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
glord1
September 8th, 2009
12:52 pm
Mark I have a reasonable question for you. Why don’t you fire Bobby Coxafter his very poor performance this year(or strongly encourage him to step down)? Whenever the Braves lose a game I hear the Cox apologists say Bobby does not hit or pitch so it is not his fault. At the same time the Braves have no problem running out players (I agree with this by the way) that can not get the job done anymore. So if they can run out the door the players who are the real reason for the wins and loses why cant they run him out when he can not do the job anymore. Basically if Tommy and John were responsible for the wins and loses for 14 years where is the loyalty for them? Shouldn’t there be loyalty to the guy that threw the shutout in 95 than a manager that filled out the line up card? Should you not give Glavine and Smoltz the benefit of the doubt and make them PROVE they cant do it anymore if Cox gets that benefit?
It does not make sense to me. This is a performance business. If Hanson is better than Glavine then Hanson should pitch in 2009 and have a chance to become the next Glavine in Atlanta.. If Cox has proven (I believe he has) he can not longer manage a bullpen or a line up it is time to find the next Bobby Cox? Dont you agree?
HAL
September 8th, 2009
12:54 pm
ive always been a cox supporter but i think even i am starting to relent cause the way i figure it if cox goes so will the real problem our lack of hitting coach l i think tp has screwed up more swings in less time then anyone in baseball history why not try to get don baylor as a mgr maybe he will act as his own hiiting coch lol
Kashi
September 8th, 2009
12:55 pm
Wren done hell of a job with Pitching but NONE for offense/defense. If our starting pitchers not giving Bobby solid 7th inning of work and players are not hitting a ball, then how come it is a Bobby’s fault? However I do blame Bobby for sticking everyday with Frenchy, Schafer, and Norton. You got to be creative and give bat to someone who is rolling. Kelly helped to take series against LA and since then I haven’t seen Bobby give hime any chance including pinch hit.
Ebenezer Snerdberg
September 8th, 2009
12:56 pm
Hey Real:
Gladaseeya! Whar you been?
Ebenezer Snerdberg
September 8th, 2009
1:01 pm
Hal:
Possible exception to TP was that Braves reject the Cubbies had for a hitting coach. But then,they fired him! Sweeeeeeet Lou! Hey,now maybe there’s an idea. As if he’d come. Man,you’d really need a scoecard to know the players then!
BugKiller
September 8th, 2009
1:01 pm
Here’s the HONEST TRUTH:
Bobby Cox SHOULD have been fired after inexcusably losing the 1996 World Series.
In ANY other city, Bobby Cox WOULD have been fired sometime after the embarrassments of losing in 2002 or 2003.
HAL
September 8th, 2009
1:01 pm
atlanta fans are the biggest joke in sports all thos devision crowns couldent even fill the park for playoff games i think the fans as reflected by this blog would rather beely ache then s actually support there team if the braves had made the playofs this year the stands would still be empty and the economy or cox could be blkamed ohh hey theres an idea bobby retire and run for president to quote the babe you had the better year lol
gt
September 8th, 2009
1:02 pm
braves need a closer.braves need someone at 2b, or backup. also a real hitter in of. management gave away larouche, then got tex, then gave him away, then got larouche back. waste and stupidity. should have kept him to start, or kept tex.
ditto the charade at ss. furcal-rentaria to furcal? to escobar. if braves had kept furcal or rentaria, he or escobar could be a great 2b.
in a fit gave away francouer, who could at least play and field.
pressure to be perfect when you have greedy jerk owners who sabotage you- time warner and now this crowd.
lowe is getting 15mil? congrats to his agent for legally stealing.
cannot win with decisions like these, regardless of manager or the other players.
there are 2 broad categories of players and teams. winners and osers. winners find a way to win. vice versa. there are many winners on this team, but team mentality/ability is not up to winning the way the braves of recent past did.
Al D.
September 8th, 2009
1:13 pm
Cox is a hall of fame PLAYER manager; he is and has always been a sub-par GAME manager.
That’s why you win 1 championship in 13 division titles.
Tommy Lasorda said a good manager is worth 1 run a game; check out Cox’s record in 1 run games.
