Your attention, please: This guy here criticizes Bobby Cox!
"You're lying! Bradley would never write anything like that!" (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
I, Mark Bradley, being of failing body and always-feeble mind, do solemnly swear that I write the following of my own free will. I am not under duress. I am not under the influence of anything stronger than Snapple Diet Lemon. I write this for no other reason than I happen to believe it. And also, I must admit, for the shock value of imagining the faces of those hundreds of thousands who’ve said: “No way this guy ever says anything bad about Bobby.”
Frank Wren took the big heat over the winter, but the general manager of uncertain portfolio, has had a much better season than his Hall of Fame manager. This marks the first time in Bobby Cox’s second tour as Braves manager his team can be said to have underperformed, at least in the regular season. This isn’t a team of vast talent, no, but neither is this a club that should have fallen from contention on Labor Day eve.
The Braves awoke Tuesday with the National League’s fourth-best ERA. Two of the teams above them are leading divisions, and the third, San Francisco, has a real chance of winning the wild card. A team with that sort of pitching could and should be in the playoff hunt, but the Braves are 7 1/2 games behind the wild card leader with 25 to go. In sum, it’s over.
If we fault Wren for not bolstering his batting order sooner — and we can also make the case that fixing the rotation first was the absolute proper course — we must concede the GM attempted correction after mid-course correction. He made three major in-season trades for everyday players, which is as much as anyone could reasonably expect. And there’s also this:
The Braves haven’t hit all that much, but as of Labor Day they had a higher team batting average than the Cardinals, the Phillies and the Giants. Put another way, the Braves have both outhit and outpitched Philadelphia — and yet they lag in the standings by 8 games.
For nearly two decades we’ve assumed Cox will maximize the resources on hand. He hasn’t done it this season. He has overworked his bullpen and done strange things with his two nominal closers and relied on Greg Norton to get the key pinch-hit two dozen times too many. He has also failed to be even slightly creative with his lineup.
It’s one thing to play for the three-run homer if you have men capable of hitting one. The Braves, alas, are 10th among 16 National League clubs in home runs. Brian McCann leads the Braves with 18 but wouldn’t lead 13 other NL teams. Were he a Phil, he’d be tied for fifth.
Loading ...If you can’t hit the ball over yonder wall, you must find alternatives. The Braves are fourth in the league in hits, which tells us they’ve gotten men aboard, but are next-to-last in stolen bases and fourth-worst at grounding into double plays. You should be able to do more with singles than they’ve done.
I’ve long resisted the notion that the Braves don’t play with passion. (This is baseball, where passion fizzles by Memorial Day and precision trumps all.) That said, this team wasted too many expertly pitched games against bad teams. (Case study: The Braves yielded a total of 10 runs over 30 innings to sub-.500 Cincinnati and just got swept.)
No, this suddenly lost season wasn’t all the manager’s doing. Seasons never are. A manager can’t hit and pitch for his men. But he can put those men in better position to succeed. Even great players have off-years. We’ve just seen a great manager have his.
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372 comments Add your comment
oldmike
September 8th, 2009
8:18 am
Mark- It’s Bobby’s call from what I am told. So, do you really think a 68 year old man with nothing else to do is going to retire? Not likely. So we are stuck with him for as long as he wants to stay. Which is sad. I agree entirely with Daniel 12. Stop using the bullpen the way he uses it. Pitch them multiple innings when they have great stuff. Don’t trot them out there day after day. Let the starters go longer than 7. Etc., etc.
Phil
September 8th, 2009
8:19 am
Being a Braves fan is a lot like being a Florida State fan. You keep hoping and praying that “Bobby” will finally leave.
curtis jones
September 8th, 2009
8:20 am
Disappointing column, Mark. You had the chance to write that courageous, “It’s Time To Go, Mr. Cox” column, and you blew it. Don Knotts could have managed Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, etc. to several first place finishes, and probably more than one championship.
Said it once, will say it again. If you love 3rd-4th place finishes, year after year, you gotta love Cox (pun intended).
