Fredi Gonzalez says Braves’ autopsy over — he’s moving on
It took a while for Fredi Gonzalez to let go of last season's collapse. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Four months after the last game, the last loss, the 20th loss in 30 games, it still doesn’t make sense. Players get hurt. Players slump. But does one get one’s mind around the worst collapse in franchise history and one of the worst ever in sports?
“You go over it in your mind a million times. You ask yourself, ‘Is there something I could have done better?’” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “After a while, it drives you crazy. This is really the first time I’ve talked about this, although I’m sure I’ll be asked 200 times at spring training. But we tried things. We had meetings. We had meetings for everything. We had meetings to decide about meetings. After a while it’s like, ‘How many times can I perform an autopsy?’”
Four months after the last game, the last loss, the spiral that crushed a team and its fan base, Gonzalez is going to struggle to convince anybody that he’s really over it. But he knows the calendar gives him no choice. The Braves open their annual prespring pitching camp Monday at Turner Field. They head to Florida in a few weeks. Before the first full-squad workout, players can expect to hear a positive message from Gonzalez — not about how they let a playoff berth slip away, but rather how they dealt with the aftermath.
For at least one month after the season, Gonzalez tried to avoid all media references to the Braves’ late-season drain-circling. But he was curious what was being said by his players, so he asked one of the team’s public-relations people to sort through articles. He was looking for player quotes that conveyed some sort of fractured clubhouse. There weren’t any.
“One thing I’m proud of is that nobody on this team did any finger-pointing,” he said. “There were no quotes about it being this guy’s fault, that guy’s fault. We all took ownership of what happened. That tells you a lot about these guys. You don’t see that in sports all the time. Look at what happened to the Jets. Oh my goodness — they lost two or three games, they didn’t make the playoffs and then they went after each other.”
When Bobby Cox passed the baton (or ball) to his former coach, Gonzalez seemed like the obvious choice. (AP photo)
OK. So the Braves can lose and still hold hands and sing Kumbaya. That’s not a bad thing.
But Gonzalez also knows the reality of 2011: What happened is unacceptable.
Good teams – and most would consider the Braves just that – can’t lose consecutive series to East Division clown acts like the Nationals, Mets and Marlins in a playoff race. Good teams don’t blow 8½-game wild-card leads in 23 days.
Players were injured. Players slumped. But Gonzalez, being the manager, was assigned blame. It was his first season after taking over for Bobby Cox. He was handed a playoff team, a potential World Series team. The Braves failed, so he failed.
“Our goal is to win a championship, and we didn’t do that,” he said.
It’s that simple.
What would he do differently than a year ago? He’s not sure. But something. Because if the Braves go into a similar funk in 2012, he said he will try anything. “Maybe I tell them to come to the park late or we skip batting practice,” he said. “I can’t really say right now.”
The Cox-to-Gonzalez transition was expected to be a smooth one. Gonzalez had coached here. He knew many of the players. There was a new vibe in spring training. Players were doing more running, working more on fundamentals. But it seemed the Braves never fully hit their stride, whether it was Dan Uggla flopping out of the gate, or Jason Heyward’s sophomore slump, or Martin Prado getting shelved by a staph infection. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson were dented by injuries, and by the final month of the season the rest of the pitching staff – starters and bullpen – was toast. Something always was off.
After the season, Gonzalez went kind of numb. He didn’t watch a playoff game until Game 6 of the World Series, and he turned that off after five innings.
“It was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen, so I went to sleep. I TiVo’d the rest.”
The next morning, he learned that St. Louis rallied to win in 11 innings over Texas and the Cardinals. The Cardinals, who reached the postseason largely because of the Braves’ fizzle, went on to win the Series.
Gonzalez went to Sea Island for a few days with his wife. He spoke to friends, in and out of baseball. He had several conversations with his long-time buddy, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, as well as Bill Parcells and others.
Van Gundy and Parcells didn’t provide any wonderful insight, unless you count this: “They all said if you’re at this long enough, things like this will happen to you.”
Gonzalez knows this: It can’t happen again, but he’s fine with that pressure. He says he’s looking forward to the first day of spring, the first game of the 2012 season, because that’s the easiest way to move on.
“After something like last year happens, the first thing you want to do is get back on the saddle,” he said.
He said he’s happy that management “didn’t blow up the team,” adding, “We have a good ballclub, but I’m not going to blow smoke either. We have some guys who need to do better than they did last year.”
A gentle jab. That can’t hurt. Something has to change for the ending to change, even if you can’t quite figure out what went wrong last time.
By Jeff Schultz
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224 comments Add your comment
home&home
January 27th, 2012
4:25 pm
let’s home the “some guys” do better. If so, I really like this team.
Trashy
January 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
I won’t blow smoke either.
Reid Adair
January 27th, 2012
4:29 pm
“He was handed a playoff team, a potential World Series team. The Braves failed, so he failed.”
Last year’s roster, and the last few unfortunately, have been far from World Series teams. I don’t know anyone, other than apparently Jeff Schultz, who thought the 2011 squad was capable of reaching the World Series.
Omnipotent One
January 27th, 2012
4:31 pm
poor choice of words for Fredi……I feel for the Porter family
Jack Wilson
January 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
I am apparently the answer, right? Since I’m the only signing this offseason?
Charlie Liebrandt
January 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
The lineup remains at least one solid bat short. Maybe two. A lot to like about this club but with ownership keeping payroll at the middle of the pack, the pitching staff will again have to pull too much of the load and burn out. 85 wins, here we come!
Steve
January 27th, 2012
4:42 pm
Jeff what are your thoughts on Larry Dobrow on cbs.sportsline.com ranking the Braves 11th in his new “power rankings?” Seems a little low to me.
Billy Sanders
January 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
As competitive as the N.L. East will be this year, I don’t think I’d refer to teams that the Braves will face 18 times this season as clown acts. Injuries are part of the game, and certainly the team had it’s share…Uggla may have started slowly, but his seconf half season was the best 3 month stretch of his career….Heyward will be fine unless people expect him to be the next Hank Aaron….Chipper can’t play forever, and gets by on pure guts and passion….McCann is better than ever…so build on the positive for 2012. That being said, the Braves play in what is baseball’s best division heading into the season. Don’t take things for granted…it will be a four team dogfight !!!
SouthSide Dawg
January 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
Individual performance must improve for a couple of these guys. If it does, Braves will be fine.
beone
January 27th, 2012
4:46 pm
Get rid of the black hole sure outs and we will be ok.
benchwarmer
January 27th, 2012
4:50 pm
Yea we do need that one or two or three solid bats to better last years constant nail biter season. Looks like the Braves are hoping young talent will prove good like FF last year and some more veteran talent can rebound or play more consistantly. Having the speed of Bourn will add a dimension
seldom seen around here. Like most seasons the ifs can be counted but that is the same for all teams. The Braves have some very solid pitching and pitching debth. All things considered optimism should rule to start the season.
keepinitreal
January 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
He’s improving. He didn’t start a single sentence with, “You know what…”
Bama Mike
January 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
Well that settles it. Let the Frank and Fredi Farewell tour begin.
AlanFalcon
January 27th, 2012
5:03 pm
What really hurt was that after the Braves fell apart then the Falcons followed suit, now that is to much to handle.
Sure hope that 2012 will be better for the Braves and Falcons, I don’t know how much of this I can handle.
Herschel Talker
January 27th, 2012
5:05 pm
Schultzie:
“Is there something I could have done better?’”
Yeah, how about NOT STARTING DEREK LOWE, YOU MORON! It is inconceivable how stupid and out of touch with any sense of intelligence this man is. What a disgrace that this buffoon got to keep his job after that meltdown.
HT
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
5:25 pm
We have to tip our cap to Fredi. He got some speed in the lineup and looked to have good chemistry and then he went back to Heyward (ground ball to 2B) and broke up the Bourn/Constanza running show. And HT is right. Handing the ball to Derek Lowe and staying with him showed the rest of the team he didn’t care to compete. We was at the game when he should have forfeited his opportunity to ever again pitch for the team and what does Fredi do . . . he starts him again when he could have started Homer the Brave and done better. Fredi, it was an EPIC Collapse. You were steering the ship a lot like the captain of that cruise ship in Italy. He went to jail. You apparently have a Get Out of Jail Free card. Hold on to it.
abby normal
January 27th, 2012
5:27 pm
There is only one thing that’s going to exorcise last year’s demons……..win, baby, just win.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
5:29 pm
We was wondering if porn stars had anything to do with the EPIC Collapse of the Atlanta Braves? Other sources are saying Popeye was seeing somebody other than Olive Oyl and that may have affected his hitting before the All-Star break. We don’t know but we do know Fredi had coaches calling out fans, and at least one player with a DUI arrest, and another who may have been in a movie with a german shepherd that was wearing socks.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
5:33 pm
If Fredi thinks game 6 of the WS was one of the worst games he’s ever seen he must not have watched the September game Lowe pitched for 2 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on 9 hits. Then, he starts him again a few days later. Guess what? We try to like Fredi but he is a cap tipper and a poor one at that and you know what they say about poor tippers.
McKee
January 27th, 2012
5:36 pm
We will see if Fredi and the Braves can rebound from the collapse. April schedule looks very favorable to the Braves and will give us a decent indication on how the season will unfold.
Dawgdad (The Original)
January 27th, 2012
5:39 pm
Sonny stole my line, but he is right, you just gotta tip your cap to Fredi sometimes, for changing what works and trying something different.
1eyedJack
January 27th, 2012
5:48 pm
Classic Sonny. Homer the Brave would have been a better option. Warren Spahn would have been a better option.