A bad year for Bobby « Rowland's Office
September 8th, 2009
1:14 pm
[...] 09/08/2009 at 1:14 pm | In Bobby | Leave a Comment I strongly agree with Mark Bradley’s critique of Bobby, along with his premise — “Even great players have off-years. We’ve just seen a great [...]
McCann Fan
September 8th, 2009
1:18 pm
The past doesn’t win games today. It’s time for a change. Cox is the only manager in baseball that would continuously rely on Greg Norton in important spots.
D.W.
September 8th, 2009
1:19 pm
Every comment I’ve made this year relative to the Braves has been that Bobby Cox needs to go and should have been gone a few years back. He can not get these guys to the competitive level they need to be to win crucial games. They are not playing with any since of fire and/or urgency. They’re just playing the season out and there was more to achieve. Somehow Bobby Cox can not get them past the point of just existing to be average. He needs to go!!!
Braves73
September 8th, 2009
1:20 pm
Mark, you put it best in this one paragraph “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”
Bobby is a fine man, great players coach, and as patient as manager can/could be, but he is a very poor tactical manager. How many times can he leave a pitcher in the game too long, take two months to pull KJ & Frenchy, and continue to run out Greg Norton? It’s time for Bobby to consider his life after baseball. He will certainly be remembered as a very accomplished manager, but his time has come & this team needs new direction
The Lemmer
September 8th, 2009
1:21 pm
Again everyone, BC never crosses the chalk to play. I’m not disputing a few poor decisions now and then, but Liberty Media has given him and Wren a middle-of-the-pack payroll, and they’ve delivered middle-of-the-pack results. Without a payroll to challenge the contenders, the Bravos will not be in the hunt for a World Series.
Mark, what are your thoughts on the owner of the team being located on the other side of the country?
Brian B.
September 8th, 2009
1:22 pm
This team has underachieved. There are too few steal attempts, to few hit-&-run attempts, too few productive outs. Braves teams in the past played ABC baseball – get runners on, get them over, get them in. When Smoltz, Glavine and Maddox were around you only had to do that a few times, and you had yourself a win. The funny thing is, now that those guys are gone, the formula would still work just as well. I am sick to death of watching quality start, after quality start get flushed down the toilet because this team cannot find ways to score runs. I’m tired of watching pitchers with ERA’s over 9.00 toss shutouts at this team. I’m tired of watching this team go 5-6 innings at a stretch without so much as a baserunner.
Just as Frank Wren had to make the difficult decision that he could no longer build a pitching staff around 40-something surgically repaired pitchers (see the afforementioned Smoltz and Glavine) this off-season he will have to decide if he can still build an offense around the likes of Chipper Jones, Garrett Anderson, Kelly Johnson, Greg Norton et al. Not to say that all should be gone, but in the case of some (like Jones) I don’t think the Braves can afford to assume past levels of production or health.
Factor in the imminent arrival of such prospects as Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman, and Frank Wren will have to be just as adept at juggling the roster next year. He will also have to decide if Bobby Cox is the manager to lead this club.
Billy ( Not Martin)
September 8th, 2009
1:23 pm
I agree with Bugkiller.
If you only get 1 WS title in 14 chances, that makes you a terrible manager. Talent, especaily pitching wins out over 162 games. With those arms he had and some pretty good sticks over those years, the talent will win out over those bad teams during the year. GO up against the good teams in the playoffs and your manager can lose it with stupid moves, and the only time he ever won one was against the only other mamager worse than him, Mike Hargove.
Vince
September 8th, 2009
1:33 pm
In what sport is 4 years of underachievement not usually met with a managerial change. Since the passing of the Big 3 Cy Young pitchers and the penny pinching of Liberty Media, Bobby Cox has had average teams and he has been an average manager. He should have left a couple of years ago, now he’s going to have to go out on a sour note. Wren should strongly suggest he retire, give him a front office adviser position if he wants one, or can him if he declines both, but he’s got to go. He can take Norton, K. Johnson, and Chipper with him. Norton and Kelley can carry Bobby & Chipper’s bags.
Mark Bradley
September 8th, 2009
1:36 pm
Lemmer, I wouldn’t pretend that ownership is ideal. But the Braves spent some money to put together this rotation. There was enough here to make a playoff run. Maybe they’d have fallen short in the final week, but that’s different from collapsing before Labor Day.
