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
rob
September 29th, 2011
11:19 am
Dozer has this 100% correct. I’m sick of the “we’ll get ‘em next year” mentality with sports franchises in this city. Either you’re winners, or you’re losers. Winners fight and scratch for the unlikely, seemingly unreachable goal. They play the best players regardless of who the fans want to see. Winners make the tough calls and never give up; they don’t play scared. That’s what the Cardinals did; they’re winners AND they can beat the Phillies.
The Braves were content to coast into the playoffs. They started the wrong pitchers, which actually goes back to Bobby’s days of always sticking with the veteran no matter what. Heyward is a underachiever; send him back to the minors or trade him. Hire a hitting coach that inspires this team to hit; we haven’t had that in probably a decade. We don’t need to make a lot of changes, but the ones we do need to make are the ones this “same ole same ole” franchise is too afraid to make. We have this hodgepodge of batters with no singular strategy, which means we don’t produce enough runs. Anyone who holds to the ideas of the past just keeps this franchise two steps behind the Phillies.
Frank Wren – Grow a pair and make the tough decisions. Pull some strings.
Fredi – I like you, but you need more gusto! Don’t be afraid to kick some butt out there.
UGA Fans – Stop searching out scapegoats for Mark Richt. Our team has consistently underperformed with the talent we have. Talent that goes on to the NFL as has major success! We have discipline issues on and off the field, and rarely do we outcoach the other team. We beat Ole Miss because our PLAYERS are better athletes. Nutt clearly outcoached Mark and kept them in the game. It was Willie Martinez. You got him fired. Now it’s Bobo, or it’s Murray making bad decisions, or it’s the refs, or it’s Grantham. Wake up, else you’ll be losers just like the braves.
1eyedJack
September 29th, 2011
11:21 am
These Braves were at once too old and too young. And Larry Parrish sucked, obviously. Why did Prado and Heyward regress?
Dump Lowe and trade either Jurrjens and/or Hanson for some bats. They are both unsignable long term anyway under Liberty Media’s ownership model.
Loyal Braves Fan
September 29th, 2011
11:21 am
Jeff Schultz, how many MLB games have you managed? Zero!
That’s right, zero so SHUT UP!!!
One person does not doom a team. Fence the word TEAM!!
You’re so arrogant! It’s easy to sit and judge from your position. Maybe you should try it from the dugout. Oh wait; you’re merely a columnist. Quite honestly, I tired of you HATING our Atlanta Braves… Maybe you could try to give a little supporting to the Braves instead of trying to tear them down.
Kimbrel rocks
September 29th, 2011
11:21 am
i wish i was surprised at fredi pitching to pence. it is fitting that the braves lose on the last night b/c of another dumb fredi move. i hope frank wren is watching
Deb
September 29th, 2011
11:21 am
Heyward is the next Franceour…they really want him to be great, but it isn’t to be. No hustle on the play last night, let runner get to 3rd that may not have made it if he had moved his butt a little.
Also, I agree with new blood needed in manager position. When Marlins dropped to the cellar this year after a great start, changes were made immediately…will never happen in Atlanta though…so we will all just keep plugging along and wishing for more for the foreseeable future….
Invincer
September 29th, 2011
11:22 am
I seriously DO NOT want to see the Yankees or Philadelphia win the World Series (Boston too I guess). Both of them are teams that just spend spend spend regardless of there being the appearance of a salary-cap. At least I can honestly say there a better chance or the Rays or Cards pulling an upset and beating one of the big-dogs than there would have been from the Braves or Sox the way they have played this last month. Is there seriously anyone here that felt good about our chances in either a one game playoff with St. Louis or the first round of playoffs the way we have played?
Bryan
September 29th, 2011
11:22 am
Best article of the season.
Double Zero Eight
September 29th, 2011
11:22 am
The truth hurts. Glad someone had the
guts to say it.
STRETCH
September 29th, 2011
11:24 am
Andy,
I think there is a conspiracy here. The Yanks blowing a 7-0 lead? That had to be a mafia job or someone political was involved..LOL!
