Why Bobby Cox can’t (and won’t) start Conrad in Game 4
Managerial mercy required. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Well, I’ve slept on it (though not well), and I’ve decided: Bobby Cox cannot start Brooks Conrad in Game 4 of the NLDS tonight. This has nothing to do with baseball strategy. It has everything to do with human kindness.
Brooks Conrad is a journeyman whose journey has led him into the wilderness, and he can see no way home. It’s incumbent on someone (meaning Cox) to come rescue him. It isn’t that Conrad has developed Steve Sax/Chuck Knoblauch Disease, where he can’t throw straight. Poor Brooks is so confused he can’t even think straight.
We saw it last night even at those times he wasn’t making an error. He looked to second base before throwing — accurately — to first base, and in the game’s strangest moment he called off Derrek Lee to run over and catch a pop that should have been the first baseman’s all along. It isn’t that Conrad isn’t trying. On the contrary, he’s trying so hard he can barely remember where to stand.
Credit Conrad for facing reporters after the worst postseason game any Brave has ever had. (Let’s recall that Lonnie Smith ducked out after stopping at second base in the Metrodome in 1991.) But now it’s up to Cox. He has to do the right thing: He has to bench Brooks.
If that means playing Troy Glaus at third base and letting San Francisco bunt three times an inning, so be it. (The Giants are starting Madison Bumgarner, who’s a lefthander, so having Glaus at third — as opposed to Eric Hinske — makes a bit of tactical sense.) Omar Infante can move back to second, and Conrad can go back to being a pinch-hitter.
The important thing is to get Conrad in the dugout. He’s doing no one any good at second base, himself least of all. (His evocative postgame words: “I wish I could dig a hole and sleep in it.”) And there’s no percentage in inflicting further indignity on the tough little guy whose big hits helped get the Braves beyond Game No. 162.
He’s doing his best, but at the moment his best isn’t very good. I’m not certain what Bobby Cox will decide, but if I’m anything of a Bobby reader after 25 years of study, I’d say he’d made up his mind last night. This would not be a punitive benching, a Charlie-Finley-trying-to-deactivate-Mike-Andrews-in-the-World-Series thing. This would be an act of mercy.
Update: The Braves have announced their lineup for tonight’s game. Glaus is starting at third base. Conrad isn’t starting.
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800 comments Add your comment
THE CURSE OF DAVID JUSTICE WILL BE BROKEN THIS YEAR
October 11th, 2010
4:17 pm
GLAUS WAS HURT DUMBS DUMBS,THAT’S WHY HE WAS SENT TO GWINNETT!
NorCal Brave
October 11th, 2010
4:21 pm
Thanks for closing the barn door, bobby, the horses are long gone.
thickfreakness
October 11th, 2010
4:22 pm
CURSE-
Glaus can’t have that much less mobility than Wayne Jones. And Really, the guy that can bunt for hits, their leadoff guy, will be doing so against Lowe a right hander. More likely to pull one down the 1st base line – more difficult to bunt away when Glaus will be playing in.
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
4:23 pm
nique, See my post to Ijudge. You manage the bench differently at home when you have the last at bat. You know, you don’t assume your “closer” will put the tying run on base with a walk. And you don’t expect your starting 2B to commit three errors, but by the top of the 9th, the monkey is out of the cage, and you cannot allow errors or walks to make you deviate from logical baseball moves. As I said to Ijduge, if you want to call starting Conrad as “rolling the dice” that’s OK, but you can’t freak out because things don’t go your way.
Rowsdower
October 11th, 2010
4:26 pm
Ok, Phillie fans. Let’s think about this for a second. Take a Hall of Famer and an All-Star out of your lineup and see where you’re at. Don’t have a Hall of Famer? Alright, a couple of All-Stars will suffice. You’re not exactly ripping the cover off the ball right now at full strength. Doc and Hamels looked great and needed to in order to win the series.
Good luck the rest of the way…I hope the Rangers make it to the dance so you can be reminded what you gave up in Cliff Lee.
dangerousdan885
October 11th, 2010
4:31 pm
Good move, Bobby. You put everyone in position to win last night. Molan gave us the ground ball out you wanted–but we know what happened– win the next 2. GO BRAVES AND BROOKS– I HOPW YOU HAVE A GRAN SLAM OFF THE BENCH
ijudgenot
October 11th, 2010
4:32 pm
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
4:10 pm
Ijudgenot, Because you manage differently on the road. You take into account “last at bats”. When you are on the road, in a 1 or 2 run game, you want to keep the game “close” so you might use your closer in the 8th, or make a defensive substitution in the 8th to “extend the game”. At home the game is “extended” for you, so you manage more conservatively (as in “conserving” reserve players for future use). You don’t have to be Tim McCarver or Bob Brenley to know this about baseball.
