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
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
3:35 pm
Osacal, stop embarrassing yourself.
wreckmaniac
September 29th, 2011
3:35 pm
Charlie Manuel, more power to him, played this as if it was the world series. He either feared the Braves in the postseason ( and I can’t imagine why) or he just hates them. But thats his choice.
To have Utley stealing bases in the 12th inning meant that this manager wanted to win all three games in with worst way and I have to give him credit for it.
wreckmaniac
September 29th, 2011
3:37 pm
Other than pitching Lowe, I can’t imagine that a manager can be dumb enough to cause a meltdown of this magnitude.
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
3:39 pm
They should have played to win. The yanks showed how classless they are by not putting Rivera out there to close their game last night. Or maybe they hate the sox enough to grease the skids for the rays. Enter Scott proctor and the next thing you know the rays are in the playoffs.
Jimmy Crack
September 29th, 2011
3:42 pm
No matter what that comes of this, at least we DON’T HAVE TO LIVE in Filthadelphia all year long. I heard the unionized trash “engineers” were kind enough to pick up residential garbage this month, WOOHOO!!
Also the Philthy people….trash as well. Just look at the comments here (of all places) and on the ESPN boards. Classless pieces of trash who happen to be lucky enough to live in a town that spends money for a winning franchise. Go Pujols!
Osar
September 29th, 2011
3:44 pm
its obv.that larry 30 is showing is iq,glad to know the kids r here
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
3:46 pm
Like I said osacal and to your imaginary friend osar, stop embarrassing yourself. You should probably be working on your GED instead of hanging out here.
Osar
September 29th, 2011
3:47 pm
larry 30
its obvious u know nothing about baseball.here r the facts au say…..
yankees had home field advantage,phillies lost 8 in a row,u get it now?genius
Mets R Best
September 29th, 2011
3:48 pm
I thought your team was overated but I never thought you would really completely blow the huge lead you had on Sept. 1.
I won’t say anymore, as only a few years ago the Mets choked away a big lead in September too.
wes33
September 29th, 2011
3:48 pm
Lets get a owner that wants more than profits from our team.
paul
September 29th, 2011
3:50 pm
funny how u say that about the yankees yet phil.sent aaa pitchers against at.in 8/13 innings last night.quit beiing a sore loser and realize this team sucks.have not won a playoff game since 2001
THOSE ARE THE FACTS GENIUS EVEN WHEN YOUR BOYFRIEND FRENCHY WAS THERE
jn pope
September 29th, 2011
3:50 pm
we have underperforming millionaires, no more of my time and money will be wasted on the apathetic braves. also frank wren really does suck.
paul
September 29th, 2011
3:53 pm
the biggest choke of all time was when ny had a 3-0 lead over boston in 2004,1 game to make world series and choked.happy now braves fans?u would have lost today anyways,hell u got swept by the cards last week
jarvis
September 29th, 2011
3:54 pm
Sure I’m a Braves fan, and I’m pretty biased. So I want an honest opinoion. How douchey is this?
“It was one more reminder of why the Cards are still alive and the Braves are done. Some folks look at the bright glare of a playoff hunt as if it were a scalding heat lamp (see: Atlanta Braves). Others bask in the warmth of the intense pressure and act as though it’s some soothing morning sun. That would be the Cardinals.” – Bryan Burwell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
46YRBraves Fan
September 29th, 2011
3:54 pm
I said it before the All-Star break and knew it was coming… Fire Fredi Gonzalez and Larry Parrish. Both are ineffective when it comes to WINNING!!! They may be good coaches, MAYBE, but they have no Idea how to make corrections and make improvements, or win in a 162 game season. Playoffs?… Wonder why the Marlins fired him? Everyone could see during the first half of the year the Braves were running on inertia from last season. Fredi is probbly a great guy but HE IS NO MAJOR LEAGUE MANAGER. Wren, time to go shopping!!!
penn
September 29th, 2011
3:55 pm
keep hearing how the braves choked,really?you have not won a playoff game since 2001.If u made the playoff u seriously thought u get out of rounf 1?seriously?
