Braves collapse, and the shine just came off Fredi Gonzalez
Fredi Gonzalez watched as the Braves blew an 8½-game wild-card lead in 23 days. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Fredi Gonzalez was quietly handed the Braves’ managerial job before Bobby Cox ever stepped out the door in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge deal, and nobody really had a problem with it.
He had the resume and the personality. Everybody liked and respected him. He knew the players, the organization and the city. The Braves weren’t making over the manager’s office as much as they were changing a light bulb.
Something went wrong.
This is not a “Fire Fredi Gonzalez” column. But we’ve just witnessed one of the worst collapses in sports history, and the Braves can’t just assume that a few roster tweaks are going to fix the problem. When a team goes 10-20 down the stretch — including 0-9 against their two biggest competitors (Philadelphia and St. Louis) — and loses three consecutive series to the division’s flotsam (Mets, Marlins, Nationals), this isn’t about just injuries or a few guys going into a slump.
The vibe was missing this season. That’s on Gonzalez. The team fell apart when it needed to come together, blowing an 8½-game lead in 23 days. That’s on Gonzalez. The Braves seemed tight and meek and borderline frightened, as if waiting, hoping, white-knuckle-praying for a playoff spot to just fall into their lap. They didn’t just take it, and didn’t play like they felt they deserved it.
That’s certainly on Gonzalez. The shine just came off the perfect replacement.
I understand this isn’t football. Managers make in-game decisions, but they aren’t calling plays. They change the lineup and the batting order. Gonzalez did that. He pulled Chipper Jones out of the No. 3 spot. He benched Jason Heyward.
Ultimately, the question is whether a manager is making a team better, making it believe. The Braves clearly weren’t, therefore Gonzalez clearly didn’t.
Even with injuries, this was twice the team that reached the postseason last year and lost three one-run games to the eventual World Series champions in San Francisco.
Gonzalez doesn’t need to go. But he needs to change. Or maybe someone. Gonzalez said Thursday that all of his coaches are coming back. But for all the screams from the cheap seats about former hitting coach Terry Pendleton, his replacement, Larry Parrish, didn’t bring anything to the table.
Maybe Gonzalez just needs to change himself. Maybe he came in and, consciously or subconsciously, didn’t want to disrupt things too much in the first season after Bobby Cox retired. It was such a feel-good season last year, that would be understandable. But if that was the strategy, it backfired.
When asked about the collapse following Wednesday’s final loss, Chipper Jones said, “It’s cruel, because probably nobody in Atlanta sports is probably under as much scrutiny as he is filling in for Bobby Cox. To have it slip away in late September, it’s cruel. It’s really cruel. It’s not indicative of the way this team played, the way he managed, and what we deserved in this situation.”
Not sure about the “deserved” part of that quote. The Braves just played 162 games. That’s enough time.
They blew it. They blew it like no team in Atlanta sports history. That blew it like few teams in all of sports history. The only people who aren’t saying today that they blew it live in Boston — because they have their own problems.
What just happened is mind-numbing. But even before the collapse, the Braves seemed to have chemistry issues. They never quite came together like most anticipated. This was a team that figured to challenge Philadelphia in the National League East and possibly for a World Series.
There aren’t a lot of tangible things we can pin on Gonzalez. He certainly stuck with Derek Lowe too long, and the decision to start him Tuesday over rookie Julio Teheran blew up in the manager’s face. He made the bold decision to go with Jose Constanza over the struggling Heyward in right field for several starts, which seemed to ignite the lineup. But then he switched back to Heyward, who is the better player, but still seemed to be a mess.
But it never should have come down to that decision, or to a few starts by Lowe. When a team goes 10-20 to close the season and gets swept at home in the last three games, the issues are bigger than that.
Implosions like this are on the manager. He didn’t make the team better. The Braves underachieved. And Gonzalez just lost the benefit of the doubt.
By Jeff Schultz
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845 comments Add your comment
Bobby Cox
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
The kid pitched well. He just made that one mistake.
Stats Guy
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
P Rose – great comments!
What's that?