SimpleDawg
January 27th, 2012
5:54 pm
Fredi didn’t cause The Collapse. A manager could not have conspired to have the 2011 Braves team lose 20 out of 30 games……without the help of the players.
These guys are major league ballplayers – they should act like it.
Let’s see what happens in 2012.
3 stooges rule!!
January 27th, 2012
5:57 pm
Braves are a joke. When you have an incompetent manager and G.M, it isn’t a surprise this team collapsed. Add to that the fact that the leader of the team Crybaby Jones misses every big game, and you have no leadership from management to the manager on the field to the pathetic leader in the clubhouse. Wren has strapped the braves with his pathetic long term contracts to Lowe, Jones, and Hudson. These 3 over the hill clowns are making almost half of the braves payroll, and they contribute nothing. The only thing this manager is good at is tipping his hat to the other team after he blows a game due to his mindless coaching moves. What should braves fans expect, the cheapest ownership in baseball, hires the cheapest manager on the market, and the results speak for themselves. You get what you pay for in this case. The braves are paying this loser very little, and he has shown he isn’t even worthy of what he is getting paid. This guy has been fired twice by other teams, both in the minors and in the majors, yet the braves go and hire him. Go figure? Once again, Wren proves he is incompetent, by hiring this loser. Wren, Fredi,and Jones=the 3 stooges.
James Hagin
January 27th, 2012
6:02 pm
Sorry Fredi, but there is no excuse for the collapse in Sept. If anyone’s to blame, it’s got to be the manager. The entire team, with the exception of Chipper Jones, should go!!
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
6:07 pm
All this mess started about the time Chipper decided to sit out a game that he could have played in but since the lead was so big and since the Braves were the only team that could beat the Phillies he was just going to sit out and get ready for the playoffs. Jerk. He got back in the lineup in time to miss one in the lights that cost the Braves a game in Florida. Chipper has been the “leader” through all this misery. If you say he was the leader during the division “championships” (whatever that is) you are right. He was right there leading in every 1st round loss. The team needs a new leader. Get a guy out of row 6 and let him lead. Some changes are needed. The fans know those little flags in the outfield aren’t “championship” flags. That was an EPIC Collapse. EPIC. That may hang with this group instead of the 14 little flags. Change is good. Ask Obama. Er, wait a minute.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
6:14 pm
We just got filtered and we was innocent. If after every game this season we have to hear interviews from Fredi and uh, Chipper then we are going turn down the volume on the AJC and listen to a magazine like Sporting News. We have often touted Stinky Wintes for a front office job with the Braves but we think they need Coach even more to explain to Jason Heyward why he hits soft rollers to second base. Heck, we may get LeTwan Anthony’s momma to explain it to him. Somebody needs to get him straightened out like a Linebrink fastball.
SawThat1nce
January 27th, 2012
6:15 pm
Hitting with RISP, improving OBP, starting pitchers improving their ability to go deeper into games, a couple of more relievers stepping up and taking some of the load off of OVentBril and Martinez.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
6:15 pm
Looks like Ol’ Jeff is not coming back. We have some more suggestions for the Braves and we’ll be back later to share.
SawThat1nce
January 27th, 2012
6:18 pm
I think that the Braves can go all the way to the WS.
GO BRAVES!!
Dr. Phil
January 27th, 2012
6:27 pm
The good thing is, Wren didn’t give away any good players, as is his habit. Fredi has got some talent to work with, and a couple of “energy vampires” are gone. I will go to Florida in the spring and attend a few games in the summer, but I am getting the sinking feeling I had in the 70’s and 80’s.
1eyedJack
January 27th, 2012
6:34 pm
Our hitting coaches have their work cut out for them. Don’t mess with Freddie!
Stinger2
January 27th, 2012
7:04 pm
Jeff: I don`t know why you call the Marlins,Nats clowns.
They may be good enough to pass the Braves. Atlanta has essentially the same team but the Marlins and Nats have made moves to improve their teams.
My expectations for the Braves are not very high. If they can win 85 to 87 games, it would be about all I can hope for unless they do something to get more right handed power in the lineup on an every day basis. If things go downhill, we might see no better than a .500 season or worse.
DetroitBraves
January 27th, 2012
7:07 pm
Very convienent that Fredi is moving on given that his flaws – not appreciating OBP, not understanding platoon advantage, not being able to recognize leverage, fielding suboptimal lineups, an inability to manage a pitching staff – are the primary reasons for the Braves failures and the main reason for skepticism going forward.
Nativebird
January 27th, 2012
7:07 pm
Heyward Doesn’t break oUt in a big way this year? it and he are over. Too much invested in this guy for that type of worse than mediocre season he had in 2011. Crickets in right field. And chipper is done. It’s as if our gm is too afraid to tell his friends that they need to go. Like his goal is to keep the current band together, rather than win championships. god forbid someone tell chipper he’s got to go. He might get mad.
Chris
January 27th, 2012
7:11 pm
“3 stooges”: I can understand your point until you bash Huddy. He was probably our best pitcher last year don’t lump him in with Wren, Fredi & Chipper, though Chipper played about as well as can be expected.
lanier
January 27th, 2012
7:18 pm
heyward=francour. forget RF for this mob
Busch Leaguer
January 27th, 2012
7:50 pm
The best thing the front office did this season was addition by subtraction, Goodbyes to DLowe ,Kawakami,McClouth, AGonzalez,and Conrad.And if the Braves fall out of contention at the trading deadline.probable goodbyes to:Huddy, JJ, Bourn,Prado,and Chipper will more than likely retire before the season is over ,or end his season on the Disabled list.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
7:57 pm
Proctor and Linebrink.
VinceVanGo
January 27th, 2012
7:58 pm
The Braves have an excellent bullpen and more than enough starting pitching. They also have several very good position players. McCann will bounce back big. Freeman will continue to improve and be very good, Uggla will have a better balanced season, Pastornicky will pleasantly surprise and be the real deal, Bourne will be Bourne and get on base and steal a few, and Prado(in Left) will make folks forget about his last year. The two keys to this season are Chipper & Heyward. If Chipper can hold up and play 135 games, and if Heyward rebounds to hit at least .280 with 22-25 home runs, then the Braves will be in the Wild Card hunt. If Ryan Howard can’t come back strong, and the Marlins and Nationals new lineups don’t jell exactly right then the Braves could actually win the division. I’m not even mentioning the Mets. Too bad so Sad.
Joey M
January 27th, 2012
7:59 pm
Best thing we can do is to forget. You can’t change the past and you can’t change the future. You can however direct what happens now. I applaud Wren for not imploding the team. Left to right I believe we can hang with anybody. On the mound, I believe we are superior when looking at starters, relievers, and arms in wait. Prado will have a better season hitting in the 2 spot. Bourn will be nice to have for a full season. His glove in center will help lower our starters era’s and shorten innings. Heyward and Freeman will be better and have more power. Pastornicky is a “?”. How good is his glove? Will he be a better bat then Gonzalez? Mario Mendoza was a better option hitting then Gonzalez last season. If Pastornicky can commit fewer then 20 errors and hit anywhere above .250, we have an improvement over last season. The bar isn’t very high for him. If Chipper can play 140 games with some level of health, he is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. The Phillies are going to miss Howard more and more as the season marches on. Utley is a health risk. Their pitching will keep them in games, but if you don’t score, you can’t win.
The Grinch
January 27th, 2012
8:03 pm
When McCann rushed back from the oblique injury and was clearly not able to hit nor throw runners out at second, Fredi started him nearly every game the final 6 weeks despite having the best backup catcher in baseball, essentially erasing the cleanup spot in the batting order for the stretch run. It was something LITERALLY NO OTHER manager in baseball would have done and Fredi needs to own up to it and the countless other totally head scratching moves he made and didn’t make that directly led to the collapse. He’s a nice guy, but if he’s really that much worse of an in-game manager than Bobby (one of the worst of all time himself) then we’re really in for it in the future.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
8:19 pm
This Grinch fellow knows his baseball. We was thinking about when McCann “fell down at the swimming pool” and got those two black eyes and big bruises consistent with a bar fight. Now, we know the Braves wouldn’t sanitize something like that just like they didn’t when Chipper had a fight with a “fan” in Philadelphia. Now, we remember Chipper saying it was going to be a knock down drag out fight with the Phillies but that never happened.
Busch Leaguer
January 27th, 2012
8:20 pm
The Braves would be better off going with their young arms in their rotation this year. Put Jurrjens in a deal at the end of spring training to a contender that needs a starting pitcher’The Braves could maximize his value by trading him before the regular season starts.JJ does not fit into the Braves long term plans ,he will be too expensive to keep after this year .
The Braves should not fall into the trap of trying to win one for Chipper and mortgage their future by trading their best prospects to make a last ditch run ,that will more than likely fall short of a World Series appearance. The Braves don’t have the money or the front office expertise to compete with the big boys ,Phillies , Cards, Giants and D-Backs.
Sonny Clusters
January 27th, 2012
8:22 pm
Who would win a fight? Beeg Boy and Hank Aaron? Chipper and Zambrano? Venters and Fielder?
Calipari
January 27th, 2012
8:56 pm
Fredi: Just do what I do. Cheat.
Rickie Pitino
January 27th, 2012
9:05 pm
Fredi: I can tell you how to forget about all that. Just get a girlfriend, take her to a restaurant, and fornicate.
Skeezix
January 27th, 2012
9:20 pm
Well I can’t put it behind me. I am still angry that they started Lowe in the next to last game. I believe they did it because they knew they were going to shop him and FW was hoping he’d have a good outing so he could up his market value. That is what happens when a large corporation owns the team and they have a lackies like FW working for them. Right now I got the Braves at #3 in the division. Of course, I would love for them to prove me wrong. I think both the Washingtonians and the Miami Fish will be improved. Also, I think the Phillies may have peaked–not in terms of pitching, but the offense is weakening-but, they are still the ones to beat if you want to finish #1 in the NL East.
extremus
January 27th, 2012
9:21 pm
That’s a wonderful headline, Mr. Schultz; where’s he going???