Kevrock/Smarty Jones
September 8th, 2009
1:38 pm
We should have fired Cox after the 1998 season. That season we could have had a coup and reeled in Jimmy Leyland. Cox has always been way to loyal to guys that just do not produce. Greg Norton is the perfect example. Heck why is he even in the LEAGUE??? Ok back to Leyland. He would have been up Chipper’s, Maddox, Smoltz, Glavine, etc…and would flat out REFUSED the choking that has happened in the playoffs to our ‘REGULAR SEASON’ Dynasty. We missed our boat. Heck if I had the old pitching staff I could have made the playoffs YES it would have been
that easy.
The Lemmer
September 8th, 2009
1:41 pm
For Billy (Not Martin),
To say that 1 WS title in 14 chances makes BC a terrible manager is not really accurate. BC didn’t manage in 14 WS. According to your philosophy, every team that makes the playoffs every year has the chance to win the WS, while that is true to a certain extent, the same could be said for every team that didn’t make the playoffs as well. They had a chance. By that measurement, there are hardly any great managers.
Hillbilly Deluxe
September 8th, 2009
1:42 pm
You can’t really compare division titles in the divison/wild card era with the way things used to be when you won your League or you went home. It’s comparing apples to oranges. In the last few years you’ve had wild card teams win the World Series, when in the old days they would have been sitting at home.
I’ll probably get my face put on the dart board for this but I’ve always felt Bobby Cox is an American League style manager. He plays, and always has played, station to station baseball. When you don’t have a power hitting team you can’t play for the 3 run homer. His teams also have tended to be weak on the fundamentals over the years. How many times did base running mistakes, etc. cost them in the playoffs?
In spite of his many flaws, the thing that made Billy Martin a good manager was that he could win with whatever kind of talent he had. He was smart enough to adjust his game management to take advantage of his players’ strengths,
Whitey Herzog understood that speed never goes into a slump. You can score runs by putting pressure on the defense.
Of the current managers, I think LaRussa is probably the best. I also like Jim Leyland. I saw him steal some games back in his Pirates tenure, by outmanaging his opponents.
A manager doesn’t make much difference in a 9-1 blowout, whether he’s on the losing side or the winning side. The test of a manager is his record in 1 run games. That’s the games where he makes a difference, especially in the post-season.
gabeaux
September 8th, 2009
1:43 pm
Anyone with a baseball brain could win 14 years in a row with the talent they had. How did they do in the postseason when you really had to manage? 1 of 14. That sucks. End of story.
Yunel's Biggest Fan
September 8th, 2009
1:43 pm
Man, if this is representative of the fan base, no wonder the Braves aren’t winning (or filling seats lately, either). That being said, I agree with Mark’s premise that this is not the best year for Bobby Cox. I’ve wondered many times about the reluctance to go for the steal. How do we stack up vs. the Rockies, Giants, Phillies and Marlins in that category?
By the way, lay off Yunel!
Ebenezer Snerdberg
September 8th, 2009
1:45 pm
And tonight once again we will have Norton PH and Acosta pitch in relief. Carlyle is a toss up for the simple reason he’s halfway decent!
Mike C.
September 8th, 2009
1:48 pm
I don’t really understand all the LaRussa love here. First of all, he’s a jackass lawyer. Secondly, he had the best team in baseball from 1988 through 1990 and won one World Series.The ‘88 team lost to a sorry Dodgers team that had only Hershiser and a gimpy Gibson. In St. Louis, he benefits every year by playing in the mediocre NL Central. Every year, he has one worthy opponent, one so-so one and a bunch of pushovers. This year, he has no competition. Most of his games are played against this sad bunch. He’s got a great pitching coach and he’s a decent manager, but he’s not one of the best all-time. If the Detroit pitchers hadn’t gone to pieces while fielding the ball, he wouldn’t have his second WS title. Also, how many of his wins came from managing two of the biggest cheaters of all time (Canseco and McGuire)?
