The Braves have finally had enough

And who could blame them!?

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has reached a 30-year agreement with the Atlanta Braves that will send Richmond's professional baseball team of 42 years to the suburban Atlanta county.

Last year, the Braves signed a short-term lease with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, the regional body that owns The Diamond, to keep the ball club here at least one year and up to three. The team can opt out of the contract after each season but must give notice to the authority by Oct. 1 of each year if it plans to leave.

However, negotiations stalled over a long-term lease for the Braves to occupy a new or renovated stadium, despite reported concessions by the team to greatly increase the rent it would pay.

In October, Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder's administration hired a national real estate consultant, The Staubach Co., to fashion a plan for The Diamond and roughly 60 acres the city owns around it.

Late last month, Plant told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the Braves were working with the city and its consultant, even though he would have preferred a faster timetable.

Uhm, ya think? Wilder has seemingly been determined to drive the team from the city since he took office following the 2004 elections.