Octoman
January 27th, 2012
9:42 pm
If Fredi is moving on, the town of Clemmonsville, SC has an opening for someone to coach the girls softball team.
SimpleDawg
January 27th, 2012
9:43 pm
To Fredi:
Be like a dog…….
…….when you drop a turd, kick dirt and grass over it, and then move on.
Uggla
January 27th, 2012
9:46 pm
Did one of you guys mention porn stars? Where?
GT Alum
January 27th, 2012
9:59 pm
The disappointing thing is it doesn’t sound like he’s hit upon anything they could’ve done better/differently, other than guys just need to produce better. Of course, this is the same guy who announced his novice hitting coach would return, apparently without discussing it with his superiors.
Winnie the Peg
January 27th, 2012
10:06 pm
The Atlanta Thrashers Season Ticket Holders were a collective, innocent 8-year-old boy.
The Atlanta Spirit Group members are collectivelya retired Penn State defensive coordinator.
Oh, wait…
This blog is about the Atlanta BRAVES.
My bad.
Rickie Pitino
January 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
Yeah Fredi baby! I’m talking ’bout some good old Kentucky fried fornication.
Dan
January 27th, 2012
10:09 pm
Fredi tells us he has high expectations for next season. He showed mighty poor managerial ability last season and still has the same team, park, and boss. Did he get better at managing during the off season? I certainly hope so.
Busch Leaguer
January 27th, 2012
10:12 pm
Just saw on the MLB network crawl that Kenshin Kawakami signed a contract to play in Japan. His MLB contract has to go down as the worst not only in Braves history but in MLB history.23million dollars for 8 wins and 1 save to go with 22 losses. How does a general manager survive such a gaffe as paying this player millions of dollars for such poor results?
David
January 27th, 2012
10:15 pm
This team, from top management (Terry McGuirk) on down to Fredi Gonzalez shares one trait: Ron Burgundy-itis. A hugely exagerrated self-opinion. This is a team that has made the playoffs once in the last six years, yet they walk around with the bravado and self-satisfaction of the Braves teams of the 90’s. They’re much better in their own minds than in reality. And now the Nationals and Marlins are starting to run circles around them. Jack Wilson? I’m sure legions were inspired to pony up for season tickets on the heels of that move.
Busch Leaguer
January 27th, 2012
10:41 pm
You mean Jinx Wilson ,I still recall last season when he joined the team.The game when Kimbrell blew the save and the game on a Friday night in St.Louis. The Braves announcer brought up the fact that Jinx Wilson had played the most games in the Majors without appearing in a playoff game. The Braves were one out from taking a 8 a half game lead on the Cards and wound up leaving St.Louis on Sunday with a 4 and a half game lead. Should not have tempted the baseball gods and let Jinx stay on waivers.
heartofdarkness
January 27th, 2012
11:23 pm
Short memories work wonders in sports. And Fredi is correct, the Braves are a high character outfit. Play ball.
ATLcracker
January 27th, 2012
11:26 pm
Freddie I found a quote that conveys some finger pointing & fractured club house.
” We have some guys who need to do better than THEY did last year” Freddie Gonzalez
Would have been nice to see an “I” in that sentence.
Who Me?
January 28th, 2012
12:00 am
just the kind of response I expected from FG. Let’s not forget he did not go gently into the night in FL either, so right now his rep could use a little shine.
This is a lame a** organization right now. Happy at the expense management going on, willing to ride it out with the staff on hand and make no real substantive changes to a punchless lineup that’s now missing one-half of the most solid middle infields in the majors last year, and i’m no fan of AG but the guy had a wicked glove.
Let’s see how things roll late in spring training but right now, Liberty Media and the Atlanta Spirit Group are looking a whole lot like twin sons of a different mother – spending just enough to be competitive but not enough to win. Just enough to sell a few tickets, but not committed to spending the bucks to pack ‘em in.
BravesBobblehead24
January 28th, 2012
12:07 am
We need new owners with a commitment to getting the best quality players when the need arises. The current owners have no commitment to winning like say a Ted Turner or Arthur Blank. It use to be players wanted to come to the Braves because of their desire to win, win, win and be the best in the league.
Mitchell
January 28th, 2012
12:50 am
Four months after the last game, the last loss, the 20th loss in 30 games, it still doesn’t make sense.
The cluelessness never ceases.
They choked! They’re soft. They’re pissed their pants. They’re a bunch of pushovers.
They’re not cut from the same cloth as the real contenders in the National League.
They’re an excuse factory.
“It still doesn’t make sense.”
That’s the best you can do? After all this time?
“It still doesn’t make sens.” Wow.
It doesn’t have to make sense. They just sucked and will continue to suck until they prove otherwise.
To be in such pathetic denail is just… pathetic. So much for the media speaking truth to power.
Folks, nothing’s going to change if all we hear from the Terry McQuirk’s of the world is about the promising young talent and continued excuse making from from the AJC.
Whatever happened to winning?
Mitchell
January 28th, 2012
12:58 am
But it seemed the Braves never fully hit their stride, whether it was Dan Uggla flopping out of the gate, or Jason Heyward’s sophomore slump, or Martin Prado getting shelved by a staph infection. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson were dented by injuries, and by the final month of the season the rest of the pitching staff – starters and bullpen – was toast. Something always was off.
Oh, was it Mr. The-Braves-Can-Still-Win-the-Division-Despite-Being-Seven-Games-Back-in-August?
Kevin chop
January 28th, 2012
2:20 am
Only 65 comments says what we think of the Braves now.
reason
January 28th, 2012
2:45 am
Fredi doesn’t make 10 million a year, but you know WHAT runs down hill when some of the top players don’t give their best….
Baseball Gods
January 28th, 2012
7:34 am
Busch Leaguer has got it right about Jinx Wilson.
Baseball Gods
January 28th, 2012
7:39 am
Even we think the Braves are a bunch of chokers; but Frenk Wran signing Jinx Wilson didn’t help their cause. Now if Frenk had made the proper chicken sacrifices to Jabu, things might have turned out better.
Larry
January 28th, 2012
8:17 am
“After the season, Gonzalez went kind of numb. He didn’t watch a playoff game until Game 6 of the World Series, and he turned that off after five innings.
“It was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen, so I went to sleep. I TiVo’d the rest.”
The next morning, he learned that St. Louis rallied to win in 11 innings over Texas and the Cardinals. The Cardinals, who reached the postseason largely because of the Braves’ fizzle, went on to win the Series.”
Maybe he should have watched that entire game to see how a manager safely, courageously, and intelligently pilots his team to greatness.
I can’t believe what I just read…
D man
January 28th, 2012
8:28 am
Let’s look at our team;
First base-solid bat and fielding plus home run power
Second- solid bat and fielding plus home run power
Short – unknown yet but has potential to do what gonzo did last season
Third – solid bat and fielding
Left- solid bat and ok fielding
Center – um not sure
Right – solid bat potential and fielding plus power sometimes
Good hitting lineup overall and solid defense. Pitching looks good too. I still like this team…
JackDennis
January 28th, 2012
8:46 am
They STILL need the big right handed stick.
Jake
January 28th, 2012
9:07 am
Congratulations, Jeff, you have aroused the slumbering Sonny Clusters, and Sonny is still stewing over last year!
kelley
January 28th, 2012
9:17 am
Atlanta is a loserville city. Braves 6 world series l win Hawks no good Falcons tease people thinking they are a good team> Playoff time what do they do CHOKE That my friend is why I don’t spend my
money to go see a losing team.
Yunel Asscobar
January 28th, 2012
9:19 am
“What would he do differently than a year ago? He’s not sure.”
That sentence says it all. Fredi is clueless at this level and until he’s gone, we can expect continued mediocrity, poor in-game decisions, and mismanagement across the board.
Jeff, the real question is this: If LaRussa or Kirk Gibson had been managing the Braves last season with an 8 1/2 game lead, would the team have made the playoffs?
There will be no championships for the Braves, not even the silly “division champ” flags until they get a championship caliber manager. Speed of the leaders, speed of the team. If he thinks the best thing he could have done to change the course of the CHOKE is to have them arrive at the park a bit later, he’s only confirming what most of us suspect. He is WAY over his head and has absolutely no business managing at this level.
Mike#1
January 28th, 2012
9:19 am
I must say…I’m over it. Let’s do it in 2012!
the truth...
January 28th, 2012
9:56 am
@Steve
Who is and who cares what “Larry Dobrow on cbs.sportsline.com” has to say…………
DetroitBraves
January 28th, 2012
10:02 am
@Octoman, amen brother. I’ll be more than happy to personally drive him to Clemmonsville.
Let's Be Honest
January 28th, 2012
10:06 am
Look at last year’s Cards/Rangers rosters. Now look at the Braves. Now look at the Cards/Rangers. Now look at the Braves….
That was NOT a World Series roster.
monty
January 28th, 2012
10:10 am
Phillies were handed a WS team with better potential than the Braves and they lost. Bigger flop than the Braves. Most Braves fans knew we were hanging on by a thread and realistcly even if we had survived to make the playoffs we weren’t going far. Phillies on the other hand didn’t perform as expected. In the end neither the Braves nor the Phillies won a WS. Phillies fans have to be wondering “how many more good players will it take”?
