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
Ricky
September 29th, 2011
9:58 am
Good thing Schultz’s opinion counts for NOTHING.
MitchC
September 29th, 2011
9:59 am
If Gonzalez wasnt in his first season, and if he hadnt replaced an iconic manager who made it to the playoffs 15 times in his 21 years here, I’d say looking at firing Fredi would be an option.
The Braves had serious injuries. Losing Jair and Hanson hurt big time. Lowe is just unfathomable. To go 9-17,. and 0-5 with a 8 or 9 whatever ERA down the stretch for a team wanting to make the playoffs, is inexcusable.
The other issue with this team is age. Lowe is in his late 30s, Hudson is in his late 30s. Chipper will be 40. Thats three key players, who are really long in the tooth.
Dan Uggla helped the power situaton, but his batting average was a nightmare.
After next year, Lowe needs to go. We dont need a pitcher in his late 30s who loses over 15 games a year.
As for next year: If Jair and Hanson come back healthy, and Hudson does what he did this year, and Lowe can give us anything, we have a chance. Our bullpen was very good until they faltered down the stretch. We may have extended the two young fireballers down there too much.
Philly should dominate the East for years. Their magrin of victory would have been larger, had it not been for their long losing streak.
I’m not sure where we go from here. Frank Wren has a lot of thinking to do in the offseason,. If we come back healthy, make changes, and the team doesnt win at least the wild card next year, then it may be time to look at getting another manager. Maybe.. Bobby would come back? I’m not saying he would, but., Jack Mckeon did manage into his 80s, didnt he? Bobby will only be 71 next year.
Sharon
September 29th, 2011
9:59 am
Starting Diaz over Heyward was just dumb..
AlanFalcon
September 29th, 2011
9:59 am
Bad ending to a poor year when it comes to the Braves management team, some players are either on the way out of the door or should be by whatever means necessary, some should be congradulated for the wear and tear they took physically and mentally, others should hIDE behind a tree in a forest .
THANKS TO: Chipper, Bryan, David, Eric O., Dan, Michael, Martin,Freddie,Tim, Brandon,Kris,Alex,Mike
Johnny,Craig, Eric H.,Georgie,Brooks,Christain.
YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR BODY OF WORK, PERFORMED AS THOUGH IT MEANT SOMETING TO YOU AND YOUR BRAVES FANS ANDNEVER QUIT CARING. GOOD LUCK IN 2012 AND IF I MISSED SOMEOME I APOLOGIZE.
Karl Hungus
September 29th, 2011
10:00 am
Jeff, how can you say that Heyward “still seemed to be a mess?” Other commenters, how can you STILL believe that Constanza should have been in there instead of Heyward? In the month of September, when the Braves offense collectively died, Heyward’s OBP was .375. Second on the team only to AGon (.385), who WAS HURT and otherwise would certainly have been in the lineup. There is no beef between Gonzalez and Gonzalez. Do you people follow the team? But I digress. The two players who took playing time away from Heyward in September – Diaz and Constanza – had a .265 OBP (34 PA) and .174 (24 PA) during the month, respectively. Uggla and Chipper were the only two other regulars who even approached league average OBP during September. In reality, one month doesn’t make or break a 162-game season, but to sit here the day after and put any sort of blame for the collapse on Heyward’s shoulders is absolutely moronic.
Mark in ATL
September 29th, 2011
10:00 am
I’m shocked….can’t believe this really happened over this month….
1. To say Gonzalez is not responsible for Lowe is absurb….Lowe wasn’t sterling heading into that game…he was awful…why start him?
2. Why pitch to Pence last night when you have a guy on deck that is hitting below .200?
3. Why put Heyward back out there again last night? He lost a ball in the lights…..the kid simply is lost.
Sharon
September 29th, 2011
10:00 am
Mitch, next year is the last year of Lowe’s contract….
