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
wayn-o
June 23rd, 2010
3:08 pm
YES, YES, YES, 1000 times yes. get Freddi now!
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:10 pm
Yeah, maybe they shouldn’t even hire a manager, just let the players play where they want to.
darryl
June 23rd, 2010
3:11 pm
Please, not TP or Chipper for hitting coach or manager……
JEWELL
June 23rd, 2010
3:12 pm
I DON’T KNOW WHAT A YUTZ IS….BUT LORIA MUST BE ONE TO FIRE FREDDI. THIS OPENS THE DOOR FOR THE BRAVES TO HIRE FREDDI RIGHT NOW!
What?
June 23rd, 2010
3:23 pm
Sund?
Sleeze
June 23rd, 2010
3:24 pm
Maybe Rambling Wrecker knows what a Yutz is. He seems to know everything else..
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:26 pm
Its a brand of potato chips.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:26 pm
Yutz, that is.
DawginLex
June 23rd, 2010
3:26 pm
POAD,
Tech’s coach?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HE CAN’T EVEN GET TO OMAHA.
lin
June 23rd, 2010
3:34 pm
its fun reading what people post. gee guys few weeks of this and that and hire this one drop that one lol. i will give you one go outside the braves for a mgr. other wise the same old problems will stick around. drop them all. thats right drop them all. put freddie in a farm team see how he does. i go with lad mgr b4 any braves if one wants new fresh ideas then braves coachs have to go with bobby.
FJR
June 23rd, 2010
3:36 pm
Can someone tell me what it is they like about Fredi other than the fact he benched Hanley? The fact that he has a losing record as a manager? The fact that he’s never won anything? The fact that he makes a lot of really questionable strategic moves? The fact that he works his bullpen like Bobby? He’s not all that good. And the simple truth is that the Marlins have vastly underachieved, despite payroll, this year.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 23rd, 2010
3:40 pm
Does anyone know what Fredi Gonzalez’s record is in 1-run games?
was wrong about Glaus
June 23rd, 2010
3:41 pm
no
Anon21
June 23rd, 2010
3:42 pm
@Chip Caray: Sure, I’m serious. Managers don’t make players better or worse; they just decide what order to send guys out in, and make some tactical decisions here and there. The quality of the players a team has is the overwhelming determinant of a team’s success; managers’ decisions have small impacts at the margins.
If managers had roster control, it would be a different story, but at least here in Atlanta, that responsibility rests solely with the GM. Thus, nothing a field manager can do matters very much, unless he starts his bench players over his regular starters every day or something crazy like that. But of course, no manager would do that, because they’d be fired.
@GTSteve: I don’t care too much, but I think that in a situation like this, even if the impact is small you should first look to do no harm. Sac bunts do harm, nine times out of ten; sending so-so runners does harm more often than not; IBBs do harm almost always. Why bring in a manager who will do all that harm, like Freddi, when there are probably plenty of candidates out there who will manage the team more sensibly? At the very least, you can save fans who know about things like win expectancy a little heartburn each night.
Drez
June 23rd, 2010
3:44 pm
Nothing against Fredi, but what makes him the hottest commodity in baseball? I don’t get it. He was mediocre for 3 seasons. Although, the Marlins have a low payroll, they have a lot of talent. They definitely have better than .500 talent.
I’ve yet to hear anyone give a sound reason why Pendleton would be a bad choice as manager. He gets all the blame as hitting coach when the team is not hitting, but none of the credit when they do. Makes one wonder what’s the real reason the majority of Braves fans don’t want to see him get a chance.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:46 pm
Okay, managers don’t make any difference in a baseball game.
I wonder why they pay some of them a million a year?
Mitchell
June 23rd, 2010
3:49 pm
Brilliant move by the Marlins. That will really help them get back to the top.
That being said, I still can’t wrap my mind around how a team with that talent can be so mediocre. I mean, imagine how many more games we’d win if we could hit all those homeruns. All those guys can go deep at will or so it would seem. Not a terrible pitching staff either.
Very stupid. Can’t wait to sweep them next week.
Robert
June 23rd, 2010
3:52 pm
Gonzalez is widely considered one of the best managers – (to have managing any team but yours)
The fact that he got fired by the Marlins shows you just how not awesome the Braves organization is at idnetifying managerial ability
That said – I agree with hiring Gonzalez TODAY – if it means firing Cox
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
3:54 pm
Manager don’t have any roster control. They just have to play whoever the GM wants to send them without any input from the manager.
Why do baseball teams even bother to have managers?
They should just get rid of them, and let the GM do everything.
While they are at it, get rid of the umpires and let the players make the calls.
Maybe it would all work out better.
I almost forgot, get rid of the broadcasters and have a silent screen and let the people at home make their own comments.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 23rd, 2010
3:59 pm
I almost forgot, get rid of the broadcasters and have a silent screen and let the people at home make their own comments.
That’s a great idea. But I wouldn’t have a silent screen. I’d have the sounds of the game.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
4:00 pm
Yeah, thats a good idea.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 23rd, 2010
4:01 pm
DawginLex why didn’t you say something about UGA coach or Texas’ coach. Hall and Morris get WINS and then the teams has to man upwhen the pressures is on. The coach can only do so much. He can’t hit, field, or pitch. Cox is playing College type ball right now. Cox is forcing the action and make the D to make plays on the throws.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
4:01 pm
There is a person on this blog that is making me look like a genius.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
4:02 pm
And that aint easy to do.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 23rd, 2010
4:05 pm
Chip we know! You are just about as Half in the Bottle as your grandpappy.