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
10:15 am
Fredi has brought all he can bring. Coming to the park at a different time shows he has no grasp of how to exert his influence to win baseball games. His hit and miss lineups and giving away outs no matter where he was in the order if he saw a bunt opportunity . . . and his clueless lineup changes when the team was clicking (how did that Heyward move at the end work out for him?) prove that he was overmatched. But the unforgiveable move was pitching Lowe again and again when he had demonstrated he could or would no longer compete. That was some UGLY baseball and one of the last and most important games was in front of an almost full house at the Ted. That one game lost Fredi a lot of good will. We was watching people file out in the 4th inning. That game gave us a bad taste for Fredi and dare we call it FrediBall? BobbyBall to FrediBall. And all those SILLY little flags in the outfield need to come down. They are intended to make us think the Brave won something. They really serve to point out how miserably they have failed in post season. No more hype. Give us winning baseball now. Winning is post season success. Not little fake flags. We hope everyone has a nice day.
Let's Be Honest
January 28th, 2012
10:28 am
-Move Chipper and Heyward to 2nd and 3rd in the order, respectively.
-Move Prado down to the bottom of the order.
-Announce Hanson the Opening Day starter. Time for him to step up and show he’s an ace.
-Quit using Kimbrel and Venters so much before they wind up on the DL.
BluesDaddy
January 28th, 2012
10:34 am
Yeah, it appears that Fredi is clueless, as is the GM of this club. While sports writers and other “talent” do their best to convince us there is something “magical” in managing and coaching a sports team, this is NOT rocket science and baseball least of all. Just about every guy 45 or older played baseball in some form or fashion. While a hard game to master playing, it is essentially a fairly simple game and when you’ve followed it for 40 or 50 years, it really isn’t hard to figure out. The point is, most managers (along with sports writers) just aren’t that smart, as evidenced by Fredi, nor able to engage in much worthwhile introspection or analysis. One would think the Braves couldn’t have done worse last September if Fredi had TRIED to sink them, but every move mentioned here was about as obviously dumb as it could be with some very legitimate alternatives. The lesson is, couple the desire by the management not to LOSE money more than anything else, and the general low level of intelligence and competence displayed by those involved in coaching/gming sports in general, and the Braves in particular, and you have a recipe for mediocrity. Such is life in Atlanta sports.
Russ555
January 28th, 2012
11:02 am
If he was all that incompetent how did they get so far ahead in the quest for the playoff spot in the first place. In order to fold you have to have done something right.
If they do worse this year bring in another manager, but we have to ask what are our expectations and requirments for a manage. Does he have to make the playoffs every year to keep his job. That’s a pretty high bar. Don’t know any that have done that. Not many like Bobby Cox out there.
Russ555
January 28th, 2012
11:05 am
You also have to look at the Braves payroll. 97 milion is not in the top tier. Hard to compete with clubs paying that much for players saleries.
Let's Be Honest
January 28th, 2012
11:23 am
“how did they get so far ahead in the quest for the playoff spot in the first place”
The rotation, EOF, JV, and Kimbrel.
jek
January 28th, 2012
11:40 am
The Braves lost last year because ther was no accountability.Lowe was allowed to continue to pitch when he should have been released. Ugla should have been benched when his lack of hitting killed the offense.Hudson should have been pulled when he gave up 4 runs in the second inning…etc etc… This is a management problem. Freddie did not insist on performance; this is either that he is not a leader or that his hands were tied by Wren, Mcquirk or Liberty who wanted to” get their money’s worth” or to try to vindcate bad player or financial choices–probably both–. Looks like more of the same this year.
BirdDroppings
January 28th, 2012
11:40 am
Let’s not completely forget, let’s learn from it. One thing is the players need to be in better shape.
Joey
January 28th, 2012
11:41 am
Maybe Fredi should check in with Mark Richt to learn how to study cutting edge sports.
alex
January 28th, 2012
12:15 pm
it’s not about Fredi, it’s about attendance that provide more finance to organization likewise lucrative TV contracts. we are in no good situation, free agent not looking any more to Atlanta. expect tough fight for next to last place in our division between mets and braves, and don’t blame Fredi, take you ass from couch and go to the games.
William Smith
January 28th, 2012
12:54 pm
Check out his mentor. Bobby Cox could win 100 games during the regular season, and then lose to the Tiawan little league champs in the playoffs. At least we didn’t have to buy playoff tickets to look like a Class A minor league team. Don’t worry Chipper and his buddies will carry us to the World Series if it is in May this year. That is when he usually has an injury and slows down.
Heathcliff Slocum
January 28th, 2012
1:31 pm
My, such positive comments. There is however a black cloud on the horizon – our starting rotation. Our three top people are all coming off some sort of injury and still no credible lefty to throw at the Phils and others. If Huddy, Hanson and JJ snap back, we’re in good shape – maybe even if one doesn’t but two of the three, then the absurdity of fighting for fourth place could become a reality.
61 year Braves Fan
January 28th, 2012
1:39 pm
Good to read Sonny Clusters again. I thought Fredi did a very bad job in managing this team last year.
I would have wanted Bobby Valentine but Boston has him now. We need a solid r.h. bat in the outfield.
I hope I am wrong but unless he corrects that long loopy swing, Heyward will be in the minors by
Memorial Day.
P B Orr
January 28th, 2012
2:53 pm
What would he do differently than a year ago? He’s not sure. That says it all. He wasn’t sure last year, and it was obvious. My buddies were going to lynch me mid-season because I was bitching about him constantly – it was already clear in July he didn’t have the leadership skills to make it through a grinding season. He’s in a way the opposite of Bobby, who was too stubborn. Gonzales was so pliable and indecisive that it spilled over into the entire team’s attitude, who went from knowing how to win to trying not to lose. It was painful.
tulsabravo
January 28th, 2012
3:44 pm
Sorry Fredi, but like I said in a song I wrote, “altruism died with the village idiot.”
Ben
January 28th, 2012
4:25 pm
Autopsy Report: Massive Choke attack
Fredi has to say these things but fans will always remember. You always remember those. Even more than the Championships.
Falcons and Braves. Worst collapses in the same year. BLECH.
DawgDad
January 28th, 2012
4:57 pm
“Good teams – and most would consider the Braves just that – can’t lose consecutive series to East Division clown acts like the Nationals, Mets and Marlins in a playoff race. Good teams don’t blow 8½-game wild-card leads in 23 days.”
How can you write this stuff? Leave out the garbage between the “-”’s and it makes perfect sense.
The Braves are NOT a “good team”; they will have to earn back that respect on the field, proving to the fan base they are not the bunch of hapless pushovers they were in September. Right now I would pick them fourth in the East (no better than third), and I’m not at all convinced they can outperform the Mets. Wait and see where the “expert” prognosticators around MLB pick them to finish.
GTT
January 28th, 2012
5:05 pm
I don’t get the flag thing. If you win your division, you finished first and made the playoffs. Something wrong with celebrating that? I was a fan back when they had less than no shot to finish first and most often were last, or close to it. Weird thing to be obsessed about if you ask me.
DawgDad
January 28th, 2012
5:16 pm
Let’s Be Honest: You hit the nail right on the head. The Cardinals, in September, were a FAR better team than the Braves, as their records bear witness. Pujols, Berkman, Holliday, Craig — top shelf hitters all, while the middle of the Braves order was in the collective tank (even Freeman tailed off at the end). In the end I was glad the Cardinals made the playoffs – they were very entertaining, their fan base deserves it for the support they provide, and the Braves likely would have been a painful embarrassment.
The Braves are hamstrung by the contracts of Chipper, Uggla, and Lowe, and this management team is not being held accountable for last year’s collapse.
MitchC
January 28th, 2012
6:16 pm
Jeff, I like your choice of words. “Autopsy” is just about perfect. The Braves 2011 playoff hopes disinterigrated, like a person with a terminal illness.
When you mentioned that “It cant happen again”. To be honest, I dont think we will be in position for it to happen again. Florida improved this offseason, and the Braves stood pat after we choked away such a big lead in a short period of time.
I think that the Braves will finish no better than third in the East, with about 85 or so wins, and that Florida will pass us for the wild card.
I’m disappointed that we didnt improve ourselves over the winter. I hold no high expectations for the 2012 Braves, sorry.
Fredi who?
January 28th, 2012
6:46 pm
‘Is there something I could have done better?’” You are kidding right?? I think Sonny Clusters,and Detroit Braves said it very well. The best said by Hershel Talker. The really sad part of this collapse is they are bringing fredi back to do it again. I am not over the last monumental collapse, and I wil not watch another game fredi “manages.”
drew
January 28th, 2012
6:48 pm
to bad it wasn’t Fredi who “moved on”…to another team.
What a joke of a manager.
dre
January 28th, 2012
6:50 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz – the sound of crickets – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz – snore – zzzzzzzzzzzzz – yawwwwnnnnnn – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Felix
January 28th, 2012
6:54 pm
Most of you guys are right on the mark about Fredi and what happened last year. It is absolutely amazing that the only one who lost a job was the hitting coach (i.e. FW’s scapegoat). These guys have convinced themselves that everything is still allright and this bunch of losers can win a WS. It is a classic case of group think.
Like Clint Eastwood’s character says in ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’: “There ain’t no forgettin’……………
That’s how most of us feel when it comes to what happened in September 2011. I’ve never seen such a pitiful case of choking by an entire team, including the manager.
bulldogbubba
January 28th, 2012
6:57 pm
WoW!!!! SONNY CLUSTERS
bulldogbubba
January 28th, 2012
7:01 pm
WOW. Sunny Clusters has been in hibernation too long.H e has put it to everybody but the batboy.The truth hurts though.Glad Sonny is back.It has been a silent winter.Thanks for putting a smile on my face. Love, Chipper.
Fredi who?
January 28th, 2012
7:04 pm
Have the Braves hired anyone that knows CPR? For when they choke again?