Mark in ATL
September 29th, 2011
10:01 am
absurb=absurd for those who can type
PMC
September 29th, 2011
10:01 am
Did Fredi really, let Hunter Pence beat them really? Must win game, 2nd base open….. and he totally and completely blew it letting the best hitter left in the game beat them. I don’t get it.
I don’t want to be all negative today, I had a lot of fun last night at the ball park, but seriously, they CAN’T hit. The starting pitching is SOFT and almost never goes deep into games or survives seasons (Jurrjens; Hanson)
The bullpen has been worn slap out and massively overused for the entire season. The club not being able to hit even after bourn got here….
Don’t tell me they fought hard when they have been horrible for the better part of 2 months. They are professionals, they choked massively. Guys that get paid tons of money to produce, didn’t do anything.
Mac struck out 2 or 3 times last night and didn’t get the ball out of the infield. Chipper cannot be counted on anymore to be an everyday player.
I don’t see how we can feel good about any aspect of the team right now. I’m not confident this Braves team will make the changes they need to make to win.
Injuries are NO EXCUSE. The Cardinals have battled injuries all year. For all the talk of Chemistry all year, these guys DID NOT GET IT DONE AT THE PLATE.
If they go to the post with this same management group and same basic block of players we can expect that they will be an 89 or worse win team next year too.
It wasn’t the youth that let this team down it was the veterans down the stretch. Chipper, McCann and Derrick Lowe especially.
For the life of me, I don’t know why this team has a love affair with older guys who are garbage in the bullpen, Scott Linebrink; Scott Proctor etc etc etc. Every year there is a bum in the bullpen that costs them wins.
Eric
September 29th, 2011
10:02 am
spoon dirvy – no need for the Braves to spend on pitching…we have 9 starting pitchers on our roster right now…one being Lowe. Hopefully, we find someone willing to pay him 5 million, while we take a 10 million dollar hit, and send him along. After that – we can figure who best fits our plans – Beachy, Teaheran, Delgado, Vizcaino, Minor, Hudson, Hanson, and Jurrjens.
I’ll save over-paying for starters…that got us Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami…there aren’t alot of Cliff Lee’s and Roy Halladays out there that are worth the scratch…you guys got 2 of them. That said – the majority of your fieldi players are homegrown…we need to shore that area up with another OF, and a younger SS.
Sharon
September 29th, 2011
10:02 am
Mark, didn’t Chipper lose a ball in the lights a couple nights ago.. I’m just saying…
PMC
September 29th, 2011
10:03 am
If this team were paid for performance they would only be paid for 2 months out of the season.
That’s about all they are worth.
Don
September 29th, 2011
10:03 am
@Luke…..sorry my friend, you are the wrong one here. This team had no heart, no spirit, no guts, and therefore, no glory. Every single bit of that is on the manager.
McGarity
September 29th, 2011
10:03 am
Spoon Divy, in case you didn’t notice, Atlanta is not located in the Northeastern US, and is not as large as New York, Philly and Boston. We have great fans who DO attend the games and want to win.
dexter manley
September 29th, 2011
10:05 am
Lowe is awful, but it really wouldn’t have mattered unless you think the rookie would shut them out.
Karl Hungus
September 29th, 2011
10:05 am
@AlanFalcon You missed Heyward, and you accidentally included Prado.
Gordon
September 29th, 2011
10:06 am
You’ll have to list some specific things that Gonzalez should have done or not done, or I’ll just chalk this up to the manager gets too much credit when things go well and too much blame when they don’t. I think it is more on Wren than Gonzalez, and I’m not blaming him that much either. Nobody saw this coming. Certain key players just didn’t play well. It is how the Braves react to this going forward that will tell the real story. That’s where we will see what kind of management we have.
TheAntiMe
September 29th, 2011
10:06 am
It’s the same old game
Good to have you along
Hope you’re ready to boo
So batter up, let’s go
Pitcher’s starting to throw
And we’re all so mad that we came
‘Cause it’s the same old game
Larry
September 29th, 2011
10:06 am
Jeff,
You just skyrocketed to the top of all AJC sportswriters with your simple courage to be honest and straight-forward about this epic collapse. Please forward a copy of this to the Braves beat writer!