Mama Cox
September 8th, 2009
8:21 am
I’m still the best Mama.
raleighbravefan
September 8th, 2009
8:21 am
I have always been a Bobby supporter, but I think it’s time for him to go. Mismanagement of bullpen, and stubornly sticking with guys like Frenchy, KJ, and NORTON have convinced me he has lost it. I would like to see Ned Yost come back.
I went to the Carolina Mudcats vs Braves game Saturday to see Heyward and Freeman. Freeman was on the 7 day DL, and Heyward was called up to Gwinett earlier that day. Guess I’ll have to wait until early next year when the G Braves come to Durham Bulls.
RobertNAtl
September 8th, 2009
8:22 am
Geez, there you go again, criticizing Bobby Cox. You’re like a broken record.
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
8:23 am
I think I did, Leland. See if anything has changed and let me know. And thanks for being alert.
Nativebird
September 8th, 2009
8:24 am
Oh THANK you MB for not calling a division 1st place finish a “Championship”! This characterization that Schuerholz continues to promelgate (to overcome his obvious and transparent insecurity about this franchises UNDER-achievements) is a big part of the problem. LOW expectations and not rocking the boat are the result of years of cashing the big paycheck from a town happy with NOT being horrible. And Schuerholz ID’d this rocking chair LONG ago.
Greg
September 8th, 2009
8:27 am
Cox needed to go after the playoff run with one title. The fact they could only win one series with 14 trips to the playoffs says it all. football and baseball are very close to baseball in terms of teams that make the playoffs. well, the bills went to 4 sb’s and lost. imagine making the playoffs in the nfl 14 times and only winning one SB. the law of anerages says no. because baseball’s season is so long and the braves were the top spenders in the 90’s and had great pitching, the blame for their failures lies with cox. he’s lost so many games leaving a starter in, playing a certain player when another is playing better, etc. the team this year is lazy. esp chipper. the pitchers have done their job. the bullpen is shaky. some have done well. some have done terrible. but the inconsistent hitting and errors and decisions by cox to leave guys in or play guys who stink are the reasons. go retire bobby. let’s get some new faces in here.
Twitter Trackbacks for Your attention, please: This guy here criticizes Bobby Cox! | Mark Bradley [ajc.com] on Topsy.com
September 8th, 2009
8:27 am
[...] Your attention, please: This guy here criticizes Bobby Cox! | Mark Bradley blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/09/08/your-attention-please-this-guy-here-criticizes-bobby-cox – view page – cached Mark Bradley of the AJC does soBmething he has almost never done: He claims Bobby Cox hasn’t had the best of seasons. — From the page [...]
Archangel
September 8th, 2009
8:29 am
If this was any other team with any level of self respect,(Yankees) Bobby Cox would have been gone a long time ago.
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
8:31 am
Would you take Bill Cowher as your coach? You would? How many Super Bowls did he win?
Chef montuer
September 8th, 2009
8:33 am
BASEBALL SEASON IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER IN ATLANTA.LETS TALK FOOTBALL.
Chef montuer
September 8th, 2009
8:34 am
I Know. One
BravesGone
September 8th, 2009
8:35 am
Cox should have retired years ago. The Braves underachieve every year with the talent they have, which isn’t great, due to a poor front office, mismanage pitchers, screw up run producing opportunities with bad decisions, etc.
drb
September 8th, 2009
8:39 am
The 14 first place finishes were wonderful, But Torre or La Russa would have added 3 or 4 championships to the totals. “Bubbles the Chimp” could have won one World Series with the lineups the Braves had in the ’90’s. It’s a shame what Cox has done to the Braves’ bullpen. He has ruined more relievers’ arms than the splitter. Moylan will never be the same after this year.
In 2007, the Braves didn’t have a very good roster. In 2008, injuries couldn’t be avoided. This year there are no excuses. The players and the coaches didn’t come through. It’s time to clean house. I don’t envy Frank Wren. He has a tough job ahead. And the first order of business is to find a new coaching staff. The Cox era is over.
