Fredi Gonzalez fired — and Braves should hire him now
The potential transition from Bobby Cox to Fredi Gonzalez just got easier.
When Bobby Cox manages his final game in four months, give or take, depending partly on how long Troy Glaus channels Harmon Killebrew, the Braves officially will begin a search for his replacement.
Logic says general manager Frank Wren already has a list with a few names. But if he lost it in a drawer, it’s no big deal. The search just got a whole lot easier. The Florida Marlins fired manager Fredi Gonzalez Wednesday morning. This would be a good time for Wren to phone Gonzalez and see if he would be willing to accept a job as special consultant in charge of, I dunno, looking for a new house.
I’ve written about Gonzalez in the past, most recently when he earned the respect of his peers and the players in the Marlins’ clubhouse by benching the immature Hanley Ramirez (click here) for laziness. He is a former Braves coach who has managed winning teams in Florida despite a minuscule payroll, little fan support and, perhaps worst of all, a knucklehead for an owner (Jeffrey Loria).
Loria considered hiring Bobby Valentine after last season. When it was reported, he denied doing any such thing. I’m guessing Loria also produced BP’s oil spill estimates.
Loria fired Gonzalez after the Marlins started the season 34-36. In a sense, the firing was expected. Gonzalez was set up for a fall in spring training, when Loria declared that he considered Florida a playoff team.
Not that the Marlins could compete for the playoffs. But that they WERE a playoff team.
“I expect us to make the playoffs,” Loria said. “We’ve got all the ammunition we need.”
What a yutz.
For the record, the Marlins’ $57 million payroll on opening day ranked 26th out of 30 teams. In the National League East, they trail Philadelphia ($141.9 million, fourth), New York ($134.4 million, fifth), the Braves ($84.4 million, 15th) and even Washington ($61.4 million, 23rd).
When a team has a lower payroll than the Washington Nationals, the owner should respond by building bronze statues for a manager that goes 34-36, not by firing him.
Gonzalez never publicly complained. “You feel like, as a manager or coach, whatever players you get, you feel like you can win with,” he said about the payroll.
Gonzalez shouldn’t feel too bad. Loria also has fired Joe Girardi in 2006, even though Girardi was named National League Manager of the Year. Three years later, Girardi won a World Series with the New York Yankees.
We perceive Braves owner Liberty Media as a bottom-line corporation that doesn’t really care about the baseball product. But if owners were historical rulers, then Loria is Napoleon and Liberty Media is Alexander The Great by comparison.
No problem. This could be a blessing for the Braves.
If the Braves have a strong season — and postseason — I believe hitting coach Terry Pendleton will be strongly considered by Wren as Cox’s replacement. But anything other than a strong October and I think Wren will look outside the organization.
That shouldn’t even be an issue now. The Braves should see if Gonzalez is open to a position with the organization immediately, whether as consultant or pro scout. The final managerial decision can be made later. Get him in the fold now.
Something tells me Gonzalez is not going to be unemployed for long.
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199 comments Add your comment
clay
June 23rd, 2010
1:49 pm
Fredi Fredi Fredi!!!!! They need to hurry up and scoop him up before baltimore does. Just hire him to a BS position and then when the time is right, you announce him as the new HC.
unknown hinson
June 23rd, 2010
1:50 pm
I’ll take Fredi anyday.
Walker, Texas Ranger
June 23rd, 2010
1:51 pm
Sund?
DawginLex
June 23rd, 2010
1:55 pm
TP’s never been a manager. If he gets mad, tough, he needs to get over it. Go manage the Orioles or something and spend a couple of years trying to fix that garbage. He will be wishing he was back in Atlanta as hitting coach.
Frank Wren
June 23rd, 2010
1:56 pm
Delbert is subtle, Walker. Dry. But, oh so hilarious. I think.
peckinpah
June 23rd, 2010
1:58 pm
DO NOT HIRE THIS GUY. THe Braves are just now coming out of a 3 year stretch of mediocrity and we do not need some scrub manager sending us back there. Look, I was in Fl last week on vacation and caught a few Marlins games: this guy was a joke. In one game he filled out his lineup card wrong, cost his team an out by sending the wrong player to bat, then was ejected for it. Hanley was right, he does not know what he’s doing.
Dumbo
June 23rd, 2010
1:58 pm
ABTP…Anybody But Terry Pendleton!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough said!
meh
June 23rd, 2010
1:58 pm
hire Fredi. or TP. they’d probably both do fine.
brandon
June 23rd, 2010
2:01 pm
TP is not good. you have nate batting under .200. troy glaus is a guy that won the world series mvp. he has just worked hard to come back. he is a terrible hitting coach. how many of these guys call their fathers when they are struggling. chipper has his dad, mccann has his dad, etc. please sign ned yost or freddi!!! if not them, anyone else!!