But seriously, i think that Yanks blew that one out of spite so that the Sox wouldnt have any chance to get in, and a second reason:
Dan Johnson batting .108 down to 2 strikes in the 9th and he hits one out? Hmmmmm…..
Love my Braves and Sox, so it was extra tough watching last night for me. Dont think i will watch any post-season ball. Atleast you got the Patriots, as for me, well and the rest of us Atlanta fans, we have to wait for the Falcons to get plucked and WE all know thats coming!
Ted M
September 29th, 2011
11:25 am
Rangers vs Brewers
Kentavo
September 29th, 2011
11:25 am
I’d like to see the Braves work on improving depth in the off-season and not have to rely on the A-Team to win every time out. It’s a big drop off when the regulars are injured or ineffective – (except for Ross).
SeaAtl
September 29th, 2011
11:25 am
Reading this article I felt like Schultz had eavesdropped on our office conversations this morning – most of us are longtime Braves fans and some were at the game tonight. And we said much of what Schultz – and then Dozer in a comment – said; the organization is built to be “OK”. We are not fearless and scary and dominant. That is the culture, and it’s not only hard to fix, it’s hard to pinpoint the genesis. It does, however, start at the top – and at the top our organization works hard to be professional, successful, and dependable. But as fans we want/need for the organization to have a little”gambler” in them – be fearless and risk the current “pretty good” for something better. The argument too many people offer is “At least we’re not the Pirates”. And that attitude seems pervasive within the organization – scared to gamble on excellence for fear of sliding – even temporarily – into failure…..
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
11:25 am
Bobby Cox remained loyal to players, seemingly to a fault. It seemed refreshing at the time when Fredi Gonzalez came in and shook up the lineup – breaking Chipper’s stronghold on the 3 spot, benching Heyward for Constanza, etc. Those were short-term fixes that felt good. But it may have undermined the players’ confidence as to where they stood with their manager. Chipper used to battle through slumps under Bobby knowing the 3 spot would remain his. But under Fredi, players had to fear that if they slumped they might lose their place in the order, making them play tighter rather than looser. Bobby’s patient method may have seemed stubborn at the time, but it usually worked.
Producer
September 29th, 2011
11:26 am
Shultz, you’re such a hypocrite! Fredi comes in and loses on the last day and you about have a cow while your butt-boy Richt has been collapsing for years and you have to get new knee pads while defending him! WTF?!?!?!?
RHR
September 29th, 2011
11:27 am
They change the lineup and the batting order.
The constant swapping of the lineup order and benching one guy for slumping while sticking with dan uggla thru the mendoza months (and others who were slumping and had viable replacements). And pulling starters too early or too late and overtaxing certain guys in the pen. Hopefully he will learn from these mistakes and remember them next season because he certainly won’t be fired.
Larry Parrish, however….
Best advice for the braves: watch Phillies tapes, watch tapes of almost ANY OTHER TEAM and learn patience at the plate on your own.
Last year’s far less talented team won several of their 91 games BECAUSE of their manager. The 2011 braves won many of their 89 games in spite of THEIR manager.
Auburn Fan
September 29th, 2011
11:27 am
until the Braves get some hitting we are going to lose when we go up against good pitching. END OF STORY. The manager is not the one to blame here.
How many years have we watched the same old story? Bobby Cox was one of the best in the business and he could not get them to hit.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
11:27 am
Offseason To-Do List:
-Find a new batting coach/Reinstate TP
-Evaluate Prado/Is he a full time player at this point?
-Add at least one more power arm for the pen
-Trade JJ and/or Lowe (for who I don’t know)
-Find a Short Stop/Is Pastornicky ready?