Nativebird
September 8th, 2009
8:39 am
With all due respect, Bill Cowher didn’t have a football team with the talent to win his division 14 straight years.
gobravez
September 8th, 2009
8:41 am
I’ll always be a fan no matter what, but I honestly don’t think I can ever be excited about following this team again until someone other than Bobby Cox is the manager. It doesn’t matter what kind of team we are putting on the field when we have a manager that couldn’t even effectively manage a little league team anymore.
BravesFan79
September 8th, 2009
8:42 am
Love ya Bobby… but your bullpen decisions have just gotten worse and worse over the years. I would like to see Bobby promoted to a position where he was close enough tto the field to yell encourgament, yet not the one pulling the strings on pitching decisions…etc…
Be-little, BeBOLD
September 8th, 2009
8:44 am
I’ve been blogging this exact thing four the last five years . . . this man is the cause, not the answer to the Braves. He never seems to look at stats of player vs. player in given situations. He just knows he is SMARTER than any stat and makes his choice by how long a bugger he can pull from his nose! And his coaches (all his boys) need recycling too! Chipper is his “SON” and will continue to play as long as Bobby is manager and retire when Bobby does. He can’t get away with his “oblique”, ‘toe’, wrist, back, neck, brain injury when he wants to sit down every time he goes into his slumps. Had the best season of his career last year because he wanted a new contract. He got it and you know the rest . . . .
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
8:49 am
Let’s just agree to disagree about Cox as a manager over the totality of the run of division titles. (Unless you feel the same as I do, in which case we can agree to agree.)
My point today: This is the first time I’ve ever believed the Braves had more to give — again, regular-season-wise — and this manager didn’t maximize resources. Last year they didn’t have the pitching. In 2006 and 2007 they didn’t have the bullpen. This year they had the rotation, and they should have had a better relief corps.
rhynster
September 8th, 2009
8:50 am
Everyone blames Bobby for not winning with better talent all those years.
But who’s to say the talent would have been that good without him?
That’s the part everyone glosses over. for years we saw players come and go through here and have career years with the Braves and flame out elsewhere.
Anyway, yeah, Bobby needed to manage old school NL style this year and didn’t. How many SBs did McLouth have as a Brave before he got hurt? I’d guess not many.
John Tucker
September 8th, 2009
8:50 am
Bradley:
You are too kind to Bobby Cox. His sleep apnia and inability to recal the names of more than 4 or 5 relievers in the bullpen have caused the Braves second half fade.
Cox’s best days are long gone, and the longer he lingers, the more he tarnishes his legend.
Bobby is a good guy for whom palyers love to play, be ause he will never show them up publicly.
However, the Braves need somebody younger and more alert to make the proper moves in mid-game when Bobby has been asleep at the switch and fAiled to pull pitchers before a 0ne or two run inning turns into a 5 run inning. Or failed to find a pinch hitter other than Greg Norton on the bench despite better numbers and better speed from Omar infante, Kelly johnson and Brooks Conrad.
It’s time for the Old Braves Regime (CHipper, bobby & Norton) to go away and let the young guys play.
J-man
September 8th, 2009
8:51 am
I have 2 words about Cox and Wren – Greg Norton. Why is this guy still on the roster? That’s Wren’s fault. Why is he still being allowed to fail? That’s Cox’s fault. I guess Cox is entering the Connie Mack phase of his career where he won’t retire and he’s just living off his past.
rhynster
September 8th, 2009
8:51 am
Ugh, if my old journalism professors saw that post above, they’d revoke my degree.
Virginia "old" fan
September 8th, 2009
8:52 am
You are full of manure. Bobby Cox manages one way, always has, but when you have Hall of Fame pitching and an all star lineup, you get by with it. Atlanta media are so biased that it is hard to believe that you have ever watched a ball game.
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
8:53 am
McLouth stole 20-plus bases each of his final two full seasons with Pittsburgh, Rhynster. He has 10 as a Brave, which is in the ballpark, so to speak. And he has been hurt.
