The Atlanta Braves introduced Jim Powell as their new radio play-by-play man on Friday, formally ending Powell's 13-year run alongside Uecker on the Brewers Radio Network. Powell and his wife, Emmy, are Georgia natives, and he said the lure of calling games for his boyhood team was too strong.

Powell, known in part for his encyclopedic knowledge of Milwaukee's farm system, was asked what message he wanted to leave with Brewers fans.

"I'm really sorry that I told everybody up there that we would stay there forever, and now we're not," he said. "It was a really difficult decision for my entire family, but there is a long list of factors that led to the decision, in the end, that we had to do it."

Chief among them was the chance to return home to Georgia, where Powell, a University of Georgia graduate, will be the Braves' No. 1 play-by-play man. He likely will be paired with Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, though Sutton still is under contract with the Washington Nationals. The Braves and Nationals have been in discussions about letting Sutton out of that contract.

In Milwaukee, Powell shared duties with Uecker, who generally handled the first three innings and the end of the game.

"I would like to do some ninth innings," Powell said. "Nobody gets into baseball broadcasting and doesn't wish that they could be at the mic in the ninth inning when the game is decided.

"None of that is to say in any way that I was unhappy with my situation. I feel like sitting next to Bob was the catbird seat in all of baseball, and I guarantee you that no one in baseball has had more fun in the last 13 years than I had, but from a career standpoint, it was a significant move. And can anyone name any Major League announcers who get to call games for the team they cheered in their boyhood?"

The Braves retooled their radio broadcast team after Skip Caray passed away in August and Pete Van Wieren retired. Powell calls Van Wieren one of his idols and one of the influences that pushed him to a career in broadcasting.

The Brewers already have begun compiling resume tapes from prospective Powell replacements. Among the many candidates are Padres broadcaster Andy Mazur, an Illinois native formerly with the Cubs radio team, Cubs pregame host Cory Provus, Royals pre- and postgame host Steve Stewart, Dodgers pre- and postgame host and STAA client Josh Suchon (above left) and longtime Brewers radio engineer Kent Summerfeld.

"We loved Milwaukee and we had no desire to move," Powell said. "This was the first job interview I've had in 13 years, and it was the perfect storm of factors that led to the fact I will not finish my career in Milwaukee, as I had always intended."