Gonzalez keeps Pendleton but not as hitting coach (UPDATED)
Terry Pendleton has been moved from hitting coach to first base and infield coach.
(This is a rewrite of an earlier blog. Last updated at 5:45 p.m.)
New Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez apparently agreed with Braves fans who felt the team needed a new hitting coach. He just didn’t agree with them that Terry Pendleton should be removed altogether.
This morning’s blog on whether Pendleton and pitching coach Roger McDowell should be kept by Bobby Cox’s replacement stirred a lot of emotions. After over 3,000 votes, McDowell was an overwhelming popular choice to be kept as pitching coach (91 percent were in favor), but Pendleton didn’t experience the same popularity. Over 40 percent of respondents wanted him fired, 36 percent wanted him removed as pitching coach but kept on the team in another role and 24 percent voted to keep him in the same capacity.
The middle group won. Gonzalez did not name a new hitting coach Wednesday at his hastily called introductory press conference — which originally was scheduled for Thursday — but he did announce these changes:
♦ Pendleton will be removed as hitting coach but will be retained as first base and infield coach. General manager Frank Wren said: “It was time for a new voice [on hitting]. Terry’s really excited about having more influence in the game.”
♦ McDowell (pitching coach), Eddie Perez (bullpen coach) and Brian Snitker (third base coach) will be retained.
♦ First base coach Glenn Hubbard and bench coach Chino Cadahia will not be kept. Carlos Tosca, who was with Gonzalez in Florida, becomes the new bench coach.
Loading ... Loading ...All in all, the Pendleton move probably was a nice compromise, although I still believe he took way too much heat for the Braves’ hitting problems. Immediately after word leaked that the Braves were going to hire Gonzalez, speculation about Pendleton and McDowell started. Pendleton was a lightning rod every time a player went into a slump or the team struggled offensively. But he never received any credit for the success stories (Martin Prado, Brian McCann, Omar Infante, Jason Heyward, etc.).
Also, most seemed to forget this roster wasn’t exactly stacked with offensive talent.
McDowell has been terrific. Any criticism of him seems to stem from the blind loyalists to former pitching coach Leo Mazzone. The Braves have finished third in the majors in team earned run average in each of the last two seasons. Why replace him?
Gonzalez could’ve kept the entire staff but that never seemed likely. Managers in baseball, like head coaches in football, generally like to bring in some of their own people. A head football coach almost always brings in his own offensive line coach and his own coordinators. That possibly was mitigated somewhat because Gonzalez used to coach with the Braves but changes nonetheless seemed inevitable.
The only other question was whether Pendleton, who may have managing aspirations, wanted out when he didn’t get the top job. But he has long expressed a desire to remain living in Atlanta and obviously wanted to stayed in the organization. It’s also worth noting that he and Gonzalez are friends (as are Gonzalez and McDowell).
There’s your update. I’ll leave the two polls open if y0u still want to vote but at this stage I wouldn’t expect a change in percentages.
So what are your thoughts on the coaching changes?
♦
EARLIER TODAY:
♦ Fredi Gonzalez is Braves’ perfect choice to replace Cox
♦ Challenge of Cox’s replacement will be recreating chemistry
♦
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341 comments Add your comment
YOGI2
October 13th, 2010
7:54 pm
If T. Pendleton can see what is going on , he would move on. He is not a coach, he is a has been hitter that was uncoachable with his unorthdox stance etc. when he was a player. I sure hope the braves release Conrad and Mclouth and K.Kawakambi
hardball202
October 13th, 2010
7:56 pm
i hope they hire don baylor as hitting coach
Coach (2011 or Bust)
October 13th, 2010
8:01 pm
Funny, nobody was blaming Pendleton when the Braves were blasting HR’s, stealing bases and marching into the playoffs during his first five years as hitting coach (2001-2005).
Of course it’s all his fault that the Braves never did replace Rafael Furcal, or the shrinking payroll left no room for the Braves to keep Mark Teixeira after trading the farm. Yea, blame Terry.
FOR STUPID and so is Frank Wren for not giving the man a fair shot at replacing Bobby Cox.
Sid Bream's Leg
October 13th, 2010
8:02 pm
Bring back Fred McGriff. I don’t care in what role, just find something for him.
Oregon Brave
October 13th, 2010
8:05 pm
I like the defensive game the most. I kept telling myself that the infielders were screwing up because there was a new guy in the infield or playing a different position every week. I figured they just never had enough games to get used to each other, but the truth is they have very little knowledge of the basic fundamentals and footwork for the infield positions. They are all bad. Chipper ‘matadors’ every grounder he can, AGON is great at going left or right, but like Chipper, anything straight at him is an adventure. Best footwork man the Braves ever had was Mark Lemke. I don’t know if Hubbard’s duties included working with infielders or not. If so, he didn’t do a very good job. DLee displayed great defensive fundamentals and with a new hitting coach maybe he will get his eye back. TP played great defense in his day and hopefully he can do a better job with the footwork than he did around the batting cage. Can’t wait for ‘pitchers and catchers’ to report. Go Braves.