Dan Uggla
January 28th, 2012
7:05 pm
Okay, maybe I was distracted by porn stars for awhile, but at least I didn’t choke. I don’t want to poke fingers, but it was the other guys that gagged.
BUCKHEADMETSFAN
January 28th, 2012
7:06 pm
NEW YORK METS= 2 WORLD SERIES BANNERS AT CITI FIELD
ATL BRAVES= 1 WORLD SERIES BANNER AT TURNER FIELD
DO THE MATH IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!
LET’S GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUCKHEADMETSFAN
January 28th, 2012
7:08 pm
LARRY LIMP IS HOLDING YOU GUYS BACK!!!!!!!!!!
BASEBALLS BRETT FAVRE
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
7:14 pm
Thanks for the nice words. We was nice when we was playing ball but we was never a cap tipper. We know it’s nice to tip your cap but a winning team gets mad when they get beat and instead of tipping caps they should be grumpy and scratching and spitting. Instead, these guys are huggers and fanny patters. Have you ever seen so much hugging? We was thinking we would be afraid to hug Dan Uggla because you don’t know where he’s been. Oh? We guess it’s best not to hug him because we DO know where he’s been. Take down those little flags and start over again. We will not forget the EPIC Collapse. EPIC.
Seeer
January 28th, 2012
7:14 pm
Can’t wait to get the 2012 season started! No matter what those stupid polls say Baseball is still America favorite sport! Look at the number of kids that play baseball compaired football! Sorry, buts it’s not even close! Baseball rules! Go Braves!!!
cmc
January 28th, 2012
7:14 pm
Dont think the team needed to be blown up but we needed to add some offensive pop with some players who can hit on a consistent basis….and to be frank the Braves need that type player like Allan Craig of the Cards who can give us an intangible we’ve been missing since the great playoff run ended in 2005. Just have never gotten over the hump since then and unless Frank Wren is relieved of duties and a general manager with some common sense is placed in tow to get some PLAYERS and not ones with “great potential” we’re not getting out of second division this year. I’ve heard “well he has a lot of potential and we’re banking on that” so much this past off season I’m going to puke. Baseball is a results oriented game and if you’re paying a player to produce and he’s not producing you move on and get someone that is. Having said that I think most fans don’t enter 2012 with the same enthusiasm as we did in 2010 or 2011 with a new skipper so if the Braves are slow to get out of the gate not sure what type of sentiment baseball in the South has. As they say “we’ll wait and see how things go.” Seems that what Fredi’s doing.
Fredi who?
January 28th, 2012
7:15 pm
The more I have thought about this sorry article, the more I know fredi is oblivious. What kind of fool says things like, “Maybe I tell them to come to the park late or we skip batting practice,” he said. “I can’t really say right now.” Or, “It was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen, so I went to sleep. I TiVo’d the rest.”
Guess he never watched the Braves play, or hes dumber than even I thought he was. I hope the collapse haunts him the rest of his natural life, and I also hope thats not in Atlanta.
smallmouth6
January 28th, 2012
7:16 pm
dre: The most boring and lazy of all comments: ZZZZZZZZZZ to your ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. What’s next: First!
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
7:20 pm
Lowe and Kawakami are gone. Proctor and Linebrink are gone. Even little Conrad is gone. That means the player with the best chance to end up in the Homer the Brave costume is Jason Heyward. He’s going to lose his position if he doesn’t improve that ridiculous swing that rolls the ball to the second baseman.
bulldogbubba
January 28th, 2012
7:23 pm
Sonny I suggest when Chipper retires we give those little ’signs” to him and let him take them to the hunting camp.He could place the in strategic areas to help his friends find their way back to camp.I think its only fair since he won most of them. Just sayin’
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
7:29 pm
Yep. Those signs need to come down. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Those signs signify nothing and the fans need to rebel against them. Those signs are a trick to make people think the Braves won something. What you win in the National League is the pennant. If you don’t win the pennant, you didn’t win. Somebody else did. Don’t celebrate not winning the pennant and act like the division is anything. Last year they were coasting, confident they would win the wild card and then . . . an EPIC Collapse. Is there a flag for that?
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
7:29 pm
Yep. Those signs need to come down. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Those signs signify nothing and the fans need to rebel against them. Those signs are a trick to make people think the Braves won something. What you win in the National League is the pennant. If you don’t win the pennant, you didn’t win. Somebody else did. Don’t celebrate not winning the pennant and act like the division is anything. Last year they were coasting, confident they would win the wild card and then . . . an EPIC Collapse. Is there a flag for that?
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
7:31 pm
Whoa! Twice the Clusters for the money. We apologize for the double post. We lost it in the lights like Chipper.
extremus
January 28th, 2012
8:33 pm
I agree with Sonny Clusters regarding the signs (at least the Wild Card ones; division pennants have been displayed by teams for a long time and that’s fair, I guess). Posting a banner for a Wild Card berth is akin to your Little League giving out little trophies to every kid on every team so that nobody feels left out. Sorry guys, but you don’t win pennants, trophies, or respect (especially for what these guys get paid to play) just for participating. It’s time we got back to a proper definition of winning and losing (not to mention a whole LOT of other things that have gotten “politically corrected” in our society).
Playoffs!!!
January 28th, 2012
8:43 pm
Does anybody remember Fredi deciding to pitch to Matt Kemp, early in the season with the game on the line, with first base open. BOOM! Base hit, game over!
Or how ’bout this one. Fredi walks Ty Wiggington to pitch to Carlos Gonzalez (reigning batting champ) Boom! Game winning hit.
Didn’t we miss the wild card by one game?
hy tronya
January 28th, 2012
8:49 pm
http://www.firefredihonzalez.com
Leon
January 28th, 2012
8:54 pm
The Braves needed a Pascual “I-285″ Perez moment and didn’t get it.
Frank
January 28th, 2012
8:58 pm
April 5th. That’s not right around the corner. Still plenty of time to listen to this mediocre team’s players and coaches yap on and on about absolutely nothing. This could be the year I put mlb in the same category as the nba. Unwatchable.
Dan Uggla
January 28th, 2012
9:07 pm
The Braves are making me take a bath in chlorox before I can go in the clubhouse. I don’t get it, a little dose of crabs never hurt anyone–except you do have to scratch your crotch a lot. When you get the itches down there, it can distract you when you are at the plate.
not a pitching coach
January 28th, 2012
9:35 pm
With the roster that this Braves team has, I don’t expect them to finish higher than 4th in the NL East. Other teams made some moves to improve their team, but the Braves…
alex
January 28th, 2012
9:39 pm
WElcome back sonny c.,always a pleasure. Chipper is TOAST,the legs don’t have it, you don’t need the money, be a man,posada-like….as for thw rest… fire freddie and frankie
Sonny Clusters
January 28th, 2012
9:57 pm
It’s going to take a lot of caravans and free autographs to make people forget the EPIC Collapse. In fact, we don’t think people will forget it at all. We think they will tag this team with the EPIC Collapse. How about LaRussa deciding to retire after the job he did with the Cardinals? That was some pretty good managing as far as we could tell. As bad as the Braves fell, the Cards rose.
nostrabridgesdamos
January 28th, 2012
10:27 pm
Stand idle brethren while competition opens up the wallet to spend for Championships.
billy bob
January 28th, 2012
10:55 pm
Who gives a RATS A$$ about the Braves, Frank Wren, and Liberty Media!!! Willbe the same $hit different year.
nostrabridgesdamos
January 28th, 2012
10:58 pm
You must Mr. Thornton or ya wouldnt be bloggin! Go get a snip of whiskey and bow to Mr.Wren.
TechRon
January 28th, 2012
11:03 pm
Clusters, Stooges and a few others above have it right. Wren and Gonzalez suck and the fact that they still have their jobs is testimony to the incompetence above them. Fredi was SUCH a horrible manager in September that it might have set a record. I have been a serious Braves fan since 1957 and at this point I am apathetic about them. Why invest emotional capital when the owners don’t even care? Screw them. They aren’t going to be selling ME any tickets to that nonsense.
DawgTripp
January 28th, 2012
11:16 pm
TechRon: Ditto. It all starts at the top brother!
Busch Leaguer
January 28th, 2012
11:19 pm
It’s too bad that MLB won’t be adding the DH to the NL until next year. It would help the Braves tremendously to be able to play Ross 70 to 80 games behind the plate and let McCann DH half the time. You can take advantage of a superior defensive catcher Ross and keep McCann fresh for the entire year. The DH will be here next year when the Astros move to the AL and there will be an interleague series going on every night.Maybe the Braves front office can show some foresight and extend Ross’s contract again.
Murf
January 28th, 2012
11:21 pm
Easy now gentlemen-give Freddi some time.
Auggie
January 28th, 2012
11:23 pm
Busch- haha..dh in NL..go down to the brewery for your free Bud!
Busch Leaguer
January 28th, 2012
11:47 pm
Auggie
You may laugh now ,but after they realign the leagues next year they will either have to put the DH in both leagues or do away with it all together. And the player’s union will not let that happen.
Clemson Fan
January 28th, 2012
11:52 pm
April is not “around the corner” from January. The Cards are finished without doughboy and LaRussa. Braves win the division this year and all of you geniouses who believe you could better manage this team should send your resumes down to Hank Aaron Drive.
Busch Leaguer
January 28th, 2012
11:55 pm
Clemmons Fan
Too bad the Braves are in a division with the Phillies ,not the Cardinals.
Jammed on a 3-1 fastball
January 29th, 2012
12:05 am
Well – Gonzalez has much to prove. Can he keep from burning up the best bullpen in baseball. Better yet, can he learn as rock-headed as he and his Hall of Fame predicesor refuse to admit, that a .240 BA team that refuses to work the count, steal bases and manufacture runs puts undue pressure on even the best pitching staffs?