Steve
June 23rd, 2010
2:01 pm
Would be a perfect fit! Jeff forward your article to Frank Wren!
the TRUTH
June 23rd, 2010
2:01 pm
Shut the hell up Schultz we have baseball games to win. We don’t need a distraction.
Walker, Texas Ranger
June 23rd, 2010
2:02 pm
Sleeze you can’t blame TP for players like Andruw and JF, who have long swings, not being able to go to right. A lot of it is they finally have unselfish players who are patient, smart and gritty. I really like the makeup of the team. If they had more speed then they would be very good. I think TP would be a great coach for this type team. I’m not sure if Fredi is more of a speed guy or a 3 run home run guy. I don’t think we can go wrong either way. As long as it isn’t Valentine, Bowa or one of thos jag offs.
Dr. Phil
June 23rd, 2010
2:03 pm
Well said DawginLex. Get Freddie! TP can take it or leave it! He as no track record as a head coach!
LuisG
June 23rd, 2010
2:03 pm
I suggest to keep a log on who’s in favor of a possible Gonzalez signing to see if they support him if he gets to manage this team next year and if he eventually struggles.
collegeballfan
June 23rd, 2010
2:04 pm
I completely agree. And they should have hired Yost when he was out of work. It would be hard to go wrong picking between Gonzalez, Yost and Pendleton.
Walker, Texas Ranger
June 23rd, 2010
2:04 pm
Ned Yost is a jag off too
jwilli120
June 23rd, 2010
2:07 pm
yes..now maybe the marlins will stop having the braves number.
gotta feel bad for freddi, he did a phenominal job with what
he was dealt with!!!!!! welcome home freddi?
BUBBA GUMP
June 23rd, 2010
2:09 pm
FIRE ………………..Schultz
Braves Fan
June 23rd, 2010
2:09 pm
I hope the Braves administration does not drop the ball on this one. The best possible new manager is being handed to them on a silver platter and is available now. Waiting will only cause problems.
If they don’t grab him now some other team will, and the Braves will settle for less and wonder why the fans and team ain’t happy.
This one move will prove whether they really want to win.
Kentavo
June 23rd, 2010
2:10 pm
Jeff, I’m just wondering why you think Fredi should be the Braves next manager? Seriously.
bowman
June 23rd, 2010
2:11 pm
Had the same thought, Jeff, when I heard Gonzalez got fired. I named him as my favorite to succeed Cox a long time ago, but Gonzalez’s contract ran through the 2011 season. Thank the Marlins took care of that problem. It’s as if the fates aligned like we want.
Rather than hire Gonzalez now as the head of whatever, I think he should be hired as the hitting coach. That takes care of two problems for next season. Gonzalez gets promoted and he won’t have to fire the worthless Pendleton.
bowman
– -
“Art will always be Art.” – Goethe
BravesFanLostInOhio
June 23rd, 2010
2:13 pm
Good post. Freddi knows the organization, is a good manager, and he already knows the division well, too. AND, he is gonna want to beat the tar outta the Marlins every year.
BravesFanLostInOhio
June 23rd, 2010
2:14 pm
Kentavo, it’s funny you ask. He wrote an article about it on ajc.com today. You should read it.
peckinpah
June 23rd, 2010
2:14 pm
I just don’t see what he has done to deserve to mange the Braves, other than he was a bench coach at one point. So what? Get someone who doesn’t make boneheaded mistakes that costs his teams outs. Get someone with a proven record. Get someone who has proven they can win! Gonzalez is none of these things. MAYBE the braves should offer him another bench coaching job, but manager? Why him? Why settle for less?
Kentavo
June 23rd, 2010
2:16 pm
I know, but what beyond the fact that he used to be a Braves base coach and he benched Hanley makes him qualified to take over a new era for the Braves?
I want reasons; seriously, I’m not arguing, I just want to know the reasoning, other than “I like him.”
BUBBA GUMP
June 23rd, 2010
2:17 pm
COX deserves to finish the season………………….Fire Jeff Schultz
Pascual Perez
June 23rd, 2010
2:22 pm
Fredi still lives here. He doesn’t need to house hunt.
gcs
June 23rd, 2010
2:26 pm
If the Braves were in last place I would say this is a good idea, but they are not. They are in first place. Do you really want to mess with a good thing? Weren’t you listening to Chipper’s “R-word” interview the other day?
If the Braves really want to secure Gonzalez right now, make him an offer but swear him to secrecy. I think he would keep mum out of respect for his mentor.