I’ll leave you with a quote from an internationally well known authority on management and leadership of people:
“The very best managers and leaders of people in all professions simply have the ability to get the most out of those they manage.”
Did Fredi Gonzalez get the most from those he managed?
Touché!
mark louis
September 29th, 2011
10:06 am
Sorry, but I don’t buy it. If Jurrjens & Hanson had been healthy, or if just one of them had been healthy in September, the Braves would have easily made the playoffs. Now, maybe 1 or both of them should be traded, since they both seem to have a problem staying healthy. The only thing I can fault Gonzalez for is keeping Lowe in the rotation, but I can’t blame him for not trusting a rookie in such a big moment. Maybe either Hanson or Jurrjens should be traded for a shortstop or a left fielder. But like I said, if even 1 of those guys were healthy, we’re talking about how the Braves match up with the Brewers, not a historic collapse.
NickGranite
September 29th, 2011
10:07 am
Sorry, this isn’t twice the team as last year’s playoff team with Hudson, a bunch of rookies in the rotation…..and Lowe. That’s preposterous. Lowe was 0-5 with a 8.75 ERA this September. Does that sound twice as good as last year? I would say you would be correct if Tommy and Jair were healthy the last six weeks or so but they were not.
Ted M
September 29th, 2011
10:07 am
Fredi made all the wrong moves. He doesn’t really know his team. If he felt like he needed to pull Diaz for better defense he should have put a good defensive player in, not Heyward.
Diaz, Constanza & Hinski would have all caught that ball that lead to the second run. And the Braves would have won the game.
Cole
September 29th, 2011
10:08 am
The thing that sums up Freddi are 3 decisions he made this week. First going with Lowe was a TERRIBLE decision. That guy has been awful for most of the season. I hate going with a veteran just b/c hes a veteran and hes been there before. If every manager/coach thought like that there would never be any young stars. The other 2 occured last night, in the same play. First of all you have to walk Pence and pitch to Martinez. I thought that was obvious. I live in Syracuse, NY so i had to listen to the Phillies announcers on my MLB package and even they were saying “why are they pitching to Pence.” This makes no sense with Martinez on deck.” And also on that play, why do we have Freeman holding the runner on and not in a better fielding position? We need 1 out to get out of the inning and if the guy steals second who cares because if they score 1 run its going to be hard to overcome. Just so happens he hits a ball that Freeman would have easily caught if he wasn’t holding the runner. Bad decision after bad decision! We need a young fiery coach in this town not a guy who was fired from the Marlins because he lost his team.
Rcd
September 29th, 2011
10:08 am
Jones is delusional. “What we deserved.” The braves got exactly what they deserved. The fans? Not so much.
PMC
September 29th, 2011
10:08 am
IF anything they should be looking to move soon to be expensive Jurrjens and or Hanson who cannot make it through a season and go after Corner Outfielders (and or a future 3rd baseman going forward) that can rake.
SOGADOG
September 29th, 2011
10:08 am
Falcons choke last year and the Braves follow up with an epic choke. Its hard to be an Atlanta sports fan.
chuckw/deadjournalist
September 29th, 2011
10:09 am
I agree with the sentiment of the article, but for what it is worth, the Pythagorean on the w/l via Baseball-Reference shows that the ‘10 team was three wins under its projection and the ‘11 team was four wins over its projection.
This isn’t to excuse the collapse or the mistakes that were made during September. Mistakes make throughout the year impacted this team … Scott Proctor, anyone?
But, players and teams typically regress to the mean. (See Jurrjens pre-injury.)
At the end of the day, it’s a heartbreaking way to become the team they were all along. A time not-quite good-enough.
kpokeefe
September 29th, 2011
10:09 am
Going by that logic, no MLB manager should ever be fired.
WRONG, when you have multiple seasons of the same problem then you look at replacing the culture. Fire Gonzales after one season??? You need to have your head examined!!!