The 2010 Braves got it. I only hope Walker/Fletcher and Chipper can convince these jack-legs that being a professional hitter does not mean hitting a 7-run jack every AB. It means hitting the gaps opposite field and scoring these rarely seen mythical creatures called runs.
Furthermore, moneyball concept aside, a runner has a greater chance of crossing home plate from 2nd base than he/she does from first.
dave
January 29th, 2012
12:07 am
go braves,,,,,,,,,
Jammed on a 3-1 fastball
January 29th, 2012
12:09 am
By the way…Kudos to Sonny Clusters who has the dunce in the dugout pretty well locked in.
Jammed on a 3-1 fastball
January 29th, 2012
12:13 am
Gonzalez is mentally overmatched…..Hire Hanley Ramirez!!
Todd A.
January 29th, 2012
12:26 am
“Chipper is just getting by on pure guts and passion.” LOL. Did I really just read that?
man and dog
January 29th, 2012
1:05 am
Fredie’s decision to play a ineffective Lowe and and a hurt McCann cost the team a spot in the playoffs. Nothing more needed to be said.
Stinger2
January 29th, 2012
5:34 am
Most everyone agrees that FG is not the manager the Braves need. I don`t disagree but I do not believe a change will be made anytime soon. So what can be done to help the team with him managing should be the question. I don`t have an answer. Does anyone?
Let's Be Honest
January 29th, 2012
6:09 am
“Chipper is just getting by on pure guts and passion.”
I’d hobble out of that dugout everyday if there was $15M at stake.
Let's Be Honest
January 29th, 2012
6:17 am
“But the unforgiveable move was pitching Lowe again and again when he had demonstrated he could or would no longer compete. That was some UGLY baseball and one of the last and most important games was in front of an almost full house at the Ted. That one game lost Fredi a lot of good will. We was watching people file out in the 4th inning. That game gave us a bad taste for Fredi and dare we call it FrediBall? BobbyBall to FrediBall. And all those SILLY little flags in the outfield need to come down. They are intended to make us think the Brave won something. They really serve to point out how miserably they have failed in post season.”
Exactly right. But you can’t convince thsee people who swear Cox was a great manager. When the great pitching went away, the franchise was exposed from top to bottom. These fans preach patience, but the rest of this division (save the Mets) is about to hit the gas.
Dozer
January 29th, 2012
6:47 am
The Phillies added Paplebon, the Marlins added Reyes. So what – we fired our hitting coach!!! Braves fever – catch it…….
Let's Be Honest
January 29th, 2012
7:24 am
““One thing I’m proud of is that nobody on this team did any finger-pointing,” he said.”
That’s great and all, but I don’t recall anyone stepping up to accept blame either. Everyone just packed their bags and ran away.
collegeballfan
January 29th, 2012
7:58 am
“We all took ownership of what happened.”
That is an important idea. Also, the fact that the team returns intact with a couple of big money exceptions. There is no knight in shining armor riding in to the rescue.
Starting with the pitcher camp the team has ownership of the season.
Phillisux
January 29th, 2012
9:12 am
The Braves had a good season last year, but (no doubt) should have made the playoffs. That said, they had plenty of company as far as collapses go: The Red Sox; The Phils (with Oswalt gone, I guess the “greatest” rotation in baseball history will be short-lived); The Yankees; The Rangers; The then-defending World Champion Giants; etc. About the only team that over-performed was The Cardinals. Pretty soon we will see the start of the 2012 season, so 2011 is gone. GO BRAVES!
Danny Boyle offers glimpse of Olympic opener | Belfast Downtown
January 29th, 2012
9:26 am
[...] Fredi Gonzalez says Braves’ autopsy over — he’s moving on [...]
SMOLTZ 29
January 29th, 2012
9:26 am
If the season started today, we are looking at an 84-87 win club if everything breaks right.The Braves never picked up the right handed LF bat, and shouldn’t have stood pat this offseason. Inactivity= no improvement! WAKE UP WREN
MJ
January 29th, 2012
9:35 am
geez, I love the start of baseball season with all the great critics. Good stuff, funny stuff, at least no one can say we dont have a passionate fan base. Here’s hoping the Braves have a great year – they will have to do it on their own – its for darn sure the owners won’t step up and spend money. Everyone just acknowledges that the Phillies will win the division and we’ll hopefully get a shot at the wild card – we really were spoiled by Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine. They brought us home every year just like the Phillies staff is doing, and we never gave them the recognition they deserved. I know I can be accused of being blindly loyal, but I still like see #10 in the line-up. Last year down the stretch he was our most effective hitter, which was clear. I think he’ll finish with a great year and really go out on a high note. Our pitching should be ok, and our team speed ok as long as we keep Bourn on the team. It would be great to seem him stick around, but our faceless owners, who have no connection to this city, will not sign him and we’ll end up trading him by July. Prado will be back tonormal – BMac will be back to normal which will be a great benefit. Keys for the offense will be what Uggla and Heyward get done. Uggla right now looks like Dave Kingman of 20 – 30 years ago. Might lead the league in HR’s, but struggles to hit his weight, and leads the league in K’s. If Heyward cannot get over his sophmore jinx, then he needs to be traded. Frenchy’s numbers were not as bad as Heywards when the fan base turned on him and the Braves rolled over and traded him. Lots of question marks for this team- I cannot wait to watch how this plays out.
Ted M
January 29th, 2012
10:46 am
yep, the Braves traded Frenchy and got NOTHING for him. Now he’s a good player for the Royals. Francoeur is and always has been a 10 time better fielding RF the Heyward…that’s probably an understatement.
I’m pulling for Heyward…hope he turns it around.
katherine
January 29th, 2012
10:53 am
It’s the start of a new season….lets see how it goes before we start criticizing. I’m sure the braves organization knows what it’s doing…that is their job. The rest of your negative opinions are like a holes….everyone has one…..Go Braves
Ralph
January 29th, 2012
10:54 am
from Gonzalez — ” not about how they let a playoff berth slip away, but rather how they dealt with the aftermath”.
It would appear to me that they haven’t dealt with anything and have decided to just do as good as they can with what they have and prepare for next year and the future, NOT A BAD IDEA.
rayk
January 29th, 2012
10:59 am
noone has explained why Lowe was started every 5th day when it was clear he didn’t have it.
they haven’t done anything to improve the team while Fla. and Wash have improved. so, we won’t have to worry about missing the playoffs by 1 game this year-it won’t even be close.
expecting everyone to play at injury free 100% capacity is a pipe dream and that is what they are basing their hopes on.
talk is cheap-and so is Libetry Media.
wins-by-a-link
January 29th, 2012
11:08 am
If the Braves are to reach the play-offs they must score runs and take the pressure off the starters and the BP, Braves lack of offense hurt the pitchers, Especially during the last third of season when they were pretty much worn out.
phil
January 29th, 2012
11:17 am
I’m not moving on until FG is fired.
I’m not attending another game until FG is fired.
This guy needs a sports psychologist if this is how he handles the epic collapse.
Do nothing? Just sit there? Whine? Pout? Hope for better?
Wayward is a bust, as will finally be evident this coming year. Maybe we’ll then dump the bum and move on. More Uggla? Can’t wait to hear the excuses for him come mid-May!
Prado? Utility guy at best. Don’t hold your breath on his resurgence.
The only good news is no more Gonzo flailing wildly at every pitch.
Phillisux
January 29th, 2012
11:19 am
rayk January 29th, 2012 10:59 am
noone has explained why Lowe was started every 5th day when it was clear he didn’t have it.
rayk: I think are several reasons Lowe was allowed to pitch: 1) he went 5-0 in 2010 and arguably was the number one reason we made the playoffs that year; he has been a proven winner in big games; with Hanson and Jurrjens out, Lowe was our best alternative (yes, some of the young pitchers stepped up, but Lowe is a veteran with playoff experience). I hept waiting for Lowe to deliver, but he was downright awful last year.
rafael
January 29th, 2012
11:21 am
“Slashing concession prices” to boost attendance????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Give me a BREAK…. anyone who took an Economics 101 course in college KNOWS you INCREASE attendance by putting a BETTER/WINNING product on the field, NOT by “slashing concession prices!!!!!!!!!”
Liberty CHEAPIA won’t spend a “dime” on our Braves; yet, they think by lowering the prices on Turner Dogs will have the fans flocking into the stadium.
Simple ABC’s… teams that WIN draw fans, not LOSING teams whose ownership expects you to pay your hard-earned dollars to watch Matt Diaz starting in the OF (Liberty CHEAPIA loves those “AFFORDABLE” ballplayers.
The ONLY way to get that lousy low-life LIBERTY CHEAPIA to SELL the Braves to “SOMEONE” who wants to WIN is to NOT (I repeat NOT) ATTEND Braves games.
Hopefully they’ll get the message that lowering the price of a hot dog is not the key to HUGE attendance.
Ralph
January 29th, 2012
12:46 pm
Gartrell may be our only hope for another outfielder.
BravesfaninWis
January 29th, 2012
1:17 pm
Point blank, it doesn’t matter what Fredi Gonzalez thinks about the collapse, its what the fans think about it. Fredi Gonzalez doesn’t buy tickets to the games, he doesn’t buy all the merchandise, he doesn’t pay for parking on game days, and he doesn’t buy food and beverages at the games. Its us fans that make it possible for these players and coaches to get paid the way they do to play a kids game.
So when a team has that kind of collapse and doesn’t do a damn thing to fix anything, then this fan takes the other road and doesn’t spend a single cent on any of the things I mentioned above. Sure I love the Braves, always have, always will, but I refuse to spend money on a team who refuse to spend money to improve that said team. The Braves have done NOTHING to improve this club, NOTHING!!! So why should us common folks spend our hard earned money just so these players that fell on their faces, and these coaches that dropped the ball can make millions for the rest of their contracts?