Hoping
October 13th, 2010
8:07 pm
Hoping this is not a NY, Minaya, et.al.trend that the only ball players are Latin. How did that work out for the Mets???
Coach (2011 or Bust)
October 13th, 2010
8:07 pm
O yea and one more thing, blame Pendleton for keeping an aging Hall of Fame third baseman around far past his expiration date. It’s also Terry’s fault that the entire outfield consists of a future star rookie and a bunch of bench players.
Harry
October 13th, 2010
8:09 pm
What was wrong with Glenn Hubbard and Chino Cadahia? Does anybody know?
Andy
October 13th, 2010
8:09 pm
Who do we get as Hitting Coach? Any Ideas
Homer Runs @ the mouth
October 13th, 2010
8:15 pm
The bench coach is like the managers asst. so it tends to change when the manager does. However Hubby got screwed so they wouldn’t look like real jerks when they fired TP after telling him he would take Bobby’s place. TP turned down manager offers to stay for that reason, so firing him now would just be wrong. I’m sure they are hoping he will move on though.
New Pitching Coach
October 13th, 2010
8:16 pm
Don Baylor? Milt Thompson? Chipper’s dad? Anyone?
OldTimer
October 13th, 2010
8:18 pm
Brilliant moves by Coach Gonzalez.
Let the games begin.
OldTimer
October 13th, 2010
8:20 pm
On another note, if Hubbie had been playing second base this series, the Braves would have been moving on to the next round.
Homer Runs @ the mouth
October 13th, 2010
8:23 pm
Maybe Old Timer, But Brooks gave up the winning run, not the tying run. You are assuming we would score again. Bobby blew it when he pulled Kimbral with two out after Sanchez got lucky dribbler up the middle. Kimbral was untouchable, Sanchez got lucky, Bobby made a poor decision.
OldTimer
October 13th, 2010
8:26 pm
Bobby made a lot of poor decisions that led to fourteen consecutive division titles. Would of, Could of, Should of is an easy game to play.
E-6
October 13th, 2010
8:26 pm
Old Timer – or Mark Lemke.
Homer Runs @ the mouth
October 13th, 2010
8:32 pm
Yea, but baseball isn’t. He over managed..period. Love the guy but if you saw the game you know I’m right. You gotta let a pitcher pitch a little. Its not like he didn’t have his stuff. Aubrey Huff wasn’t gonna touch it, Bobby did him a favor. And another thing after Diaz makes a awesome throw to home to save a run at the plate, Bobby benches him and bats Melky? WTF? Seriously?
THE CURSE OF DAVID JUSTICE WILL BE BROKEN THIS YEAR
October 13th, 2010
8:43 pm
THANK YOU BOOBY FOR NOTHING!
Hit A Single
October 13th, 2010
8:44 pm
Who helped Prado and Infante hit? Shouldn’t TP get alittle credit there. They sure have improved. Oh yea they are not a prima dona yet and probably listen and learn.
Jt
October 13th, 2010
8:47 pm
The thing about hitting is that there are so many different philosophies on hitting- some things are fundamental and some have to be adapted to the individual. The reason why Chipper and Bmc need heir fathers advice is because heir dads know their particular adjustments to make them successful. TP offers sound fundamental advice- but also having another voice is not a bad thing. Also, it does free him up to become a bigger part of the game and gives him more experience for future managerial job.
chris
October 13th, 2010
8:49 pm
Jeff, any word if Glenn Hubbard will be kept in another role with the organization?
George
October 13th, 2010
8:53 pm
Why in the hell is Hubbard the one to go over Pendelton…I have a good idea, but I would be called the R word. We’ve got to have racial balance.
Joe Tess Fish House
October 13th, 2010
8:59 pm
I dunnowhy u guys are complaing about TP. The real problem is the manager they hired. NEVER hire a manager with a loosing recrod that was fired just a few months ago.
Dum Braves Dum!
Choppinmama
October 13th, 2010
9:03 pm
From reading Mitchell at 3:40, I think we all can see who his whipping boy for the 2011 season will be.
Choppinmama
October 13th, 2010
9:09 pm
Hey Mitchie, can you give us a date certain past which you will stop bitchin’ about Bobby? Please do so I can scroll past all your complaining and maybe start reading some positive and/or interesting things you may have to say after that.