Lobosolo
September 29th, 2011
3:56 pm
Jeff, you certainly have your lock-steppers on here with you…. you know, back when I lived in the ATL a few years ago, I thought you weren’t very good because you always tried so hard to be a wiesenheimer and you thought you were really clever… Nowadays I can see that even after years of seasoning, you just really aren’t that good of a writer, period… apropo that you’re joined by so many of your brethren on these threads… y’all deserve each other… Word of advice, man… polish up your knowledge and your craft,,,
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
3:57 pm
How many usernames do you have osacal? The phillies pitchers for the first 9 innings last night were in order:
Blanton
Hamels
penn
September 29th, 2011
3:58 pm
wonder why fans wont go to stadium?Backmin june radio did a promo ,bet 500 if go by yourself,at 2am,walk around the ted without getting mugged
500 still waiting to be claimed btw
Boyz From North Ave
September 29th, 2011
3:58 pm
Alright Jeff….the gauntlets been thrown now. Its up to you and MB and the rest of the AJC/local TV to put the heat on. All we can do as fans is STAY AWAY from the ballpark until changes are made. IMHO, freddi is a boob…..he just “tips his hat” to the rest of the league.
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
3:58 pm
Blanton
Hamels
Worley
Lodge
Madson
Stutes
Which one of those is AAA?
Blinded by the Light
September 29th, 2011
4:00 pm
@Big Daddy Cool
“I guess this blog is reserved for mostly the misinformed or people that don’t know “crap” about professional sports. Fredi isn’t to blame, it’s the greedy millionaires who wear the Braves uniforms, this collapse is solely on the players.”
So, based on your expert pro sports knowledge, managers do not contribute anything to a team? They just get dealt the hand they get and it’s completely up to the players ,,is that how it goes? We should have just hired Koko the chimp and he could have at least been good for a few laughs.. and probably would’ve handled the media’s questions better than Fredi. Get a clue.
There was enough blame to go around and totally bad mojo, to make matters worse ,, but to say that this manager had no blame is flat out clueless and shows you weren’t paying attention. Go back to hockey, where coaches don’t have anything to do with teams being successful either,,,eh? ,,just the greedy millionaires.
Luv 2 Hate Me
September 29th, 2011
4:04 pm
Freddie needs to fire his hitting coach because he sucks. Get Baylor if he’s still coaching. They need to trade Big Red or Jurrjens and dump Lowe because he’s over the hill. I think it’s time they look for a replacement for Chipper and make next year his last. Last keep Hinske and get some solid utility players. O and tell McCan’t he needs to drop a few pounds, his base running sucks (looks like an old man running the bases.
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
4:05 pm
Madson pitched the 8th, stutes the 9th, and Herndon the 13th. It was the 45th game this year for herndon in the majors this season.
FREDI G
September 29th, 2011
4:07 pm
It is what it is .Tip your hat to the cardinals.Getem next year.Im bring the entire staff back next year.Some of you asked about larry parrish,thanks for your concern.He is coming back next year also.Hed id a heeuva job and will get a raise.See you in 2012 go braves!!!
Jim
September 29th, 2011
4:07 pm
Freddi we dont need another starter we need to get rid of Lowe. we need SS LF RF and one relieve maybe Hoover we dont have trade for reliever because we would get another Linestink or Shirril
Larry30
September 29th, 2011
4:07 pm
Lidge is the closer, idiot. And stutes appeared in 57 games for the phils this year. He wasn’t a AAA call up.
lARRY 30
September 29th, 2011
4:08 pm
O RUNS FOR 10 INNINGS
PRICELESS
Gonzalez Must Go
September 29th, 2011
4:09 pm
UGGLA< BOURN< FREEMAN FINISHED BACK TO BACK TO BACK IN STRIKEOUT TOTALS FOR THE YEAR
THATS THE PROBLEM<FOLKS!
lARRY 30
September 29th, 2011
4:09 pm
LAST 5 GAMES BRAVES SCORED 7 RUNS……..