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
Go Braves! … and take the Falcons with you.
ronaldh
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
I think Fredi has to share a big portion of the blame. From the day Bobby Cox announced his retirement everyone knew Fredi was going to be the next manager. That is, everyone except those in a state of denial. I will be all for giving him one more year provided he cleans house with the coaching staff. I appreciate that this is not a “fire fredi” column. However, I want to see another one assigning Frank the bird Wren his fair share of the blame. He is the one who over paid Lowe. He is the one who threw big bucks at someone who is, at best, a AA player (kamakazi). I give the bird one more off season. If he does not bring in some offense between now and March, let him go. If he gives another contract to Lowe, let him go. If he makes one more dumb move like signing a pitcher who has never pitched in the major leagues (kamakazi) to a big contract, let him go. I lay the blame for this crap squarely at the feet of Mr. Wren. Now, Jeff, let’s see an article about him.
Chip Caray
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
THERE’S A DRIVE…!
Muscle Man
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
Linebrinke and Wilson are so athletic – it was beautiful to see them together at the plate and SS! They look like they should be dressing subs at Which Wich!
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
12:24 pm
1.Bourn
2.Chipper
3.Freeman
4.Kemp
5.Mac
6.Uggla
7.Heyward
8.Pastornicky
1.Hudson
2.Hanson
3.Beachy
4.Minor
5.Teheran
-Medlen
-Martinez
-Delgado
bigcrimson75
September 29th, 2011
12:25 pm
BTW, lay off Heyward. He had a bad soph year. this guy is a 40 homer a year guy. The Bravos are ok with FF at 1st – Ugly at 2nd – Chip at 3rd – Hey in right – Bourne in CF. We need someone in LF and definitly a new SS.
As for the staff — Beachy , hudson , hanson , JJ(when healthy) & yes even Lowe is what got us the cushion to start with.
The Pen is solid just over-worked by a bad manager
Simple Decision — Fire the manager
Gimpah & McError
September 29th, 2011
12:25 pm
Maybe Gonzalez came in and, consciously or subconsciously, didn’t want to disrupt things too much in the first season after Bobby Cox retired. If so, that backfired.
BINGO! – Fredi is much better than this but didn’t wanna rock the boat. You won’t see the ‘real’ Fredi until Chipper Jones is out the door. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to trade McCann and his 104 stolen bases allowed for a Tex type haul. Oh wait. You mean to tell me he’s only the world’s greatest catcher because he plays for THIS team? No team in their right mind would give much for McCann unless he was going to be a DH.
Muscle Man
September 29th, 2011
12:27 pm
Linebrink and Wilson are so athletic – it was beautiful to see them together on the field last night. They look like they should be dressing subs at Which Wich!
FL dawg
September 29th, 2011
12:27 pm
Yeah Jeff whats up with you and Wren?
Charlottedawg
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
You can’t say that Venters and Kimbrel being overworked didn’t affect them. It absolutely did. Look at what they both did for the first 5 months of the season….now compare that to September….and honestly…the only pressure situations they were in (From a “must-win” standpoint) were over the last week or so….Gonzalez made the conscious decision to trot them out there everytime they were needed…and they were overworked because of those decisions. Wrong decision. Cost them the season. Fredi’s gotta go. Sorry.
NO MORE PARRISH
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
THANK YOU!!! Can you take over for the DOB section because you report how it really is. I would love to have a manager like Kirk Gibson. Demands you play hard and would not give the ho hum excuses Fredi did last night. He also takes care of himself which Fredi does not. Body language says a lot and look at Fredi… fat and lazy. So is Parrish. Just sits on the bench like the old man he is. I want to see attitude and swagger back on the Braves. Hope it comes sooner than later because I really can’t take much more of this watered down Bobby Ball.
Steven Sinclair
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
The column is correct. The hitting coach has to go. I like Lowe, but he is filling space at best. Heyward should be given one more year. If he does not stay healthy, hit 275, drive out 25 HRs,and knock in 85 runs, he should be gone, too. The Brave fan-base is very patient. We put up with a horrible month and should be given something tangible in return. I have been a fan since I was 7 (1957…remember Matthews, Aaron, Spahn, et al?) I hope the Braves play as hard and with the same degree of competence next year as the amount of faithfulness I and many others have demonstrated for the team over the years.
DAMON
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
Give me a 250 clutch hitter over a 300 non-clutch hitter.
For the month of Sept, this team was HORRIBLE leaving RISP !!!
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
12:28 pm
HOW ON EARTH when I was typing out the Offseason To-Do List did I forget the most frustrating part of the 2011 season??!!!!
GET RID OF CHIP CARAY!!!!
NO MORE PARRISH
September 29th, 2011
12:31 pm
THERE ARE NO GAMES SCHEDULED IN THE NEXT 14 DAYS
Sucks to see this on Braves homepage.