-Get Heyward in touch with a former hitting coach from his days of having success
(Wishful Thinking)
-Fire Fredi Gonzalez
Bulldog
September 29th, 2011
11:28 am
Fredi wasn’t managing the last month. He was praying. That Kimbrel would somehow find the strkezone, that Lowe would somehow find his sinker, that Heyward would somehow become more than a 228 hitter, that McCann and Prado would start hitting again. He had options certainly on Heyward, Kimbrell, and Lowe. He chose to hope and pray. I’m not the biggest Bobby Cox fan but this would have never happened on his watch.
duck
September 29th, 2011
11:29 am
I’m just dumbfounded by the team’s season long inability to move runners over. Way too often, a leadoff double leads to a runner still at second three outs later. The execution in the first inning was perfect, …and jaw dropping because it happened so seldom. Even pitchers can bunt. Someone, coach , manager, or whivere, should have their tails kicked for not making the team do fundamenal things that would get a Little leaguer chewed out.
Kentavo
September 29th, 2011
11:29 am
The difference between ATL and BoSox collapse – Francona will get canned; Gonzalez will get a five-year extension.
DERWOOD
September 29th, 2011
11:30 am
i WOULD HAVE STARTED ROSS IN LIEU OF MCCANN AS HE WAS PRESSING AND NOT HITTING THE BALL. PRADO WOULD HAVE BEEN AT MCDONALDS GETTING THE TEAM SOME HAPPY MEALS.
SSIgator
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
The Braves and UGA football are in a race to the bottom in this state. Not sure who is going to win out.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Thank God you typed that in ALL CAPS, DERWOOD.
I almost missed it.
Coach (2011 Fredi G. a go!)
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Thanks Jeff. You ran over this team, stopped, put it in reverse and backed over the their dead carcasses again. Well said.
MG
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Well at least we don’t have to suffer though the embarrassment of losing in the post season like we do every time we seem to get there. Thanks Braves for not getting our hopes up just to lose it anyway in post season play.
Mitchell
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Weak column… now that I’ve read it.
From the guy who brought you, “The Braves can not only win the wild card, the might just beat the Phillies for the division!!!”
Jeff Schultz, you’re every bit a part of the problem.
Is this supposed to atone for what a homer and apologist you are 99% of the time?
Are you trying out for a job at the Boston Globe?
Trying out the role of tough reporter guy. It’s embarrassing.
Pauls Johnson
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
I followed these losers all summer for this! Pathetic,,, it all started when chipper started running his mouth about how we didnt need to worry about catching the Philly cause we could beat them in the playoffs,,’PLAYOFFS,,,, BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
rob
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Amen, brother Schultz. Fredi mismanaged this team when things got tough.
Jeff
September 29th, 2011
11:32 am
Fire Liberty Media! Until we get new owners we will continue to be a second tier franchise.
FL dawg
September 29th, 2011
11:32 am
Richt will be UGA’s head coach til he wins a couple of NC’s. You know he’s the highest paid high school personnnel recruiter in the NFL. After we trade Heyward to the Yankees for some starting pitching and CUT Lowe,Linscum, and everybody but Moylan and the 7th inning boys the Braves will be alight. Did I say we need a SS?
Mike
September 29th, 2011
11:32 am
@Bulldog – it actually did happen on Cox’s watch last year. They were 3 games up in first to start September, and flopped their way down the stretch. They ended up 6 games back of the Phillies and winning the wild card on day 162 thanks to a SD loss.
This team has too many holes they are trying to plug with rookies. They need better hitting and some better veteran presences in the lineup. Jones is not his former self, and Gonzales was not any better than Heyward. They need better veterans and producers around these young guys. They need a veteran in the bullpen and a couple in the lineup to shake these young guys up and show them how to win. Not some worn out old 90s, early 2000’s stories from Chipper, Gonzo, and Lowe.
Fredi G is no Bobby Cox!
September 29th, 2011
11:32 am
How many times did Fredi go back to Proctor and Linebrink after the repeatedly blew games??? Get just one or two of those back and the braves are in the playoffs. Then sticking with Lowe….don’t get me started. Many bad decisions by FG combine to leave a question as to whether he is the right guy to coach the braves!
Don’t like you shultz but this is your BEST column ever. Have to admit it.
jm
September 29th, 2011
11:32 am
Fire. Gonzalez. Today.
