Cox left Atlanta after his team won...

Cox left Atlanta after his team won the first two games being called something of a genius for having made all the right moves. He returned amid considerable second-guessing for having replaced shortstop Walt Weiss with Ozzie Guillen as part of a double switch in the Game 4 loss in which John Olerud bounced the game-inning single off Guillen’s glove and for failing to use Kevin Millwood to lock up Game 5 after Atlanta took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 15th.

Cox explained again before Game 6 that he believes Guillen has as much range as Weiss--”I’d do that again in a heartbeat,” he said. He said he didn’t use Millwood because the Braves led the series, 3-1, and were not in a desperate state, the wet mound was treacherous, Millwood wasn’t feeling his best physically and he still had a game to pitch, which was unlike the Houston series in which he worked in relief but wasn’t scheduled to start again.

The second-guessing doesn’t bother him, Cox said, because he doesn’t read the papers or listen to the radio.

“I really don’t,” he said. “I haven’t for a lot of years. And I feel good every day. I’m in a lot better mood and upbeat. Even managers need a pat on the back occasionally.”

Told of Cox’s approach to radio and the newspapers, Met Manager Bobby Valentine said, “I think that’s a very admirable thing he does, and something that some day I hope to grow up and be just like him.”