Rockin' Leo
September 29th, 2011
12:33 pm
How about my Orioles putting those prima dona Red Sox out of their misery. Maybe the Braves and Red Sox can start their own under acheivers league. Bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa
HoosierBrave
September 29th, 2011
12:33 pm
One bright spot-Medlen is a bulldog.
JCB30338
September 29th, 2011
12:34 pm
The Braves will be returning a lot of great personnel next year. The young pitching staff will have more tenure. Huddy has some great days left in him. I really like the core of McCann, Uggla, Prado, Freeman, Bourn and Heyward. I think after last year’s team overachieving like they did the expectations may have been a little bit high: A rookie manager handling a very young pitching staff; a new thumper in the middle that tried to carry the team duirng the first half to the tune of a <.200 BA; and, integrating the best leadoff hitter the Braves have had since Rafael Furcal into a lineup that was just not set up to use that kind of weapon yet.
My hope for 2012 is to see more working of the count (see "Heyward – 2010"), more innings out of the starters, maybe a little more youth on the left side of the infield and a fanbase that doesn't whine when the team loses games (89 wins is pretty good). This year there was about $37M tied up in three big contracts: a HOFer, a formerly successful veteran pitcher and a gentleman who pitched in AA all year. Some of that money may get freed up but if not "more" than "less" we may be in for another year of "just shy."
That said, I still believe. Great season fellas. We'll get 'em next year, Fredi. See you all at the Ted on Friday, April 13, 2012!
FL dawg
September 29th, 2011
12:35 pm
Ozzie’s going to Miami. The Braves better put some swagger back in their step or they wont even have a chance to be disappointed in Sept. next yr. I’m serious the Braves have to make moves soon and not putt around.
Lobosolo
September 29th, 2011
12:36 pm
Jeff, the AJC’s sports page has been slipping this year, too… I hold YOU responsible, and some changes need to be made… First, you need to learn more about the sports you cover… Most importantly, you need to learn to write… really…
DAMON
September 29th, 2011
12:37 pm
You could have had Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver , in their prime, on this roster and you still can’t score a single dam run with bases loaded, no outs.
Brian Asselstine
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
Whoever decided to bench Constanza and play Diaz and (J-Hey I am overrated) is at fault. If GM made the decision, he is wrong and should be fired! If it was Fredi, well that was a poor call. learn from but do not make the same mistake again. Play the productive players regardless of hype and salry. Speed was killing with Constanza and Bourn.
Mike in Marietta
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
what bothers me most is there is no accountability. In the quotes after the game he has more of a well thats the way it goes attitude. It’s one thing to collapse but when he doesn’t hold himself accountable for the way his team performed down the stretch I have a problem with him. This bothered me earlier in the season and I let it go because you need a positive attitude to get your players to have that same positive attitude. But after $hitting the bed you should admit you did it.
Lobosolo
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
Gimpah… you need to learn about what you speask before you go making yourself look so stinking stupid… idiot…
jerry
September 29th, 2011
12:38 pm
On July 6th, Jurrjens had 12 wins. He won only one more game the rest of the year. Hanson missed two starts in June, never fully recovered from a partial tear of his rotator cuff, (didn’t they say it was tendenitus), and pitched his last game on August 30th. Beachy missed over a month. Are you telling me this bunch could not have scratched out two more wins?
Jun 17, 2011 – Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson will miss Friday’s start against the Rangers with right shoulder tendinitis, the club announced Thursday.
Orioles Fan
September 29th, 2011
12:39 pm
At least the Braves were alive until the 162nd game. Try being a Baltimore fan. The only thing we can celebrate is knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs. But that does feel pretty good.
Send us Chipper and let him finish out his career as a DH.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
12:39 pm
.227/.319/.389
.260/.302/.385
Those numbers are why we didn’t make it. Look at it how you want but we lost by 1 GAME! ONE GAME! Thats ONE big knock to win one of those 1 run games we had this season. Couldn’t get it.
BigJohn
September 29th, 2011
12:40 pm
Blown call at third by the same ump that blew one in another game at 2nd. He needs to go back to the minors for remedial training. Had it been the right call the Braves would have won in 9. However, doesn’t make up for losing the 8 game lead by letting the Mets, Nats, and Fish beat you!!! I felt like there wasn’t any fire in the players for last 3 or 4 weeks. That and Freddi doesn’t handle the pitching staff very well. He lets some pitchers stay in the game until they have really screwed up the game.
