wins Pennsylvania by 10 points, likely meaning we get to delight in this campaign all summer.

SPECIAL K: Smoltz gets 3,000th strikeout, Braves lose.

CHAMBLEE SIX: Sextet of Chinese immigrants who subdued and hogtied an international fugitive in February are now giving away their $10,000 in reward money.

CIVIL UNIONS: Delta and Northwest pilots unions to resume negotiations about merging their workforces.

DAVID POLLACK: Retires from the NFL at age 25 due to the neck injury he suffered two years ago.

DOUBTING THOMAS: UGA President Michael Adams defends his choice of Clarence Thomas as the 2008 commencement speaker amid faculty complaints that the university’s sexual harassment problems this year make Thomas a bad choice.

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MLK: Was assassinated 40 years ago today. Leonard Pitts writes of the sanitation workers’ strike that brought King to Memphis; Congress honors his legacy; the King Center opens a special exhibit memorializing his last days; and the Associated Press speculates on what he would have done had he not been murdered.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: General Assembly protects HOPE-eligible students in Clayton County in case the school system loses its accreditation. Meanwhile, the Clayton school board considers trying to rehire former superintendent Barbara Pulliam, who resigned in July.

CRAM SESSION: Today’s the last day of the 2008 legislative session, with most major policy items still unresolved.

BARR NONE: Bob Barr’s rumored presidential run gets even more rumored, and he may have the support of candidacy-happy Ron Paul.

ARRINGTON: Fulton Superior Court judge apologizes for expelling whites from courtroom, but offers explanation for his decision as others come to his defense.

WE’LL CALL YOU: Man robs Athens convenience store with a knife, leaves behind filled-out job application.

HAMPTON IN OUT: The most fragile Atlanta Brave hurts his left pec during warm-ups, causing Bobby Cox to scratch him from what would have been his first start since 2005. The Braves lost to the Pirates 4-3 in 10 innings.

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CLAYTON: Both superintendent candidates drop out after SACS calls them unqualified.

FREEFALLING: Ron Sailor Jr. fired by his church for secretly taking out a $250,000 mortgage on it.

SHORTFALLING: Shirley Franklin considers property-tax hike to help cover budget shortfall.

FAT NADY SINGS: Xavier Nady homers twice as Braves lose wild, 12-inning home opener to the Pirates.

THIRD-GRADE MURDER PLOT: Nine special-education third-graders in Waycross caught with a steak knife and duct tape in plot to murder their teacher.

UNHAPPY TRAIL: Alabama’s Pinhoti Trail not likely to be added into Appalachian Trail, says Pinhoti Trail Association president.

ALLATOONA: Now at full pool for first time in three years, but drought still “extreme.”

PORT AND PARCEL: Port of Savannah was the fastest-growing port in the country in 2007, fueled largely by trade with China.

ONLINE WINE: Senate passes bill allowing online wine sales in Georgia; now it’s on the Teetotaler’s desk.

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PITCH IMPERFECT: Bush throws “high heat”; Hudson dominates but Moylan gives up walk-off homer in the ninth as Braves lose season opener in Washington’s new Nationals Park.

TRAILING OFF: Alabama footpath now connects to southern terminus of Appalachian Trail in Dawson County; Congress could officially designate it as the new ending point of the 2,500-mile trail.

COYOTES: Two caught in DeKalb after killing cats.

ISAIAH RIDER: Former Hawk charged with car theft.

R.E.M.: Has new album, midlife crisis.

PANEL DISCUSSION: Former DA challenges constitutionality of judicial review panels, which reconsider and sometimes reduce prison sentences.

SINO THE TIMES: Perdue takes inaugural Atlanta-to-Shanghai flight to promote Georgia in China.

NOW MUSEUM: Now you don’t. Georgia Museum of Natural History is given a 44-acre archaeological site, which includes Indian mounds and artifacts, but the nine-year-old museum still doesn’t have an exhibition space. Its collections are stored in various buildings around Athens, where it’s based.

WRESTLEMANIA: Simulated mania becomes genuine mania for fans in Orlando.

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Number of games Braves finished behind division champions in 2007: 5

Seasons the Braves have finished below .500 since 1991: 1

Combined age of Braves top four starting pitchers: 150

Combined number of Cy Young Awards they’ve won: 3

Last time a Braves pitcher won a Cy Young Award: 1998

John Smoltz’s career strike-outs per nine innings: 7.95

John Smoltz’s strike-outs per nine innings in 2007: 8.62

Number of starting pitchers in 2008 who were also in the rotation in 2004: 1

Number of starting players in 2008 who also started in 2004: 1

Last time the Braves won a post-season game: 2005

Last time the Braves won a post-season series: 1999

Source: BaseballReference.com

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Almost lost in the spotlight that’s on Roger Clemens and his alleged steroid use is the news that John Rocker has admitted what the Mitchell report claimed: The former Braves closer took steroids and failed a drug test in 2000, his last full season with the Braves.