.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 23rd, 2010
2:27 pm
Also, baseball is headed back to the Cardinals 80’s style of baseball.
I do hope that’s true.
Dr. Phil
June 23rd, 2010
2:27 pm
Pascual, hows driving on 285 these days?
Brave Dawg
June 23rd, 2010
2:31 pm
TP, Yost, and some more who will probably become available at seasons end might like to be considered but any of them, and all of them, are a distant second choice to Fredi. He can be hired as a consultant now and be named manager immediately upon Bobby’s much deserved retirement. To be the best you have to hire the best. Do it now Mr. Wren.
Pascual
June 23rd, 2010
2:34 pm
What exit do I take to the stadium Por Favor?
athdog
June 23rd, 2010
2:35 pm
In short, agreed.
Gwinnett Fred
June 23rd, 2010
2:43 pm
I agree with those suggesting it would be disruptive to hire Gonzalez now.
HOWEVER – that does not mean they can’t go ahead and tell him the job is his for this salary – they come to an agreement – and then he magically appears at a press conference after the season as the new manager.
That way, a better facade can be created that the Braves did their full search for a manager to keep the minorities happy (which would happen even though Gonazlez is a minority too).
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
2:43 pm
I was kind of hoping that I could get Bobby’s job when he goes.
I have already sent in my resume.
I’m kind of getting sick of Joe dissing me all the time.
Rich
June 23rd, 2010
2:44 pm
I’ll help him unpack when he gets here. Hire him now in whatever capacity necessary to at least have him within our grasp for consideration.
willy
June 23rd, 2010
2:45 pm
Yeah, if Pendleton has his eye on the job, you can’t go pulling the rug out from under him while they are on a playoff run.
Funny, Schultz never even acknowledged that conundrum.
Anon21
June 23rd, 2010
2:45 pm
For the life of me, I can’t understand why people are so enthused about Fredi Gonzalez. First of all, managers just don’t make much a difference in the outcome of a team’s season. Yeah, their calls about when to switch pitchers, or who to send out to pinch hit, or how to fill out the lineup card have a small influence on the outcome of games, but probably 99% of the outcome of each game is completely independent of managers’ decisions, and comes down to the quality of the two teams on the field. Whether it’s Gonzalez or Pendleton or a guy in a tomahawk costume in the dugout, the players are going to play how they play.
Second, for what little influence managers DO have on game outcomes, so far as I can tell Gonzalez would be mostly a negative. Sac bunts, frequent intentional walks, the running game–Fredi buys into all that garbage, and all of it will hurt the Braves’ chances to win games. I put up with it from Bobby because Bobby’s a living legend and the face of the organization. But when we have the chance to select a new manager, why pick a guy who makes use of discredited stratagems?
bob
June 23rd, 2010
2:47 pm
Don’t worry. If he is the Braves choice he will be there later. Would he rather drive a Maserati or an Oriole.
Ed Norton
June 23rd, 2010
2:49 pm
He’ll love it here, where the fuzzy soft media never questions a Braves manager or his moves. Or is it just Bobby you have a man-crush on?
PaulieOldschool
June 23rd, 2010
2:49 pm
Jeff, I will bet you all $13 in my wallet that the Braves will not hire Gonzalez now or after the season. You are correct he will not be unemployed long. Wren isn’t an imperative GM, he fidgets too long and then the moment is gone. For now we could hire Gonzalez as Special Ass’t to the Braves’ Thrashers’ Fan Club. Just sayin’.
GTSteve
June 23rd, 2010
2:50 pm
Freddi’s got my vote
Gt4ever
June 23rd, 2010
2:51 pm
Sweet, for once I agree with Schultz…. Could the world be coming to an end!
MarlinsFan2010
June 23rd, 2010
2:56 pm
This Marlins fan wanted to let you know that your analysis was spot on, Jeff. I hope that the Braves (and their fans) can capitalize on what’s looking to be a tragic loss for us.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
2:57 pm
Anon21@2;45pm……’First of all, managers just don’t make much of a difference in the outcome of a team’s season’, really Anon, I mean really?
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
2:59 pm
You were kidding, right?
Pi$$onaDawg
June 23rd, 2010
3:00 pm
Why not look at a college caoch? Auggie Ball at Texas has been great for years. Tech coach is good at winning too. Morris from Miami via Tech is a good manager. The dawgs coach Perion(? spelling) is a good manager too.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:02 pm
Probably because it’s Professional Baseball, they are playing at Turner Field.
Joel
June 23rd, 2010
3:04 pm
NED YOST
GTSteve
June 23rd, 2010
3:07 pm
@Anon…if the manager doesnt make that much of a difference, then why do you care who they hire