The Real Brave
September 29th, 2011
10:09 am
You get what you deserve,
Freddi has to allow his oictures to pitch deeper into the game.
Don’t burn out the bullpen.
Allow his spped player to steal bases.
Wren has to scout better bench players and those who know
how to win under stress. Not just bring back the same guys who
don’t know how to win.
He has to get PROVEN run producers in the lineup, not
potential run producers.
Look at Tampa, I want what they’ve got, players who will not
give up!
We can have that. But it starts at the top!
reckingball
September 29th, 2011
10:10 am
I noticed a shine off of Fredi’s head when the lights hit it just right, but I never thought that he was a great replacement for Cox.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
10:10 am
Way to stoke the fire, Jeff.
I hate Fredi Gonzalez. This guy is an absolute clown who in no way deserves this job. You can tell when he’s being interviewed the guy is completely out of his element.
DaRave
September 29th, 2011
10:10 am
Jeff, Jeff, surely George Bush deserves some of the credit for the collapse!
PMC
September 29th, 2011
10:11 am
Someone needed to press Fredi on that decision to pitch to Pence though.
That was absolutely totally indefensible it was nuts. A half inning after Manuel in a game they didn’t even need decided not to pitch to our best current hitter Michael Bourne to get to Prado…. who meekly grounded out to Short.
They can’t even blame this on “major league pitching talent” The Phils were pulling guys from the stands to get it over. This line up choked all year long.
GONZO MUST GO
September 29th, 2011
10:11 am
I knew we were in trouble the moment Gonzo decided to walk a pinch hitter to face the defending NL Batting Champ early in the season @ Colorado just for a lefty/lefty matchup! Hello, he won a batting title he can hit lefties also. Who does that???
Why are we pitching to Hunter Pence with a guy batting below the Mendoza behind him???? why??? why???
Why are we not bunting runners over instead of letting McCann swing for the fence??? Why? Why? Why?
get the picture!
Why Chipper Why
September 29th, 2011
10:12 am
Roadsterron is correct. It is hard to count all of the bonehead moves Gonzalez made this year. IMO he has ruined Venters and Kimbrel, our teams 1-2 punch.
Now that we are at the end of the season, one in which my comments were crucified at the beginning, lets look back.
Jeff Francouer. If some of you couldve reached through your monitors and choked me, it wouldve been done after I mentioned we get him instead of Hinske…. Feeling pretty stupid now arent all of you.
I said Chipper Jones and his pathetic contract would do what it did to us last year. We would end the season playing AA and AAA players in crucial situations. Constanza, Delgado, Teheran, Matt Diaz, Jack WIlson, and those poor relievers. Calling Wilson and Diaz, AAA players, is probably being too kind.
Lastly I said hiring Bobby Cox light for a team whose patrons were secretely TIRED of Bobby Cox was completely idiotic. What we ended up with was a guy that looked like a deer in head lights all season long. A guy who couldnt motivate paint to dry. A guy whose managerial skills include getting what you can from players you will only have for 3 years, Marlins… No wonder he rode Venters, Kimbrel, and O’Flarty’ into the ground.
Bottom line.
Gonzalez experiment over. Chipper should retire. And someone please pray that the Home Shopping Network goes under so Liberty Media will be forced to sell us to a group of people that give a sh….
TU87
September 29th, 2011
10:12 am
Bad starting pitching and bad pullpen plus too many missed scoring opportunities in September doomed the Braves. Everything they did right earlier in the year, they did wrong the last month. Schultz is the typical over reactionary fan. I hated to see the Braves lose, but this is what makes sports great – the not knowing what will happen. The other great thing about sports – there’s always next year.
PMC
September 29th, 2011
10:12 am
For the Record, I think Frank is wanting to go with faster guys going forward so there’s some transistion, but there’s no excuse to continue year to year with absolutely no Outfield talent that can hit.
Just awful.
govols
September 29th, 2011
10:12 am
Stealing third with no puts was stupid, but he was safe & ump blew the call. I knew this would cost us.