I can’t speak for the rest of you, and I won’t even attempt to. For me though, this is about the most un-interested I have been this close to the start of the season since I was a little kid and cared more about playing baseball then watching it. For me, its because the Braves have done nothing to improve their team. I don’t get their games here in Wisconsin, but I have ordered the MLB Extra Innings package every year since it has been offered. I won’t be wasting my money on it this year, and the only time I will watch a Braves game this year is if its on free tv. I hate to be that way, but I down right refuse to support a team that has to be cheap year after year and just prays like hell they will compete. I am not a fan that sits idly by and just hopes every year, I expect that the team that I support and spend money on will compete or at least counter the other teams in your division. The Braves haven’t done any of that, so in my opinion, they don’t deserve to have support this year.
WHOGIVESASHYT...
January 29th, 2012
1:38 pm
Fredi has the same team and will get the same results. He is an below average to average manager, who doesnt understand situational baseball. Good Luck Braves fans. You are really gonna need it.
FG....really?
January 29th, 2012
2:33 pm
Freddi has to got to be the biggest boob in the NL. Booby did less with more, and now we have this guy. Guess “ya gotta tip your hat” to Liberty Media.
Coach (2011 Fredi G. FAILED)
January 29th, 2012
3:00 pm
What happened in 2011 wasn’t due to the failure of talent, physical ability or baseball acumen.
It was mental, as in total lack of toughness between the ears. They folded because of their lack of confidence in themselves. Great managers inspire such confidence. Bobby Cox was one of those managers. Fredi Gonzalez isn’t Bobby Cox.
That said, Fredi and his troops have been through their worst nightmare. Live and learn as not to repeat such horrific endings. 2012 will be different. How so depends directly on the mental toughness of the same said baseball team.
Go Braves!
Bernie
January 29th, 2012
3:12 pm
The Braves haven’t done anything to improve the team as far as offense so don’t expect a whole lot this year. For about 3 years offense has been the problem because the team can’t hit and move runners over that have gotten on base. I like Chipper and thank him for his contribution to the Braves for all these years but he needs to move on and ride off into the sunset. GO BRAVES!!!!!
Sonny Clusters
January 29th, 2012
3:36 pm
How did they lower prices on concessions? Two words . . . Deer Dogs. Hot dogs made from deer meat.
Falcaints
January 29th, 2012
3:58 pm
Yawn, let me know when they collapse.
Dan Uggla
January 29th, 2012
4:03 pm
BravesfaninWisc has it right. We Braves really are screwed up this year. Probably going to lose 90-100 games. And the fans can get cheaper hot dogs at WalMart.
Boy, with the low attendance we are gonna have at the games, I sure hope my paychecks keep coming.
As for me, I’d rather be with my porn star girlfriend.
Phil57
January 29th, 2012
4:09 pm
My dad, a successful businessman, always told me “You can move forward or fall back but you can never stand still. If you stand still you will eventually fall back.” My fear is that “standing still” describes the Liberty Media Braves. Not good.
bulldogbubba
January 29th, 2012
4:13 pm
Sonny will you and Stinky go to Spring Training just in case they need some direction.Maybe take the statue to relieve 3rd base?
Liberty Media
January 29th, 2012
4:15 pm
You guys can rest assured that the company has taken every step possible to maximize its bottom line and the bonuses for the executives.
bulldogbubba
January 29th, 2012
4:19 pm
Does anybody know if Chipper is sueing the NFL for concussion like symptons.It says some players are affected by light and maybe that is why he lost the ball in the lights last year.
Sonny Clusters
January 29th, 2012
4:36 pm
Uh, Chipper Jones is going to clean up selling the Braves deer meat for the new, cheaper, hot dogs. We was wondering if he is going to have some deer jerky in the dugout for his teammates? We was also wondering if Dan Uggla is going to have to deal with a lot of itching this season? It is never good to go to the plate itchy.
it is what it is
January 29th, 2012
4:51 pm
Enter your comments here
it is what it is
January 29th, 2012
4:56 pm
joke ajc column
bulldogbubba
January 29th, 2012
4:56 pm
How about antler caps?
it is what it is
January 29th, 2012
4:57 pm
chipper stay away from hooters
prado quit missing mommy she is here now
moylan get a sex change since u rather be a woman anyway
Dan Uggla
January 29th, 2012
4:59 pm
sonny
maybe u like to tell that to me personally?didnt think so jerk
F.Wren
January 29th, 2012
5:01 pm
Get your season ticket folks!!!
Enjoy the reduced prices
Told you i make move
We are al set,we got jack wilson
I love my job.
Thanks for the support and my nice raise Liberty Media
it is what it is
January 29th, 2012
5:04 pm
Jeff
Cant wait when we play milwaukee and heyward grounds into a dplay started by gonzales and conrad
Later on conad hits home run,and gonzales has 4 hits ,wins a game
You know its coming look what franceur has done along with bettermit
hey sec east champ
January 29th, 2012
5:12 pm
Clusters is funny, Missed ya bud. Do not post much,,,& always w a new handle..like they used to say about Clapton,,U R god.joke guys.deer dogs Just dang.
Mike Mangan
January 29th, 2012
5:25 pm
I just wish we could have gone back to the trade deadline and re examine the Bourn deal.We will lose him after this year for sure and we could have had Hunter Pence(A right handed hitter Hello)Pence would have been under team control for at least three more years and all we would have given to Houston was one of the three young stud pitchers.
With a minor league system on pitching overlad we could have done just that.Pence and Heyward on the corner positions and Scheafer still in the middle who all and all was a better five tool player than Bourn.
Did anyone notice how many times Bourn wiffed while wearing a Braves uniform?What I am saying is hind sight is 20/20 yet our minor league teams are loaded with pitchers,young catchers and solid infielders.We could have had Pence and the Phillies now have him under control for at least three more years.Anybody want to trade an abundance of talented minor league outfielders for one of our A double AA or Triple A pitchers?Well the good news is we have Robert Fish!!!
ab initio
January 29th, 2012
5:41 pm
All I know is that what we saw outta Fredi could only be compared by a Russ Nixon managed ball club.
And Frank Wren is the worst.
katherine
January 29th, 2012
6:16 pm
geez…maybe the people that says atlanta has the worst fans are right…..you all suck as fans!!! Fredi had one season so far…if he does bad this year im sure he’ll be gone. Can’t you so called fans just enjoy it…have some fun maybe? Every team except one will not win the world series…so does that mean the fans of all the other teams that don’t win should b^^ch and moan and act like spoiled brats all season long…or just go to the games with their families and have fun. I have fun at the games no matter what…life is what you make it. If you don’t want to go to the games, or watch them, great…don’t. Your negativity is annoying and takes all the fun out of it for everyone else.
Frank McCourt
January 29th, 2012
7:48 pm
Hey, are you all tired of corporate ownership? Do you all want me to buy the Braves? Did you see the turnaround I made with the Dodgers after buying them from those faceless corporate clowns at Fox?
Obee
January 29th, 2012
9:21 pm
All right, we’re back in full-whine mode!
phil
January 29th, 2012
9:38 pm
Fire FG!!
TheAntiMe
January 29th, 2012
10:06 pm
Fredi Gonzalez says Braves’ autopsy over — he’s moving on
If Fredi is performing autopsies then perhaps he can persuade Quincy to make some guest star appearances as the Braves manager and figure out the mystery of why this Bravo offense can’t seem to score enough. That sounds only fair to me.
Michael Bryan
January 30th, 2012
7:19 am
The posers that post on these blogs suffer from some kind of malady that makes them think they all could run a baseball team… It is mind-boggling to me that any of you can enjoy anything… You guys cry just like Sarah Palin… what a bunch…
Call it like it is
January 30th, 2012
10:33 am
Tip my hat to the diehard braves fan. Not sure how you do it year after year with these guys. Everyone talks about Bobby, well I for one don’t think he was that great. All the talent he had over the years and one single ring to show for it. Yeah he had something like 3000 division wins, so what. The Braves have the greatest ability to take talent and either trade it away or make sure it under performs. This year will be no different, they will choke as usual, and the fans will be saying wait till next year. Only way to make a change is with your money. Stop paying to see these bums then change will occur.
Taxi Smith
January 30th, 2012
10:44 am
So the plan is just to forget it? It don’t work that way in real life, fellers. Fellow screws up that bad, he often is shown the door.
JoeFan
January 30th, 2012
10:53 am
Is Fredi really moving on? Where is he going and who is the new manager for the Braves? Just kidding, that is way to much to hope for.
Common
January 30th, 2012
11:00 am
Will happen again this year….Well, nevermind we won’t even be in the conversation for it to happen.
PMC
January 30th, 2012
11:18 am
Haven’t we made it to the future by now dippin dots? Liquid Nitrogen isn’t THAT expensive. SHould be cheaper by now anyway.
Quake her oats
January 30th, 2012
11:20 am
Oh well, the Braves are going to be mediocre forever
Quake her oats
January 30th, 2012
11:21 am
Nothing matters, the Braves are gonna suck forever
iopbrave
January 30th, 2012
11:31 am
well we might as well wait a month or so into the season and see where the biggest hole in the dike is then maybe make a little deal- we could save our big 3 relievers if we could score some runs somehow – let’s don’t wear them out early again – maybe use some other guys
SR
January 30th, 2012
11:37 am
The team is comprised of exactly the same pathetic situational hitters who wouldn’t know a two out hit from a two man bobsled. Wren adds no one of consequence while the whole of baseball improves. Who exactly does he believe is going to suddenly morph into a clutch hitter amongst this group!!!??? They are who they are and he is most certainly who he is- inept loser.