Nativebird
September 8th, 2009
8:57 am
Hey no one (or at least me) is saying Bobby Cox is/was a bad manager, in fact, yes, ONE of the all time best I’ve ever seen. a TRUE baseball man that players love to play for and a LOT of wins. A big part of this franchises UNDER-achievements is/was the Upper Management. But make no mistake, in MOST other baseball towns, 1 WS out of this incredibly talented run is a HUGE letdown. It has been glossed over because of yes the horrible decades before it, and this town was just happy not being horrible.
Herschel Talker
September 8th, 2009
8:58 am
MB – this is a start! You are finally realizing what we in the know have realized for a long time. The fact you still consider him a great manager is absurd. But you’re getting closer. If you would, please respond to this; I sincerely want to know what you’re thinking:
What makes him such a great manager? He is one of the worst tacticians and game handlers out there. He’s good at one thing: handling egos when he has a lot of superstars. Considering the team hasn’t been in that spot for quite a few years, and therefore that skill is no longer necessary, haven’t his lack of managerial skills become obvious? How is your criticism above not applicable to the last few years? Continuing to bat Andruw fourth, persisting with Frenchy, etc…
raleighbravefan
September 8th, 2009
8:58 am
I believe Chipper has a lot to give to this team for at least another year or 2. However, he needs to accept a deminished role. He probably should switch to first base (if we don’t sign AL to a one year deal), and definitely should play less games and move down in batting order.
bvillebaron
September 8th, 2009
9:00 am
Mark:
Bobby Cox is and remains one of the worst strategical managers in the history of baseball. It is one thing to manage a club over 162 games to win 14 straight division championship with the best talent and another to make the right decisions in the playoffs to, as you describe, put the team in the best position to win. I could write a book on his stupid strategical decisions during those 14 playoff years,but winning only 1 World Series in 14 tries sums it up best. His loyalty to non-performing players (latest example Greg Norton) and penchant for burying and then trading away players he doesn’t like (e.g. Jason Marquis) have hurt this team for years and absolutely killed them this season. With all due respect, if you truly believe Bobby Cox is the greatest manager you ever saw, you either don’t watch a lot of baseball or only watch the Braves.
Phil
September 8th, 2009
9:00 am
I don’t think anyone on here proclaimed Bill Cowher the greatest NFL coach of all time. So what’s your point about him?
drb
September 8th, 2009
9:00 am
Mark,
Just about everyone responding to you column thinks that it’s time for Cox to retire. Who would be some of your choices for a replacement?
Josh
September 8th, 2009
9:01 am
Bobby Cox is not and has never been a good manager!!!! Who couldn’t win all those years throwing Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, Avery, Millwood, Schmidt, Neagle, Mercker, Byrd, and many others who have had a very good years and many have won CY Youngs. If Jim Leyland would have had these teams in the 1990’s the Braves would have won at least three or four World Series. Cox is not very good and I would say he is at best average. I would go as far to say that he is a joke!!! It is just what I think. Get someone new in there please!!!
PMC
September 8th, 2009
9:06 am
Mark has he really handled this ball club any differently than he has the last 20 years? Perhaps his greatest failing is in having too much faith in players that simply aren’t as good as the ones they have had previously.
The bullpen was suspect at best. Gonzo and Soriano have talent but you need two closers with them because neither one is capable of a season of dominance. Thier long relievers have been average to bad for a while and Bobby takes out starters at around 100 pitches most of the season no matter what to pinch hit them with the Greg Nortons of the world.
He hasn’t changed…. and quite literally that’s the problem when thier talent isn’t equitable though he would never admit it.
Frank Wren’t done a hell of a job with the pitching staff, but with that budget it’s hard to go buy sluggers I guess with so much more money and talent in the American League.
I didn’t think this team was talented enough to be a playoff team at the beginning anyway. IF they win 85… it’s still a heck of an improvement from last year.
Soothsayer
September 8th, 2009
9:09 am
The last time I checked, managers don’t play baseball. Players play baseball. Now that Teddie’s checkbook is gone, the quality of the players has suffered. Firing Bobby Cox is shooting yourself in the foot because you lost the race.