Pegg
September 29th, 2011
11:33 am
This article is merely Mr. Schultz showing us that he is in fact a part of the media. Blame whoever you want… but baseball is a game of independent “getting it done” and that’s all there is too it. Prado didn’t hit, Mac is clearly not traditional Mac, Heyward just never got it going, and the rest of the kids ran out of gas. Looking forward to 2012…Go Braves.
Dirty Dawg
September 29th, 2011
11:33 am
What Deb ’sed’ about Heyward is right…hell, it was the catcher running from first to third…he even stopped at second then started again and still made it without a throw because Heyward was lolly-gagging to the ball. They better issue this kid an ultimatum about the off season – get down to Winter ball and change your approach – to everything – or your gonna find yourself the ‘punch line’ of the biggest joke since…hell, I can’t even think of one that big.
MWC
September 29th, 2011
11:34 am
Great article Jeff. That being said, the Braves need to clean house in the dugout. Mabye it’s time to give Terry a chance at the helm ? Gonzo, Parrish and the rest need to go. Lifeless, no fire…I saw it before June.
DawgDad
September 29th, 2011
11:34 am
The team needed to win ONE more game. The team was playing at a “best in baseball” level from May through August. The team fell completely apart, completely, in September, and that is cause for great concern and commitment to a new direction.
The reasons for the crash are painfully obvious, and many: key pitchers blew up, key everyday players succumbed to age and nagging injury, the hurricane break and the big lead in the wild card race and disinterest in catching the Phillies threw the team into a mental funk, youngsters in key roles struggled down the stretch, the combined pressures exposed an offense very poorly conceived (too many free swingers), imbalanced (too many lefties), and extremely poor in fundamentals, veterans in the bullpen didn’t step up, the trio of kid starters wasn’t ready to step in and go deep in ballgames, and the manager stayed with guys like Lowe far too long. It all came crashing down so suddenly everyone was in disbelief right up until the last few days.
Bachster
September 29th, 2011
11:34 am
I live in Pennsylvania and of course am a HUGE Phillies fan. That said, I’m old enough to have lived both sides this situation. I’ve always had great respect for the Braves organization, but as a fan I can empathize with how difficult this late-season collapse was for Braves fans. It’s easy to point fingers right now – but it’s best to allow some time to pass before making any decisions about next years team. Are some changes necessary, no doubt! I can only begin to imagine how difficult last night was for baseball fans in Atlanta. Your organization is still class all the way – and I’m sure they’ll get things figured out in the off season. Look forward to more great games in 2012.
PISTOL PETE
September 29th, 2011
11:35 am
In extra innings, some fast guy got on for th
BRAVES and he never tried to steal. Think about
it, to scared to try….when A- he might make it, B he might
cause an error and go to third, C he might be out but be
save by a missed ump call. D) if he makes it he ends up
at third and scores easily and Braves win…This is my
friends A MANAGER PROBLEM AND A MANAGER LOSS.
Alanis M
September 29th, 2011
11:37 am
Isn’t it ironic that these sports writers get to criticize anything? Not so long ago that these guys were saying the Braves could catch the Phillies.
TruthSeeker
September 29th, 2011
11:37 am
My plan for fixing the Braves:
Start over with an entirely new coaching staff. The culture has to be changed. We need a fiery guy who can pull out of this team what Kirk Gibson got of the Diamondbacks. How about seeing if Will Clark wants to manage? Just a random name to throw out there.
As far as fixing the roster goes, Wren is going to have to make a hard decision on Jurrjens and/or Hanson. At this point in their careers, they’re starting to resemble Kerry Wood and Mark Prior – talented young pitchers who show flashes of greatness but are never healthy enough to fully take advantage of it. The Cubs waited around for too long hoping that those guys would be able to stay healthy, and eventually both pitchers’ trade value plummeted. Wren needs to act now and move either Jurrjens or Hanson while they still have high value. The smart money says to keep Hanson, who has better pure stuff.
I think Jurrjens plus one of our top young arms (most likely Delgado or Vizcaino; Teheran is untouchable) could net the big bat that we need. Matt Kemp might be too ambitious, but he’d be worth making a big push for.