PRICELESS SHUTOUT LAST 10 INNINGS PRICELESS
IfithasAtlantaorGeorgiaorTechit underachieves
September 29th, 2011
4:10 pm
Enter your comments here
Martin Prado
September 29th, 2011
4:11 pm
I did not pack my bags i knew we would lose,glad i could help out..suckersI don’t care my mommy is here.
Derrick Lowe
September 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
WTF HAPPEND?DID WE LOSE?SORRY I WAS OUT DRINKING,AND RACING WITH MY NEW PORSCH LAST NIGHT.OK,GOTTA GO ME AND THE CHIPSTER R MEETING AT HOOTERS FOR DRINKS
AnyGeorgiaTeam
September 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
Why decade after decade do Georgia sports teams have to serve as designated “whipping boy”? How could this many pro and /or college sports teams so often and so thoroughly fail?
mossyclay
September 29th, 2011
4:14 pm
The two main players that cost the Braves down the stretch were Prado and McCann, they absolutely hit nothing and yet Fredi never benched them. Prado should have been benched for Hinski against right handed pitching to see if he could ignite some offense and McCann should have split more time with Ross, plus Ross calls a better game.
They definitely need to address the corner OF for more power as Jason and Prado don’t get it, please do not sign Prado a long term contract until he proves he can hit.
iTiSi
September 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
This would have been a great column except for one thing. The last sentence should have said, “I’m saying it now, just like 90% of those legitimate, true Braves fans are thinking. Fredi Gonzalez should resign, and if not, he should be shown the door. This is a bad start and probably will not change for next year. Bad decisions are a bad habit to break, especially in baseball”. Now my opinion. Any manager in BB who would put a pitcher back on the mound, like Lowe and Linebrink, who had awful games the previous week or two, with the year on the line, should have his head examined and then be fired!
Captain Howdy
September 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
Freeman is one the few bright spots on the team… get a clue!
RickD
September 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
This should have been a cakewalk. I have rarely seen this kind of meltdown. Dropping balls, nobody covering first on bunts, pitchers once mowing batters down now not even hitting the strike zone, and that doesn’t even begin to deal with the pathetic offense. The hitting sucked at times. Yes, the lineup was almost entirely different at the end of the season fron day one, but still the farm system for this team is supposed to be unsurprpassed. How are so many players coming up limping? Playing half seasons? What are coaches doing to help drive the team? What kind of inspiration is the Manager providing? Unbelievable!
Braves fan
September 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
some of these comments are hillarious thanks for the laughs,keep them coming,this is great
Braves fan
September 29th, 2011
4:18 pm
And yes i am disappointed,its only a game.Some of u really need a life besides bitching and whinning all the time.
JTH
September 29th, 2011
4:18 pm
“Win, don’t win, we get paid either way.” —The Atlanta Braves.
JASON HEYWARD
September 29th, 2011
4:18 pm
I’m not knowin’ what da hayle happened dis year… it’s like them pitchers got Joe Boo and I needs chicken blood on my bat!
redweather
September 29th, 2011
4:20 pm
Chipper Jones is the problem? Granted, he isn’t the player he used to be. But he had the third highest batting average of any Brave with at least 200 at bats. His slugging percentage was the highest on the team. In fact, his offensive numbers are almost identical to those of Brian McCann.
There are plenty of reasons for what happened, as many of you have noted, but it doesn’t make sense to blame Chipper Jones.
ijudgenot
September 29th, 2011
4:21 pm
“But hey, that’s the exact SAME kind of mistake Bobby Cox would’ve made, and made often, so maybe fans should treat Fredi the same way, and blame the players?”