Barnesy
September 8th, 2009
9:09 am
The fourteen year run created a culture that established goals of making the playoffs, not winning the World Series. The game has changed, Bobby has not. Change managers? Why? Until there is an ownership group that is dedicated to winning, Wren and Bobby have a home at the half way house known as The Braves.
hugh g rection
September 8th, 2009
9:10 am
Agree Mark, but then look at some (La Russa) who can somehow get more from less year after year. There is no excuse for dragging out lineup changes which are painfully obvious. Blindness in the name of loyalty. The other night he blamed the Jim Wolf’s strike zone, as if we didn’t mess up all our own chances to score for cryin out loud. As Leo D. said…
jerry
September 8th, 2009
9:10 am
14 division titles in a row—-a large meteor hitting the earth every hundred thousand years doesn’t mean it had a better aim than the ones that missed. Flukey things happen.
hugh g rection
September 8th, 2009
9:12 am
Load up $$$ on the Astros tonight!
Phil
September 8th, 2009
9:15 am
PMC,
Good point and I have been saying the same thing for years. Cox has been making idiotic decisions for the last 20 years, nothing has changed. He’s just older now and little more senile, but he’s still pretty much the same bad manager he’s always been.
My question for all you Cox lovers is this. How much longer do you want to keep the guy? Another 10 years when he will almost be 80 years old? When is enough, enough??
smoochies
September 8th, 2009
9:16 am
Bobby Cox should have been gone two years ago. It’s the only way the Braves will able to progress.
Elmer
September 8th, 2009
9:16 am
Cox’s fault is tha he wears out his relievers– Wholers, Rocker, Gonzales– you can add others. Moylan is just he latest .
AtlMan
September 8th, 2009
9:22 am
Seriously? Despite our great batting average??? you think this is a playoff caliber lineup with an outfield of Mcclouth, Grandpa Anderson, and Matt Diaz? Plus Chipper forgetting how to hit and 1st base being just average. When you’re expecting all your power to come from your catcher you’re destined for a September swoon. Put one power hitter in the lineup and ditch shaffer, frenchy, norton, johnson a lot earlier and we are rolling into the playoffs. I do blame Cox for the latter but the truth is we have no power and no speed. You can’t survive like that.
Phil
September 8th, 2009
9:23 am
14 straight Division titles in a Division with bad teams like the Expos. That’s your argument Bradley? When he got into post season against good teams and good managers, it wasn’t a contest, he was exposed for the below average manager that he is.
And before you say he did manage to win 1 WS title, let me bring up that Cito Gaston won 2 WS titles. Let me repeat, Cito Gaston won 2. Luck can happen to anyone.
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
9:24 am
My recommendation for a successor would be the same as it was back in June, drb — Brad Mills and Jose Oquendo.
MaSSaHH
September 8th, 2009
9:25 am
We need Fredi Gonzales to manage the Braves. He knows the braves good enough to win a championship with. If he can manage a Florida team well above .500, I’ll take my chances with Fredi.
59bulldawg
September 8th, 2009
9:26 am
Cox is the best you’ve seen? LOL! Surely you jest! How about Tony LaRussa, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin, Joe Torre, Casey Stengel, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver or Dick Williams? Better than those guys? If you’ve only been watching since 1991 then you haven’t seen much baseball have you? But if that be the case even then you place Bobby above LaRussa and Torre. Everyone has their opinions and I respect that but I can’t rank Bobby that high. There are more important factors to good managing than longevity. Cox is the most over-rated manager in the history of the game. At his very best he’s average!
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
9:27 am
Whitey Herzog won one World Series. Earl Weaver won one World Series. Billy Martin won one World Series. If we’re going to hit Cox over the head with that one-World-Series number … well, fair is fair, is it not?
BartMan
September 8th, 2009
9:30 am
I do like the thought of not being creative with the lineup. When you rely SO heavly on a #3 hitter who can only play MAYBE 75 games at %100 health and a total of 130 games a year and your catcher is your cleanup guy. He should only catch 130 games a year… Those are two very important parts of the lineup to have in constant flux. Also, you just knew McClouth was going back to the leadoff spot when he got back, dispite batting about 250 there before he was hurt. What was Diaz batting in the leadoff spot??? About 400???? Yea, drop him to 6th or 7th.