If Jurrjens is dealt, then you’re most likely looking at a rotation next year of Hudson, Hanson, Beachy, Minor and Teheran, with Medlen starting out in the bullpen and ready to take a rotation spot when someone goes down. That’s still very solid.
I don’t what we do with Lowe. No one will take him, and he’s not going to retire with $15 million sitting on the table. I think you probably just have to cut your losses and banish him to the end of the bullpen.
Speaking of the bullpen, it should be great again, as long as Kimbrel doesn’t have too many emotional scars from his disastrous finish to the season. The depth will be a lot better.
Freeman, Uggla, Chipper, McCann, Bourne and Heyward are all locked into the everyday lineup going into next year. Prado needs to be eased back into a super-utility role. I would re-sign A-Gonz to a one-year deal. As much as his abysmal OBP might drive me crazy, there aren’t many shortstops with either a great bat or a great glove. A guy who has one or the other is worth keeping.
That leaves left field as the most logical spot to get a big bopper in a hypothetical deal involving Jurrjens and a prospect. There’s no reason Wren should not be able to get it done.
The roster, while not perfect, is mostly fine. A lot of guys underachieved inexplicably this year, but there aren’t any gaping holes. That’s what makes this year’s collapse so shocking, and that’s why the coaching staff needs to hit the road.
Mitchell
September 29th, 2011
11:38 am
Coach (2011 Fredi G. a go!)
September 29th, 2011
11:31 am
Thanks Jeff. You ran over this team, stopped, put it in reverse and backed over the their dead carcasses again. Well said.
Well said? They should have been saying this all along.
At no point did Bradley or Schultz stop point out these issues as the season was progressing.
You don’t just look the other way for 161 games when glaring problems develop into cancerous tumors and then turn into Tough Guy Jones when 162 ends the way it does.
Imagine if Bradley and Schultz worked on the Atlanta Public School system beat.
“It appears as if they may be an across the board cheating conspiracy among top officials… but are they really any worse than the people who were in charge before. I mean, come on people.”
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
11:39 am
Manager, I served with Bobby Cox, I knew Bobby Cox, Bobby Cox was a friend of mine. Manager, you’re no Bobby Cox.
keef
September 29th, 2011
11:39 am
hmmm. All we’ve heard is how “comfortable” the Braves were with Cox’s replacement…a Cox clone….hmmm. I believe the old adage for the definition of insanity is: doing the same thing over and over while failing…and expecting a different outcome. “Just missing…” is all we’ve heard since 1995….(16) years of “just missing” with a new Cox clone is a disturbing scenario for the future. Obviously, this was a mantra.. “keep Chipper happy as we don’t want someone …who isn’t “comfortable… for him”… The LAST thing Braves need is a “comfortable skipper.” They need someone to KICK A _ _” Liberty Media must be chomping on the bit to lower payroll to $70 MILL…for a sturdier ROI. …as they look at Tampa Bay’s $41 MILL payroll…
Fredi Gonzalezzz
September 29th, 2011
11:40 am
This ain’t Little League you morons. Big League hitters either hit or they don’t and we didn’t. Plain and simple. Chipper played on 1 leg, Prado played hurt and Heyward had a bad 2nd year. Our ROOKIE closer had a bad outing. Our ROOKIE 1st baseman hit into a game ending double play. Our pitchers went down with injuries and 3 ROOKIES (arguably Minor, Delgado and Beachy) had to step in and compete at the Major League level. Spring Training is in 106 days….
JDW
September 29th, 2011
11:40 am
It was painful no doubt, but the cold hard fact is with the injuries we had we just weren’t very good.
LameLanta
September 29th, 2011
11:40 am
When the Braves had RISP none of them shortened their swings instead they would hack at garbage…that falls on Parrish, Fredi and the bad fundamentals on the hitters….just brutal
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
11:41 am
Bachster, you can’t really be from Pennsylvania. Right? Come on! No one up there has that much class.
Matt
September 29th, 2011
11:41 am
Thanks for sticking with Lowe and costing Atlanta a post season Bobby Gonzalez.
Dennis Reynolds
September 29th, 2011
11:42 am
Well said, TruthSeeker.