Man, you hit the nail on the head. Fredi thought if he just made the same moves Bobby would have made that he would be alright. He thought even if team did not win(which they did not) he would not be blamed by the media and fans just like Bobby was not blamed for all the Braves failure in the post season. Welcome to the new reality Fredi, you will not get the same pass as Bobby did, and if you think AJC did not run this article by the Braves management before hey ran it, then you are sorely mistaken. This the beginning of your end in Atlanta. Wren did not set up the retirement of Cox to get the same Cox like decisions from his successor. I hope you have in you what many of us thought when you first were hired, a new approach. The use of speed and situational hitting, small ball. Your performance this year says you do not, but maybe this upcoming spring you can demonstrate that you are a fresh approach. You were hired because players and management knew you and the transition would be easy, not because it was thought you could be a good Cox immitator. Wise up man, make the moves to make this your team rather than a Cox retread. The team will be waiting on your first and crucial move next spring, telling Chipper he no longer will be batting 3rd, but 6th or 7th, and yes Chipper you will demand that the team him included will work out hard each day in spring practice. He will say you are the manager to press but remind media he is not happy with it but you have to do it because the rest of the team will be ooking at you to be their leader. So see you in the spring Fredi, I hope we get to see we thought was coming this year, its not to late to get him here but you won’t have the luxury of 20 years of mediorisy to prove yourself. As Chipper said “life is cruel”
Joey Dee
September 29th, 2011
4:21 pm
… and Liberty Media turns a steady profit… so why change things? It’s the conservative battle cry…
Braves fan
September 29th, 2011
4:22 pm
Amazing to me is the ones that complain,are the same ones who will be back ext year posting the same stupid comments.I have been a fan 25 years,and i vented for 5 minutes,not on a blog,but like one writer said i got over it.1 team wins the world series,rather lose now than game 7 of the world series.,likewe did in 1992 i believe but i got over it as well.see u in 2012 go braves
kade madison
September 29th, 2011
4:23 pm
This collapse falls on the players and Fredi. Lowe was having a horrible season. Why were adjustments not made? I mean, that’s a Bobby Cox attitude, “Oh, he’s a great pitcher we’ll stick with him..” Sure, he may have been a great pitcher but he seemed to lose his stuff this season. Stick with him or do you want to actually win games? Heyward needed to make some serious batting adjustments, who was working with him? Remember when Andruw Jones had that issue and he worked on his stance and batting and bam, that was the difference? There was no magic. Where was Fredi firing up his team? I have said all season there needed to be every kind of 1995 memory in that clubhouse. Championship posters, non-stop 1995 World Series video. I watched that team hanging on the rail last night and thought, “Where is the magic? Why aren’t these players up there with those rally caps on like it were 1992, 1993?” They should have been carrying on! That’s where Chipper should have been leading them. Sure, the pre-game speech is good, but what about getting these guys fired up during the game? The crowds at the Ted are even worse. Not like the early 90s. I don’t even think these folks are baseball fans. I don’t care about seeing you on your phone or doing anything but watching the game. You people need to decide if you’re baseball fans, or only care about having a glass of wine and being there just to be there. You can’t wait until you are failing to make the changes to win. Winning happens with a winning attitude. Losing happens when you simply expect you are going to win.
Joey Dee
September 29th, 2011
4:24 pm
Braves fan, if you don’t see a pattern here then continue on brother. Everything is fine. Good for you!
hunter55
September 29th, 2011
4:25 pm
Freddie is as lost as DB Cooper, just looks confused and out of touch with the game. How can you justify bringing him back when the Braves just had the worst choke job in NL history. And has anyone woke up Parrish to let him know that the game is over.
MR
September 29th, 2011
4:26 pm
The Braves seem more concerned with having a Kum-Ba-Yah clubhouse than a win at all cost clubhouse. I lay all of this at the feet of Frank Wren. He’s never won anything anywhere and now he’s brought his loser ways to The Braves and Frank reeks with the stink of a loser.