Dan
September 29th, 2011
12:40 pm
Good piece, Jeff.
IMO the lack of hitting is what set the stage for Fredi to, in fact, over work the the bullpen!!
It all comes down to the lack of hitting!!
Real Braves Fan
September 29th, 2011
12:40 pm
What’s that?
September 29th, 2011
11:59 am
Chipper Jones is THE curse. His lack of enthusiam is contagious. The rest of the players see this bum getting paid millions for nothing. Can’t hit in CLUTCH situations, just gets a few RBI’s when it doesn’t matter. Mr. CHOKE come crunch time. Retire,PLEEEEEASE RETIRE.
You cant be serious right????? Chipper has been the most clutch player for the braves over the past decade pretty much. He was hitting over 300 down the stretch with like 8-10 HRs. This is why the fans opinion doesnt mean anythiing because most dont know anything. If you are wondering ur in the dont know anything category! Those of you saying trade JJ and Hanson also belong to that category. JJ will be here a while, Hanson I hope he is too but sooner or later we wont be able to afford both. But losing either one is a huge blow to our staff. We have obviously seen you cant just trot 4 rookies out their into your starting rotation and expect to win. They are all very talented but need the help of players like Hanson and JJ and Huddy to become better.
Shultzie you are partly in that category bc by NO MEANS does this all fall on Fredi. In fact some of his blame goes to Bobby for trying to be a player pleaser like Bobby. Lowe should have been traded at the deadline when he had interest or sat down 4 starts ago. Only thing I can think of with keeping Gonzo in and not making a move this year is that they must be looking for a free agent SS (hopefully Reyes, who we will be able to afford now with no Nate or KK). His decision to go back to Heyward did backfire but you cant not play one of the most talented players in the game (Parrish needs to be fired for not being able to help this kid get his form back). Thats about it that falls on Freddi.
The rest falls on the players. It’s not just the managers job to get the team fired up, that on us the fans, the team (Especially Vets), and Freddi. I was at the game last night and no one in our dugout was into the game. We had 1-2 players on the top steps watching the game, the rest sitting on the bench chatting. The ENTIRE Phillies team was standing at the top of the steps and the game didnt mean anything to them. Yes we had our two best pitchers hurt practically entire second half and that didnt help us at all.
If the Braves expect to be contenders next year the following has to happen:
Get rid of Dlowe- dont care how or were just get him out of Atlanta.
Get Chipper to take a paycut of some of the 15M he is owed next year to something way more reasonable
Rejoyce that KK and Nate are gone and spend their former salaries.
Go out and get a SS or LF with the above available money. Both would be great but we only need one. Would like to make a run at Kemp and or Reyes. Would also like to see us inquire on Stanton, yes he plays RF but he is a huge bat and i am sure we could teach him LF. Marlins are notorious for unloading their talent, and they wont be able to sign him to a big deal.
Whichever one we dont get (SS/LF) put Prado there.
Bring Infante back!!! He would be our best bench player and can play anywhere on the diamond.
Fans- Need to show up and give these guys some support. I have season tickets and go to every game I can. It works both ways, Fans come when the team wins. Players play better at home with a big crowd. Maybe instead of making the braves win a bunch before you come out, how about getting out there and cheer them on and the wins will follow.
Headline I want to see
September 29th, 2011
12:42 pm
The only headline I want to see is “FREDI’s FIRED, CHIPPER RETIRES”
Greg
September 29th, 2011
12:43 pm
Jeff, why do you think the team was actually better than they showed? Maybe they’re a mediocre team that Gonzalez managed to get to play over their heads for a couple of months. I guess I just don’t see the talent on this team that so many do.
Tdawg
September 29th, 2011
12:43 pm
I can’t understand for the life of me, how so many pitchers, pitched their all time best game against the Braves this season? Truely puzzling. Can you tell me Chipper, Craig, Dan, Alex, Brian. Surely at least one of you guy’s must have a clue.
meh
September 29th, 2011
12:43 pm
Fire Carlos Tosca.
Lost Cause
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
I think if you actually analyzed what the problem was … it is a simple statistic … swinging at too many balls outside the strike zone. This is the only difference between this years team an last years team that explains most of the offensive issues BB down from 634 last year to 504 this year. That is a whole lot of runners that never made it to base.
JimBean
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
How about making sure the guys are well-conditioned to deal with the 162-game marathon?