LawDawg
January 30th, 2012
11:51 am
“Good teams – and most would consider the Braves just that – can’t lose consecutive series to East Division clown acts like the Nationals, Mets and Marlins in a playoff race.”
To be fair, whether we are good or bad, we seem to lose more than 50% of the time every single year to the Nats and Marlins, but only if they stink. As good as those teams look to be this year, we will probably go 38-0.
Don
January 30th, 2012
12:02 pm
It continues to be a situation where everyone seems to be forgetting that 4 out of our 5 Starting Pitchers are coming off injures. AND UNLIKE POSITION PLAYERS, PITCHERS MANY TIMES DO NOT RETURN TO BEING GREAT AFTER A SERIOUS INJURY. Granted, the Braves in addition have a wealth of additional youg pitching talent. BUT THIS MAY NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IF THEY ALLOW THE SITUATION TO CONTINUE WHERE OF ALL THE LARGE NUMBER OF STARTERS THEY HAVE HAD IN THE LAST 6 OR 7 YEARS SINCE LEO LEFT AS PITCHING COACH — ALMOST ALL OF THEM HAVE ENDED UP BEING INJURED.
Therut
January 30th, 2012
1:34 pm
Any manager that would start D Lowe in such an important game at the end of the season has to be a “nut” case. F.G. could not win a World Series if they gave him a “all star” roster. And no, I didn’t think Heyward would be the next Hank Aaron, but I have over 50 newspaper articles that said he was going to be. What happened?
DawgDad
January 30th, 2012
1:35 pm
Don: I don’t really think there is anything unusual going on with the Braves except a wave of injuries struck. Everybody’s pitchers are fragile; once in a baseball millenium you get Maddox, Glavine, and Smoltz (and even he got seriously hurt); the norm is HOPING everyone stays healthy because there isn’t enough depth.
If Hudson, Hanson, and JJ are all healthy and pitching well and not traded the Braves will likely avoid the cellar, and if a few other major “ifs” break the right way they could compete for a wild card. There are so many “ifs”, roster shortcomings, and salary constraints right now it’s hard to envision this team playing well consistently for six months. Aside from those starters, they would need career years (or near) from Uggla, Prado, Bourn, McCann, solid seasons from Freeman and Heyward, a rookie-of-the-year candidate shortstop, and a season from Chipper he just doesn’t figure to have left in him at this point. Then they need a fourth outfielder and the other guys on the bench to play well, an area where age is creeping up as a factor. If all those things happen they will be in the hunt into September, and then we’ll see how they handle the accumulated game wear and mentally overcoming last year.
Bama Mike
January 30th, 2012
2:10 pm
I just noticed that Buddy Calisle is now back. With Carlyle and the signing of Jack Wilson there is no stopping us now. Fourth place is all ours Baby!
TB
January 30th, 2012
3:30 pm
You said it, GRINCH, Ross is the backup catcher. His great offensive numbers that he has in every 5th start, went lower & lower while McCann was out & I believe that’s why Freddi rushed Brian back to the line up.
MiaBchBravesFan
January 30th, 2012
4:27 pm
Some programs can get typecast after they do things repeatedly. While we did win in ‘95, that seems like a lifetime ago. This “program” has a penchant for not finishing the job WAY more often than not. Seems to me that it’s in the team’s DNA now. Last season was the nadir for this development; if the Braves had been a sub-.500 team, you at least say that either they are developing, or they need pieces.
This is a pressure-packed season for them because anything less than a Wild Card birth will not satisfy a deteriorating fan base. The Falcons are not finishing the job, the Hawks are trying to enter the next tier of NBA competitiveness, and the Thrashers will only become relevant if they pull a Charlotte or Tampa Bay Stanley Cup run. The city of Atlanta does not tolerate losing and has MANY things in which citizens can distract themselves with.
If this team muddles along again, it’s time to question the direction of this organization, its ownership, and its commitment to bringing a viable winner to Atlanta – not a choking lot of players and managers who do not know how to finish a job.
Chipper for President
January 30th, 2012
4:34 pm
This will be the year Chipper goes on a 40 HR 120 RBI tear……………..The man is on a mission. Watch him lead the Braves like no other season.
Felix
January 30th, 2012
5:08 pm
Don’t criticize? Have fun? Give the season and the Braves a chance first?
Are you nuts?
Brave Hokie
January 30th, 2012
6:12 pm
I have an opinion ~ Gonzalez like the Braves in general since the Jim Leyritz HR are f’in soft pudgy LOSERS. & I don’t expect it to change in my lifetime {44 YO).
This team could be 5 games up in the East at some point, and no rational Braves fan will trust them ~ ’cause they are underachieving losers and eventually come around to show it.
Could you imagine an Atl Braves team playing like the Cardinals did down the stretch last season…. EVER??? really ask yourself this?
Uncle Tom
January 30th, 2012
7:10 pm
The Braves are just like the Dawgs. Both seem to be right on the edge of big things, and both seem to choke the worst in the big games. And whenever I predicted that both would fold down the stretches, people said, “Don’t be such a pessimist!” They both could profit by admitting that problems exist. But both continued (and continue) to reassure fans that everything is under control. Well, the Braves have won one championship since 1960 and the Dawgs have won one championship since 1960. This isn’t good enough for either!
Sid Bream
January 30th, 2012
7:16 pm
The Mets and Phillies might not be a concern for the Braves this year, but the Nats and Marlins most certainly are. Given that those two teams did so much to upgrade their rosters, another October of sitting home watching baseball on television is a likely destination for Braves fans.
hesalive
January 30th, 2012
7:27 pm
We have a shot this year. Guys just need to play up to potential. Can you imagine how good we’ll be if Bourne and Prado can set the table and Freeman, Uggla, BMac, Chipper and Heyward all get going at the same time?
Doofus
January 30th, 2012
7:37 pm
Braves stats this season:
BA .295
ERA 2.5
Runs/Game 6.0
Wins 110
Excuse me, I have to go take my meds now.
Larry30
January 30th, 2012
8:52 pm
As the PR dept. was sorting thru the articles for Fredi they must have skipped over the ones where chipper blamed the rookie pitchers. Just wondering; is chipper going to be wearing sunglasses for the night games this year just in case of a pop up or high chopper hit his way.
extremus
January 30th, 2012
11:46 pm
Just saw the new ad for the 33% off concessions for season ticket holders. “Because we’re rich and can afford season tickets in the first place…This is Why We Chop, baby!”
Kinda like having an ownership that very likely attends far more Rockies games. A lot of things just not quite right in the ATL these days.
cowdogit
January 31st, 2012
9:58 am
Chipper Jones needs to be playing in the American league in a DH role, The only problem no team will take him unless the braves pays his salary. I can understand Liberty being peeved that the braves are spending twentyfive million on a part time player that can’t run and a player pitching for another team.
seo
January 31st, 2012
12:57 pm
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Don
February 2nd, 2012
11:15 am
WHY do some of you WORRY???
(1) All of the FOUR of our 5 Starting Pitchers who are coming off injuries – are all going to return to being great — Even though this SELDOM happens with Pitchers coming off serious injury.
(2) None of our other great young Pichers are going to be injured – Even though, in the 6 or 7 years since Leo left as Pitching Coach – Of all the large number of Starting Pitchers we have had – most of them have ended up being injured.
(3) Of course, Chipper is going to hit in the third spot in the batting order and once again hit like a third place hitter —Even though he hasn’t hit that way in some time; And he is going to be be great defensively at 3rd Base – except for not being able to cover the position to his right and not being able to cover the position to his left.
(4) We know the rookie shortstop is going to be an adequate hitter – even though there is no basis to think this.
(5) The second baseman is going to have good Batting Average and a good On Base Average – even though neither of them were at an acceptable level in 2011.
(6) Heyward is going to have a productive year – even though this offensive was not good enough in 2011 for a fourth or fifth outfielder – and there is no basis to think that he will adjust ot major league pitching.
So, most of you are right — There is NOTHING to WORRY ABOUT.
WOOPS, ITS TIME FOR MY MEDS AGAIN.
nashvillewill
February 2nd, 2012
12:39 pm
Fredi sounds the same – he apparently learned nothing about managing from last year’s debacle (or from watching the World Series where real managerial skill paid off). With Lowe, Gonzales, Conrad, and McLouth gone the team will almost have to be improved. Heyward and Uggla must contibute, however, and contribute early. If not, they must be shown the seat or shipped to Gwinnett. What happened to FG’s early decision to spread closing duties around? Did he get enamoured by Kimbrel’s statistics? Arguably, his sticking with Venters and Kimbrel daily and his insistent use of Lowe cost the WC and gave the Cards their chance. I do not see him changing his inability to put players in position to thrive, and therefore, do not give the Braves much chance, even if improved. I look for them to be no better than .500 and third in the division. I’ll be interested to see where MLB “experts” put them.
nashvillewill
February 2nd, 2012
12:39 pm
Fredi sounds the same – he apparently learned nothing about managing from last year’s debacle (or from watching the World Series where real managerial skill paid off). With Lowe, Gonzales, Conrad, and McLouth gone the team will almost have to be improved. Heyward and Uggla must contibute, however, and contribute early. If not, they must be shown the seat or shipped to Gwinnett. What happened to FG’s early decision to spread closing duties around? Did he get enamoured by Kimbrel’s statistics? Arguably, his sticking with Venters and Kimbrel daily and his insistent use of Lowe cost the WC and gave the Cards their chance. I do not see him changing his inability to put players in position to thrive, and therefore, do not give the Braves much chance, even if improved. I look for them to be no better than .500 and third in the division. I’ll be interested to see where MLB “experts” put them.