As for Cox, his last few teams have left spring training woefully unprepared. The lack of fundamentals has been shocking. The inability to bunt, hit and run, run the bases and execute a rundown properly cost the Braves several games. But the biggest problem isn’t Cox, it’s the fact that the Braves don’t have a burner who can get on consistently and steal 30+ bases. They don’t have a Rollins or a Reyes. The last one they had was Furcal. He left after 2005 and they haven’t won since.
Rypathic
September 8th, 2009
1:50 pm
The Braves started their dive from tops in the league to mediocrity when Ted sold the team and money dried up. As for Cox, the man isn’t getting any younger. Time to move on.
Joe Fan
September 8th, 2009
1:50 pm
Wonder if this article will stir Brave’s management to action and give Bobby another year. So far they have been silent on extending his contract for the 2010 season.
The Lemmer
September 8th, 2009
1:52 pm
Mark,
I agree with you on the pitching staff. They have pitched well enough for the team to make a run, but how many games have they lost by one run? While I’m a proponent of the “If they don’t score, you can’t lose” mantra, you’ve got to have some help at the plate. This team is not capable of doing that on a regular basis.
I love to play the what-if game? What if the Bravos had a 120+ RBI guy right now?
Blue
September 8th, 2009
1:54 pm
Bugkiller; who on Earth put you in a position of or what qualifications do you have to make the determination like it was an absolute fact that such-and-such team was better than such-and-such team? And I am NOT a Cox fan…I think he is overrated. Just think it is funny the way you evidently know more than the rest of us.
25-Year Braves Fan
September 8th, 2009
1:57 pm
Arthur Blank figured it out. He created a general manager position, kicked a really good NFL man up into the business side of his business, got rid of his coach and then the team began to turn around. The Braves — owned by a corporation, Liberty Media — rather than a person — Ted Turner — have not figured it so don’t expect anything to change until they get it right from Top Down. It’s way more serious than whether Jason Heyward plays at Gwinnett or at Turner Field. We need the next generation of Braves management as much as we need the next generation of Braves players. Team performance over the past 23 games should enable anyone to figure that out.
Keeping It Real
September 8th, 2009
1:57 pm
Blaming Cox for the lack of talent on this team is ridiculous. The Braves have the worst outfield in MLB. Thinking that Schafer will change this is also ridiculous. Adding some speed and athletic talent to this team is the answer.
cdog
September 8th, 2009
1:59 pm
THE PAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN OFF YEARS FOR BOBBY COX. HE COULD CARE LESS. HE HAS WAVED THE WHITE FLAG ON THE SEASON ALREADY. HIS BUDDY SYSTEM HAS COST THE BRAVES THE PLAYOFFS. WHEN YOU ALLOW YOUR SO-CALLED STAR PLAYER, CHIPPER JONES TO DO WHAT HE WANTS TO BY TAKING GAMES OFF DURING CRUNCH TIME, HOW CAN YOU BE COMMITED TO WINNING?WHEN YOU CONSTANTLY PLAYS MEDIOCRE PLAYERS OVER GOOD PLAYERS AS COX DOES, ARE YOU TRYING TO WIN? NO.I FEEL SORRY FOR THE DEDICATED DIE HARD BRAVES FANS, WHEN YOU GET SWEEP BY THE REDS AND PLAYERS ARE IN THE DUGOUT LIKE MATT DIAZ AND KELLY JOHNSON ARE LAUGHING, ESCOBAR TAKES GAMES OFF WITH MYSTERY INJURIES AND HE IS ALLOWED TO DO THIS, CHIPPER JONES DOES WHAT HE WANTS TO DO. WELL, HOPEFUL SOMEONE WILL SEE THE BIG PICTURE. ITS ALL ABOUT A BUDDY SYSTEM WITH COX NOW INSTEAD OF WINNING.
4williec
September 8th, 2009
2:06 pm
I hope Bobby isn’t waiting for a really great season before he retires so he could end on a positive note….that might take a while. Just damn….
umpy
September 8th, 2009
2:08 pm
Dave Brundage in Gwinnett is the logical heir.
he’s young, very baseball smart, the guy is ahead of everyone on the field by atleast 2 or 3 innings during the game.
carney lansford
September 8th, 2009
2:09 pm
Tony Larussa….greatest in the game today.
Willy
September 8th, 2009
2:16 pm
Just noticed that your picture looks like a priest’s, Father Bradley.