I don’t think the blame falls solely on Fredi. I think it’s rather unfair to judge him on one year.
M10
September 29th, 2011
12:44 pm
I think this is going to be the worst year of Heywards career I think he needs some time off to get healthy and work and I think he’ll return back to form I think pp are overreacting on a 2 year player.I wonder what you guys are going to say nxt year when Freeman struggles bc the league will make adjustments to him at the plate,are you gonna want to trade him to.
Jim
September 29th, 2011
12:45 pm
Freddi is a Bobby Cox. See manager like Brenly win world series and then get fired we kept Cox ten years to long .Had four hall of fame players and one WS call that a loser then we get Fat Freddi who couldnt manage a Dairy Queen. Fire Freddi put Heyward in AAA DFA Lowe get SS and LF we beat phils next year.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
12:45 pm
Very, very true, Lost Cause. Ive been saying the same thing all season. Thats the “Larry Parrish Affect”
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
Effect*
Caseyatthebat
September 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
There’s something wrong with this teams psyche. There seems to be a politeness, an acceptance, a kind of niavite. Even fans are that way. They don’t show up until the third inning and then they get on their cell phone. The guy in front of me one game read the Sunday newspaper. Maybe it’s the South. Maybe we’re really just getting what we want. To say this team lacks a killer instinct is laughable. Thi team is “proper”. It does the “proper” things. Figuratively speaking, to win it all in professional sports today you need a mind set that wants to cut out the heart of the competition. You don’t just want to beat them. You want to pound them into the dirt. “MY God! No, not in Atlanta!”. I remember fans who threw quarters at Reggie Jackson in NY when he didn’t do well. Fights in the locker room that morphed on the field into a fighting psyche against the competition. Columnists that ripped players who didn’t produce while making millions. Players booed wherever they went. I also remember the opposite. The praise, idolization,respect from columnists and fans when players excelled. Most of this, of course, was in the north. New York, Philadelphia, Detroit. Places and teams Atlantans don’t want to look to. Well folks, look to the tv because you’ll see them all in the playoffs. The Braves will “properly” be home.
Da' Boomer
September 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
Fredi is Bobby Cox Light….and that aint good because BC was/is the most overrated sports figure this town has ever seen. Gonzalez totally over-used his young bullpen in games that were in hand.
Fols
September 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
This is the only top tier team in the league that can’t put together a batting order.
When your aging veteran demands a 3 spot…and your missing key guys through-out the year…what are you suppose to do?
This team needs a true #3 hitter that rivals the Phils, Yanks, Brew, Tex, St. Louis…….beat goes on. Chipper is not that guy anymore. His in and out of the line-up is disruptive and needs to be shifted down. That way when he’s sitting, it’s less disruptive to the flow of our top guys. He can clearly still hit, but he needs to realize that he can’t play everyday and this team just never got it together.
AT_Alien_ashamed
September 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
Aside from Bourn, which was last ditch effort, the front-office also failed. Diaz, Jack Wilson…terrible acquistions. Chipper must also finally go for many reasons and I know he had an “ok” season given his age. Both Gonzo’s, please go…Need a new VIBE!
Brian Asselstine
September 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
Freddi Freeman is no Jason Heyward. Pitchers may adjust but he will have the mental capacity to also make adjustments.
Samuel L. Jackson
September 29th, 2011
12:48 pm
“Oh did I break your concentration? Well, please, allow me to retort”.
Fred
September 29th, 2011
12:48 pm
Jeff, I think you touched the point in your column – Fredi came in and was just like Bobby Cox! Recall Cox also did not have a stellar record of getting his teams to “rise to the occasion”. More than once his “calm clubhouse” fell on their faces – the only difference was it was usually in the first round of the playoffs so all was forgiven.
At the end of the day Fredi is going to have to make changes in his behavior, his coaching staff, and his players. He has a young/old team, with few mid-career guys, so he needs to think more about keeping the young ones motivated, rested and not overmatched while keeping the old ones fresh and in tune. There also appears to be the need for more “hand holding” with the young ones. There is no excuse for Kimbrel to say he was “too amped up” in what, his 70th appearance of the year??
Overall I think the staff was TOO laid back. The ONLY positive: there’s always next year!
Mike
September 29th, 2011
12:49 pm
I thought the Braves gave up on Heyward too soon. His confidence was crushed late in the season. I hope the kid comes back strong.