Wilson made a critical error on dp ball. Lowe should have been out of rotation. Linebrink would have been last guy
I used. ..But the worst of all was pitching to Pence with Martinez on deck. Pure idiocy.
Ted M
September 29th, 2011
10:13 am
I don’t blame Heyward. I blame Fredi.
I'll take a shot
September 29th, 2011
10:13 am
I last played baseball in 1975 in little league. I hit over 600 for the season. Can I get signed as the hitting instructor for the Braves next year. I’ll do it for $185,000 a year. Can’t be any worse than what we just witnessed!
Delbert D.
September 29th, 2011
10:13 am
Worst case of termites in the bats I’ve ever seen.
bvillebaron
September 29th, 2011
10:14 am
Spoon Divey:
You can take your unsolicited advice about how to fix the Braves and take a hike. As a Braves’ fan living in central Pennsylvania I wish to remind you that the Phillies got all kinds of money and attendance after yours truly and the other taxpayers in this Commonwealth built the ballpark for the Phillies. Tell me where was all that money when it came time to pay Scott Rolen and Curt Schilling?
Peter
September 29th, 2011
10:14 am
Fire Frank Wren, and the hitting coach.
JK
September 29th, 2011
10:15 am
Hopefully this does not offend anyone. Listening to Freddi Gonzalez speak is like Chinese water torture. The leader the Braves should not studder so much that it is painful to listen to. He is better suited as an assistant coach. The Braves had chemistry problems and it was obvious.
The Truth hurts
September 29th, 2011
10:15 am
No Mention of zero production from McCann and Prado. McCann’s hitting woes impacted his defense which was suspect to begin with. Prado appeared to be swinging a bat made of lead.
McCann, Prado, Heyward and Freemann, supposedly “good hitters” could not catch up to the fastballs in the final month of the season. The worst display of undisciplined hitting I’ve seen. Foul off fastballs belt high over the center of the plate, then strike out on off speed 6 inches outside.
Chris
September 29th, 2011
10:15 am
People like to call Atlanta fans pathetic…well maybe, just maybe fans are pathetic because the teams we watch for hundreds and hundreds of hours every year have a way of being pretty darn pathetic themselves.
Mizzou
September 29th, 2011
10:17 am
Got to hand it to you, Schultz – it’s rare that you write about the Braves, but when you do you kick ‘em when they’re down. Plenty of blame to go around, though.
Monarch
September 29th, 2011
10:17 am
For starters we must have a new pitching and hitting coach. Both are unacceptable. No reason for the number of injuries on this pitching staff. Just need to ask yourself why Francouer and Cabrera are hitting so well – they are out of Atlanta. This team has a bunch talent but is stale and bringing in a Bobby Cox look a like was not the answer. Fred will not be gone next year but McDowell, Parrish and Snitker better be.
Gone better be Linebrink, Sherrill, Hinske, and McClouth too.
We have a ton of young talent that will get even better next year and this experience should actually help them in the long run.
Brad in KY
September 29th, 2011
10:17 am
I thought Freddi G was a bozo when he was managing the Marlins. I was disappointed the Braves hired him and wouldn’t shed a single tear if they went ahead and fired the guy (which I hope they do).
I think Larry Parrish is definitely gone: they have to do *something* in the wake of the collapse and the hitting coach is a convenient place to start.
Reality
September 29th, 2011
10:19 am
The Braves are the ultimate chokers and rank first in stupidity. Last night was one of the most pitiful performances I have ever seen. Why did Bourne try to steal third with no outs? Ugglas homer would have been a three run shot and we would have won in nine innings. Why didn’t Bourne try to steal second in the ninth? Another mind boggling stupid move. Why can’t a major league closer throw strikes? Unbelievable that Kimbrel walks three in the ninth (not to mention Venters terrible performance). All in all, everyone except Hudson played like a little league team and looked scared to death. All it takes is an outside curve ball or change up at the ankles and EVERY Brave hitter will swing at it. Unbelievable.