Not only that, but Rocker estimated that “between 40 to 50 percent of baseball players are on steroids” and added that “in 2000 Bud Selig knew John Rocker was taking the juice.”

I was around the Atlanta Braves clubhouse a lot during the Rocker era, and will always remember the huge poster of WCW wrestler Bill Goldberg hanging in Rocker’s locker, shirt off and muscles bulging.

And former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone told me once that Rocker was so muscular that if pitched past one inning, he’d have to lie down on the floor and have someone stretch his back to make him limber enough to go out for a second inning.

It also goes a long way in explaining the behavior that caused his career to implode. Rocker always seemed “juiced” when he pitched, in a figurative sense. This admission brings new meaning to the word in literal terms.

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According to the AJC’s David O’Brien, the Atlanta Braves told free agent center fielder Andruw Jones today that they can’t afford him and will allow him to sign with another team. Center field at Turner Field without Andruw Jones? It doesn’t seem possible.

I remember hanging around home plate during batting practice in 1999 when the Mets were in town. Shawn Dunston was in the batting cage and he hit a ball right center that would have been a hit in a real game. Except he exclaimed, “That was an Andruw Jones out!” When I asked him to explain, he said the players counted the number of “hits” they got during BP. But there were outs and then there were “Andruw Jones outs.” Essentially, any fly ball hit in the vicinity of center field was an “Andruw Jones out.” That’s how much respect other players have for him.

Jones is generally regarded as the best center fielder since Willie Mays. And even though he had a subpar year in 2007, he was also battling through nagging injuries. After losing Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine to free agency, it doesn’t come so much as a shock to lose Andruw Jones. You get used to it.

The fact is the Braves are owned by a company that is headquartered in Colorado, a company that purchased the Braves as a tax write-off. The Braves aren’t even mentioned on the company’s website.

The Braves will never approach the peaks of the team’s glory years in the ’90s until it is owned by someone in Atlanta who will come to games and invest emotionally in the team. Until then, the team will continue to lose its best players because management will have budget constraints.

So long, Andruw, we hardly knew ya.

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Turns out that Jeff Francoeur found their video on YouTube (shouldn’t he be practicing or something?), and then somehow the Braves PR department got a hold of it. The Auburn boys were invited to play it at Turner Field.

– Annie at Metroblogging Atlanta on a YouTube musical tribute to Mark Teixeira, who’s been an a hot streak since joining the Braves Aug. 1. Annie links to the video.

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I didn’t think they could make this whole situation smell even more like BS, but somehow the Doraville 3 managed it.

– Joseph G. at Dora-blog, responding to a statement by three Doraville city councilmen explaining why they fired the city’s police chief.

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God, Speaker. Can you make it through a single interview without sounding like the meanest man in Georgia?

– GriftDrift, on Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s interview with Peach Pundit Poobah Erick Erickson. The interview can be heard on Peach Pundit.

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My old boss at Atlanta magazine, Lee Walburn, also was the first PR director of the Atlanta Braves and likes to brag that he, not Tommie Aaron, hit the first home run in Atlanta Stadium. Unlike Hank’s younger brother, Walburn just didn’t do it during an actual game; he walked out onto the field during construction, tossed a ball up in the air and hit it into the stands.

We were talking about Walter Victor, the longtime Braves photographer, one day. Everyone who’s been to a few Braves games probably recognizes Victor. He’s a fixture of the pre-game, taking photos of players with fans, and photographing the person throwing out the first pitch and the person who sings the National Anthem.

“He was never really hired as the team photographer,” Walburn said. “He just showed up one day. We threw him out and there he was again the next day.”

Victor kept showing up, and the Braves finally gave in and hired him, and he’s been there since 1966.

What most people don’t know is that Victor was in the 9th Division infantry in World War II and was part of the troops who took Utah Beach, a scene famously re-created in Saving Private Ryan. He earned four Bronze stars in the war.

Victor has just published a new book, Brave At Heart, co-written with Anne B. Jones and Sidney R. Jones, that includes a lifetime of his photography, from World War II to behind-the-scenes shots he snapped for the Braves.

The best shot? The famed photo he took of Jeff Blauser and Mark Lemke standing on the field with the press box in flames behind them. That was the day that Fred McGriff arrived, which helped spark the Braves (pun intended) to come back from 10 games down to win the division in 1993.

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