Phil
September 8th, 2009
2:17 pm
Is Cito Gaston available? He came in behind “the greatest manager of all time” in Toronto and won 2 WS titles, something that Cox couldn’t get done there. Where are you Cito???
Terry Farkas
September 8th, 2009
2:24 pm
Bobby has been great for the Braves but it is time for a change. New manager, hitting coach and pitching coach. Please Braves move Bobby out.
carl
September 8th, 2009
2:27 pm
Thanks Mr. Bradley for a good and honest assessment of Bobby Cox circa 2009. No need to debate endlessly whether he could have done even more in the 90s or early 200s, the point is now that he failed to do the job. Any objective watcher of the Braves this year could see his moves (or lack thereof) hurt the team’s chances in many games. All good things must come to an end, and it’s time for the Braves to give Mr. Cox a gold watch and a wonderful ceremony. Wren had the stomach to move the Braves beyond. Glavine/Smoltz, he needs to take the next step and find a manager with the ability to grow with this team in 2010.
REAL baseball fan
September 8th, 2009
2:27 pm
ohh the biased, fair weather “baseball” fans. i agree cox has not been good this season, but honestly, who is there to replace him? an inept hitting coach? a pitching coach who is completely terrible? or perhaps we should just have wren be the head coach. then we’d OBVIOUSLY win more games….
you are all retarded. you know why we don’t win a lot of games? THE FREAKING PLAYERS. the coach can do whatever he wants to stir up the players (ozzie guillen) but it ultimately comes down to the players. we shouldn’t HAVE to rely on a pinch hit to tie the game and send it into extras. norton is extremely horrible and in my view, the worst brave i can remember (other than perhaps dan kolb) but his spot SHOULD be utterly irrelevent. i don’t want to have to be relying on ANY pinch hitter to win the game unless that pinch hitter is albert pujols.
and why all the chipper hate? oh wait a minute, i forgot that you only look at what has been going on LATELY. yes lets just look at the record without chipper in the lineup…..not too good is it? and without him in the lineup, mccann doesn’t get the same type of pitches. pitchers fear chipper’s bat, so they pitch around him. that makes them pitch to b-mac, which helps the braves. yes chipper is hurt a lot, but a big reason for that is the fact that the braves cant keep him out of the lineup long enough to give him enough time to heal (for those of you idiots, who i seriously doubt made it this far into the post, obliques generally take more than 2 weeks to heal…..) you people make me sick. you know NOTHING about the game. look at the cubs. they are considered one of the top franchises and how long has it been since they won a championship? OVER 100 YEARS. you telling me it was the managers fault EVERY time?
in closing, NORTON needs to go, LOWE needs to be traded, ACOSTA AND CARLYLE need to be released, HEYWARD needs to be called up, and SHAFER needs to stay in the minors. LEO MAZZONE, PLEASE COME BACK.
crackbaby
September 8th, 2009
2:28 pm
I don’t agree, MB. The Braves players simply failed to hit in key situations for most of the year, particularly the first half of the season. Greg Norton has been a colossal disappointment at the plate and Chipper finally had a down year. If you want to pin the disappointment of not making the playoffs on one thing, it’s run production by the outfield.
We had a couple streaks where things fell together nicely (that 5-2 West Coast road trip) but the consistency was lacking. Infante, Prado and Escobar were hampered by injuries. I think Bobby Cox and the Braves are going to kick ass next year. Just my view.
T G
September 8th, 2009
2:28 pm
Thanks Bobby for all the memories, you’ve had a Hall of Fame career…
sit back watch the youngsters play… Its time too move on and let someone else (Terry Pendleton) take over and move this team forward..
Your old ways of playing the game is just that “old”…
Thank you and have a safe and enjoyable retirement…
REAL baseball fan
September 8th, 2009
2:33 pm
and MIKE C. way to notice the furcal trend. that was a good pickup, i was wondering if anyone else had noticed that
Panda
September 8th, 2009
2:37 pm
Why has no one brought up the fact that Bobby brought Kris Medlen in the game two nights in a row in Florida to try to hold the lead? I was listening on the radio when the announcers said that Bobby wanted to put Medlen in crucial positions to see how he would respond:
Game 3: bases loaded one out with the lead
Game 4: 3-2 braves lead
Both times he was ROCKED…He is a good kid, but that was not the time to put a rookie in that situation during a playoff hunt, especially when Moylan got them out of a bases loaded situation just the night before.