Anon21
June 23rd, 2010
4:06 pm
You’re right, Chip Caray; a modern baseball organization could definitely get by without a field manager, or at least without the current incarnation of that position. (You still probably need someone to fill out lineup cards and do other administrative tasks.) And you’re lying to yourself if you think GMs don’t set the general organizational policy, including on matters like how much to use different pitchers, which is one of the most important things which a field manager is supposedly responsible for.
None of that has any bearing on whether you need a neutral arbiter on the field to enforce the rules, or whether it is useful to have people who announce and interpret game events for viewers at home. I’ve made specific arguments for why managers are not very important; you’re just equating managers with umpires with giving any reasons to suggest that that analogy is correct.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 23rd, 2010
4:08 pm
Chip I heard he was a Bushmills man is that true? Cathloic or Protestent? Be careful very careful!
WV Chris
June 23rd, 2010
4:08 pm
If Freddi is so damn good, why did he leave? TP has been here and put in his time. Plus TP has a connection to the early 90’s teams.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 23rd, 2010
4:11 pm
Terri P was OK as a player for the Braves. He was better at getting the Braves players to understand how to handle the pressure of the Playoffs.
Johnny3Steps
June 23rd, 2010
4:15 pm
Jeff…………………Cox has his team in first with the best record in the National League…….Remember??
Tomy Fournier
June 23rd, 2010
4:20 pm
YES…YES…YES…FREDDY FOR “BAT” BOY…THE BEST!!!!
Tomy Fournier
June 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
DREZ…I”M WITH YOU!!!
Tomy Fournier
June 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
Enter your comments here
JD
June 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
Thats crazy to hire him now, Jeff. The guy has barely won in Florida. It would undermine what Bobby Cox is doing now. Plus how about interviewing some candidates after the season is over, TP would also be a good candidate for head coach. Dont be so impulsive!! Coach in-waiting is not a good thing.
ATL Fan
June 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
From what I understand about Freddi, he is similar to Bobby Cox by being able to manage the different personalities in the clubhouse. Managing a team is a whole lot more than filling out a lineup card.
mrj
June 23rd, 2010
4:32 pm
Terry Pendleton isn’t the “batting coach”. He’s the HITTING coach. Anyone can go up to bat. TP is teaching them to HIT while they’re up there!
Branch Rickey
June 23rd, 2010
4:35 pm
leading candidates s/b Eddie Perez, Chris Chambliss & Fredi Gonzalez
Terry Pendleton is not qualified or deserving of the job.
Branch Rickey
June 23rd, 2010
4:37 pm
“Terri P was OK as a player for the Braves”
Terry won an MVP, a batting title and was a key to Braves’ success in 1991-1993. What you just said was pure ignorance on your part, if not just plain STUPID !
Vixzilla
June 23rd, 2010
4:46 pm
Jeff….your like some quasi-sports Jedi or something. This would be smart.
ATL Fan
June 23rd, 2010
4:47 pm
Make Freddi the BenchING Coach.
scottbravesfan
June 23rd, 2010
4:50 pm
Is it still cool to rip on Terry Pendleton as the hitting coach? The Braves are first in on base and first in runs scored. What more do you want the guy to do?
Spike Lee
June 23rd, 2010
4:55 pm
Atlanta is a “Chocolate City”, and the Braves should hire Terry Pendleton as next manager. Its only appropriate that an African-American should lead Atlanta’s premier sports franchise.
I just saw “Robin Hood”. Not one African-American in the entire film. You’d think Clint Eastwood had directed it. Surely a movie with the word
“hood” in the title would have some African-American actors. They could have included a “Black” Knight in the script somewhere.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
5:09 pm
Anon21@406pm……Thanks man(or person), you are making me look pretty good.
Chip Caray
June 23rd, 2010
5:10 pm
GO BRAVES!!!!!!
balismith
June 23rd, 2010
5:17 pm
hiring freddi is fine but i like the idea of tp as the new manager when bobby retires
Bobby Cox is a buffoon
June 23rd, 2010
5:18 pm
Who else but Bobby Cox would leave his starting pitcher out there to get rocked for 9 runs before taking him out ! Bobby, your supposed to put your team in a position to win, not call it in by the 4th inning !
Good riddance !
Where was Hinske last night ?
Rev. Jesse Jackson
June 23rd, 2010
5:24 pm
Spike Lee’s comment @ 4:55PM makes perfectly good sense.
TP for manager !
Keep hope alive, Braves’ fans !
MSD
June 23rd, 2010
5:26 pm
Jeff, nice to know that you are the new GM…
jerry
June 23rd, 2010
5:31 pm
What’s the rush? It doesn’t take a genius to manage a baseball team. Only about a million people could do it.
Poorbrave
June 23rd, 2010
5:46 pm
Do like some football team (FSU,Texas) hire Fredi as the Manager in waiting. Give him a job upstairs till seasons over. Just get it done!!!!
TP is not the man for Braves mgr.If he wanted to be a mgr (anywhere) why did he withdraw his name in Fla, Washington etc after interviews. Plus he never has managed in Minors etc.TP time will come later. Hire Fredi ASP!
Thanks Jeff and lets hope Wren agrees! Bobby has already said Fredi was a great manager. Go Braves.