I mean, really……..the manager you love to hate is gone. For the love of the tomahawkin cow, or in your case – the braying donkey, quitcherbellyachin!!!
YOGI2
October 13th, 2010
9:10 pm
I think Glen Hubbard was Brooks Conrad’s infield coach
jharris
October 13th, 2010
9:10 pm
I loved Terry Pendleton as a player. He as my favorite player in the 1990’s for his leadership, glove,and clutch hitting. But the Braves need to be more aggressive at the plate. I watched too many games where the Braves are letting fast balls go by them and not hitting them. There is only so much a hitting coach can do, but guys are going to do what they want at the plate. The problem with the Braves is that they don’t have any speed at the top of their lineup. I wish they would have kept Furcal because he had speed. They need another power bat in the line up. McCann seems as if he will never reach 30 homeruns and 100 RBIS. Those 30 hr days and 100 RBI days are behind Chipper and will never return. I’d like the Braves to get Ryan Zimmerman at 3b and move Chipper to 1st base. If I were Pendleton, I’d get a managerial job somewhere in the MLB instead of staying with Atlanta. He could go to a team looking for leadership built around pitching and defense. I wouldn’t be a 1st base coach. Gonzales is try hard and win in Atlanta.
YOGI2
October 13th, 2010
9:16 pm
Fredi G. is a great choice. A lot of teams are trying to find experienced
managers. Quite a few managers are retiring or have been fired.
Fredi is the best available. He will be great. I liked Hubbard alot.
But a new coach needs to hire his own coaches. I hope he can find a real good hitting coach. The Marlins hav alot of good hitters. Who is
their pitching coach?
jharris
October 13th, 2010
9:16 pm
George,
You talked about being called the R word and racial balance. You are the one has a problem with race because you are talking about it. You are guilty it seems. Plenty of black players made Bobby Cox’s tenure look pretty damn good you forget. Terry Pendleton was one of them so was Fred McGriff, David Justice, Ronnie Gant, Deion Sanders, and Otis Nixon.
rugburn
October 13th, 2010
9:17 pm
i think bobby made his decisions based on the so called “book” of baseball.he brought in a lefty to face huff, the problem being huff hit better all year against lefties. cox supporters can say that he made the right moves, it just didn’t work out. he wore out the bullpen every year to the point of not knowing who he could count on. how many games did he lose because he wouldn’t use, for example, his 8th inning guy in the 7th.
Peter
October 13th, 2010
9:31 pm
Besides the first base coach …….Hubbard was the infield coach……. taking a look at 126 errors, plus 7 errors in a 4 game series……..it was time to change that coach !
Gatorbait
October 13th, 2010
9:41 pm
nobody is talking about Glenn Hubbard? why was he not retained? Where does he go now. Can’t believe this- huge glenn hubbard fan
bostonbravo
October 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
yeah..
hire Chipper as a “how to get past a hangover” coach..
Stumpknocker
October 13th, 2010
9:45 pm
From a prior post “Braves Fan since 80″ stated that TP was a better ballplayer than Chipper and had better stats including lifetime BA….. WRONG moron, TP’s lifetime BA was .263….at the start of 2010 season, Chipper’s BA was .310. I’ll take Chipper any day of the week over TP and I’ve been a Braves fan since 66.
VaBravesFan
October 13th, 2010
9:46 pm
Cant believe Hubbard will be gone. I was hoping too see Eddie Perez as the Bench Coach. Wonder who will be hitting coach?
VaBravesFan
October 13th, 2010
9:47 pm
I’m not a big fan of Snitker, Hubbard been here longer and he could have made the switchto 3rd base with TP at 1st.
Hoosier Aaron
October 13th, 2010
9:55 pm
Mickey Hatcher deserves to be a Big League Manager.
If that doesn’t happen – pay the price and get him as our Hitting Coach.
Angela
October 13th, 2010
9:55 pm
I cannot believe they let Hubbard go. He was always one of my favorite Braves when he was a player!!
I feel that Frank Wren is bound and determined to ruin this organization once and for all….
Sid Bream's Leg
October 13th, 2010
10:16 pm
1995 – Lopez, Klesko, C Jones, A Jones, Grissom, Justice. Any two of these guys could carry the team. This year we had McCann and old hangers-on/utility players trying to carry the team. The bag of tricks dried up in the playoffs. Wren needs to get us some major leaguers who can contribute, not drain the team. We deserve better as fans and the players deserve a better chance to win.
fish2774
October 13th, 2010
10:17 pm
Well everyone knows that the folks in Georgia aren’t real sports fans. We complain when the teams are good and complain when they are bad. I’ve read folks on this blog bad mouthing Jason Heyward for taking a first pitch. but how many people actually dogged Bobby for not playing small ball when we had runners of first or second with nobody out. Not Many……… but Heyward let the majors in base on balls and half the time we never moved the guy or guys over into scoring position because Bobby relied on the long ball to much. Whatever happened to hit and run, or bunt the next man over? Oops Bobby forgot about the fundamentals throughout the season. The why we only won 1 championship over the years. Fredi needs to go back to the fundamentals of small ball which equates to points.
