Sutton out as Braves' announcer

ATLANTA — So this really is the end of an era for the Atlanta Braves. First they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Now they're breaking up their popular broadcast team.

Don Sutton, a fixture in Turner Sports' Braves broadcast booth since 1989, won't be there next season.

The Hall of Fame pitcher, who was in the last year of his contract this past season, won't call Braves games on TBS or radio in 2007, Turner Sports spokesman Jeff Pomeroy said Thursday.

The company instead has offered Sutton a role as an analyst on Division Series playoff games that will air on TBS beginning next year. Sutton is "mulling that opportunity," Pomeroy said.

But such a role probably would involve calling no more than five playoff games — a far cry from the 100-plus Braves games Sutton has called annually for the past 18 seasons.

A 324-game winner as a major league pitcher, Sutton is a victim of a numbers game in the Braves' booth.

Turner Sports' five-man Braves broadcast rotation — Skip Caray, Chip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Sutton and Joe Simpson — was overstocked after Turner Broadcasting's sale earlier this year of regional cable channel Turner South to Fox Cable Networks. The sale leaves 70 TBS Braves telecasts and 162 radio games to be covered by the Turner Sports announcing crew next season, triggering a decision to pare the group from five to four.

Of the other four holdovers — the Carays, Van Wieren and Simpson — Pomeroy said "all of them have been given the opportunity" to continue to call Braves games. He said decisions have not been finalized about how assignments would be divided between TBS and the Braves radio network.

Sutton did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Sutton's cellphone voice mail said he will be out of the country for the next two weeks.

Turner Sports' Braves telecasts will be further reduced in 2008, when TBS cuts back from 70 games nationally to 45 locally. At that time, an additional 25 local Braves telecasts will shift to Fox, and TBS will air non-Braves games nationally with a new Sunday afternoon MLB package. Chip Caray is expected to be the play-by-play voice of TBS' league-wide package.

Jeff Genthner, the general manager of FSN South and Turner South (soon to be renamed SportSouth), said earlier this week that no decisions have been made on whether to alter his networks' Braves broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun and analyst Jeff Torborg for next season.

Genthner said he will consult with Braves management and do "what's best for the team and the fans." He added, "We've got a full off-season" to make those decisions.

Sutton, 61, joined Turner Sports after pitching 23 seasons in the big leagues, the first 15 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998 but is perhaps even better known in Atlanta as an announcer throughout the Braves' run of 14 consecutive division titles.

Tim Tucker writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.