Braves73
September 8th, 2009
2:39 pm
The Lemmer – How in the heck do you say it’s lack of payroll???? The Braves rank 11th in the league in overall payroll. If you are going to use that excuse you are not facing reality. There comes a time in every sport where it’s time to make a change. Bobby’s time has been great, but he’s not the right manager for this team team. Please don’t tell me that payroll is the reason.
shadykraft
September 8th, 2009
2:41 pm
trade: Dye for Lockhart and Tucker. Where’s Bill and Ted when you need them. We could take back the deal for Kenny Lofton too. tear….tear…
Jason In Gainesville
September 8th, 2009
2:41 pm
I think three things did in Bobby Cox this year. First, he was too loyal to Jordan Schafer, Greg Norton, and Kelly Johnson. Maybe they were all hurt when playing, but there were other people I would rather have seen play before them.
Schafer was a rookie who did not make the necessary adjustment. It was painful to watch him struggle for so long up here. Hopefully, his career has not been ruined, but only time will tell.
Greg Norton was an interesting one. His career numbers are not very good. Sure, he did a good job pinch hitting for us last year, but this year he has been dreadful. He is making it look like last year was a fluke.
With Johnson, I like him, but Martin Prado has proven he can hit as well as field. Prado sat on the bench for too long while Johnson struggled badly.
Next, Cox’s use of the bullpen has been downright awful! How do we have so many starters with so many quality starts, and yet we still have a tired, overworked bullpen? How many times does a reliever fr us go more than one inning? Is there a new baseball rule against it? And why do we only see Manny Acosta in games that aren’t close? Does Cox have little faith in him? If so, why is he on the team? With the move to bring Hanson and Medlen up, we had even more pitching than we started with (we did demote Jo Jo Reyes, but he was once again terrible). With Kris Medlen coming up as a starter and then being sent to the bullpen, I thought he would be used for more than one inning at a time. That has not turned out to be the case. It has been frustrating to watch three or four of the same pitchers come in to games that are not very close.
Lastly, when was the last time Cox used a double switch? That makes sure you don’t bring in a pitcher to throw only a few pitches. The double switch is one the things that separates the National League from the American League.
Any combination of the following could have resulted in a better record. I think Wren has done a great job with the team we have here. He did not inherit the 1996 Braves, maybe the most talented Braves team during the run. Maybe we don’t go to the playoffs this year anyhow. Bobby Cox made too many mistakes for us to find out.
Jim
September 8th, 2009
2:42 pm
Even though I absolutely admire Bobby Cox so much, I’ve always believed that baseball’s ’skippers’ get way too much credit when things go well and way too much blame when they don’t….that being said, I feel that Bobby will be the first to tell us when its time for him to go, and he should be afforded that ooportunity, in light of all that he’s done for the game….no matter what the outcome, he’s clearly a SHOO-IN for the Hall of Fame….
signed,
a grateful fan & admirer
Dr. R.
September 8th, 2009
2:42 pm
Everybody gets to the point where they aren’t as sharp as they once were. Bobby is a HOFer, but it may be that time hasn’t sharpened his wits. I also agree with Mark that the notion of playing for the three-run homer is a failing, particulary when you consider the Braves now play in a more pitcher friendly park than when Bobby began his run. I never liked that philosophy anyway; I’m an old Whiteyball guy from way back. I also agree with the early post that Leo’s ouster may be a factor in the Braves’ descent. They haven’t had great arms before this year, true, but he always seemed to get the most out of guys who had marginal success elsewhere (remember Jaret Wright?). And the abuse of the bullpen this year just wouldn’t have happened under Leo’s watch, I don’t think. Wonder if he’s up to taking over next year if Wren or someone can convince Bobby to stay in Adairsville with his horses.
shadykraft
September 8th, 2009
2:42 pm
the Braves could do a where are they now and i bet half the guys they’ve traded have something shiny on their finger. ok I’ll stop now. sniffle.