Bill
October 13th, 2010
10:20 pm
Good selection for manager. Glad to see Pendleton at least change positions…..by the way, all the hitters mentioned (Prado, McCann, Infante and Heyward) were already super hitters when they came to the Braves, Heyward has taken a nose dive and Infante is struggling…..Pendleton was a great ball player, but a terrible hitting instructor, what’s so hard to understand about that ? I really hope Hubbard doesn’t get thrown under the bus. He’s been with the team many years and has been a valuable part of their winning…..I’m starting to get a little excited about next year…..Hope some of the dead weight gets dumped, and oh by the way ” Did anyone hear about Conrad attempting suicide earlier today ? Jumped in ront of a train ! Luckily it missed him and went right between his legs “…..Smile…..
Jere Hodges
October 13th, 2010
10:37 pm
I wonder if Terry’s options are a little more open since the triple-A club moved from Richmond to Gwinnett. If the manager’s position opened up there, would he be a likely candidate? If it happened that way, he’d have the opportunity to get first-chair experience that he could parlay into a major league job.
Braves Fan Since "80
October 13th, 2010
10:39 pm
Rod Carew is available, Tony Gwynn…… just because a guy can hit does not make a hitting coach….. we have all heard the stories about chippers attitude and work ethic…. I doubt he will come back in great shape….. remember this spring he lhad laid off weights….. how did that work?
Stumpknocker
October 13th, 2010
10:41 pm
Brooks Conrad has been a career minor leaguer……defence was probably a good reason why. You can’t blame Glenn Hubbard for that.
Braves Fan Since "80
October 13th, 2010
10:48 pm
From a prior post “Braves Fan since 80″ stated that TP was a better ballplayer than Chipper and had better stats including lifetime BA….. WRONG moron, TP’s lifetime BA was .263….at the start of 2010 season, Chipper’s BA was .310. I’ll take Chipper any day of the week over TP and I’ve been a Braves fan since 66……..
Stumpknocker Quote me correctly or not at all….. “At the same times in thier careers” I stand by my statement that other than batting and power Pendleton was a better ball player……. a better teammate….. he had a better feilding percentage and played on a rag in SL…. I will not call you names …… your logic tells the story
Braves Fan Since "80
October 13th, 2010
10:52 pm
Rugburn…. eever hear of a pitcher name devine out of NC State….. He was pitching lights out until he was left in a bases loaded situation…. never recovered, ever thought maybe cox was betting on his guy in the matchup
bravesfan
October 13th, 2010
10:55 pm
Thank Goodness we will be getting a new hitting coach, but i do not like getting rid of glen hubbard!! come on guys, if anybody, let the third base coach go
TruthSeeker
October 13th, 2010
11:04 pm
Pendleton may not have been the problem, but he wasn’t the solution either. I see this as a “can’t hurt” move. The fact is that our offense has been substandard for three years and has been wildly inconsistent for even longer than that. Certainly an overall lack of talent and injuries have contributed to our struggles, but if something’s not working you might as well at least TRY something different. I don’t expect dramatic improvement in our hitting if we don’t substantially upgrade the lineup this winter, but a fresh perspective may serve some of our holdovers well.
Robbie
October 13th, 2010
11:08 pm
I don’t think a Bobby clone will change the end results unless he has the where with all to play some “small ball”. Wren needs to provide some speed and a real shortstop that runs to be safe on a muffed grounder, Hell, Yunel could do that!
Gee
October 13th, 2010
11:12 pm
T.P. you were in WAY over your head buddy. I agree with the notion that we need more BIG bats put into the lineup. We have speed on the team… We just chose not to use it. Jason Heyward, Omar Infante, Nate McClouth,Rick Ankiel… All fast players. I think the batting order needs tweeking and we most definitely need to bring in a big bat or 2 to fix the lack of homerun issues. Next season we will be much better. We will be 5 deep in our pitching rotation. The young guys have a year under their belt. Bring in a couple big bats… Problem solved. Happy with the coaching change.. Was a long time coming for sure. Hope Gonzalez finds the weak links and weeds them out and puts his flavor into this team. We need a new identity on the offensive side of the ball.