ATLANTA -- There were times during the Atlanta Braves ' 33-day search for a new manager that Walt Weiss thought "that ship had sailed" regarding his chances to move up from bench coach and replace Brian Snitker, who is transitioning to an advisor role with the franchise.

On Monday, he got the call he was hoping for from Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

"We all know Alex, how thorough he is and how stealthy he is," said Weiss, who spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time as Braves manager after eight years as bench coach. "He likes to work under the cover of darkness, and so you know this process would be like that at times. But yeah, I couldn't be more excited yesterday when I got that call."

In addition to his eight years as Snitker's bench coach, during which the Brave

See Full Page