So Abner, you don’t dare use Diory at home because game is extended and you may need him later, but you pinch run a slow catcher for a slow catcher instead of a pitcher, when you only have 2 catchers? Might you not need that catcher who is a better hitter than Diory later?
MitchC
October 11th, 2010
4:34 pm
Thank heavens Bobby is using his head, and not starting Conrad tonight.
We have no way of knowing what’s going to happen tonight. Hopefully we can win. I’m glad we dont have to face Lincecium again, but.. facing someone the Braves arent familiar with, is going to a real challenge.
Hopefully, we can pull off a win tonight, and send this series back to SF.
Arthur Blank
October 11th, 2010
4:41 pm
How long before I can legally buy this team, their stadium, and the surrounding ghetto? I’ll make Summerhill safe for suburbanite baseball fans in no time, just you wait!
Larvell Blanks
October 11th, 2010
4:41 pm
Abner – “You can’t go ‘all in’ in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run on base.”
That’s perhaps the most unintelligent thing I’ve seen posted here, made worse because you sound so smug at the same time you are spouting nonsense. Down one run in the ninth is EXACTLY when you have to go all in, because the game is OVER if you don’t score. Down one run with TWO OUTS in the ninth inning is even MORE of a reason to go all in. You want someone who can score from first on a gapper, or maybe even steal a base, so you don’t have to string two or three hits together in a row to score.
And in any event, pinch-running Hernandez wouldn’t have been going “all in” anyway, since you still could send Ross in to catch in the 10th (remember, you haven’t used him as a pinch runner if you use Hernandez). You could even put Ross in in Conrad’s place, and leave Hernandez in to play infield. And as to having Hernandez available to pinch hit in the 10th, that situation would only arise if you tie the game in the 9th. In any event, I will gladly trade a hypothetical imperfection in a10th inning that may never come (and even if it does, they might not score in the top of the 10th), for a better chance to score in the ninth, since failure to score in the ninth ends the game.
BeetleBailey
October 11th, 2010
4:42 pm
CONRAD SHOULD BE SENT BACK DOWN TO THE SINGLE A FARM TEAM TO WORK ON HIS FIELDING. After Conrad completes his assignment at single A, ship him on to double AA, then on to triple AAA to work on his fielding at every stop. When Conrad completes those three stops in the minor leagues, bring him back up to the big club to resume his status as a backup infielder. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD CONRAD EVER START A BALLGAME IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. Conrad has made a fool of himself in the outfield and instead of aleged hall of fame manager protecting Conrad by relegating him to pinch hitting roles, Bobby promoted Conrad to a new starting position and has cemented Conrad in the lineup permanently for him to continue to make a fool of himself. Bobby is the bigger fool for allowing this nonsense to happen. ESPN on Sunday evening was just about to announce a Braves win when Cox and Conrad screwed things up royally and cost us the friggin series. I’ll never forget it because it could have been avoided if Bobby had had the intelligence to GET HIS BUTT EJECTED EARLY ENOUGH SO HE WOULDNT HAVE COST US THE BALLGAME.
Larvell Blanks
October 11th, 2010
4:51 pm
Abner, I might have been overly harsh. It’s possible you didn’t realize the game was over if Ross didn’t score. If so, I apologize. For the record, though, the “play to tie at home, to win on the road” thing means you do actually have to try to score the tying run, even if you’re at home. And you have to tie it before the ninth inning ends, or else you don’t get to keep playing. So two outs in the ninth is pretty much the time to lay your cards on the table, unless you’re Ricky Ray Rector. I’ll hang up and listen to your astounding baseball acumen.
Brian O'Blivion
October 11th, 2010
5:02 pm
Brooks Conrad can still redeem himself…at the plate. Would love to see him as a pinch hitter in a crucial situation — and knowing the Braves faithful, he would not get booed this time. (Unless he happens to hit into a DP. I’d boo my own granny over one of those.)
reality check
October 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
PREDICTION: Bobby Cox gets thrown out of his final game tonight…..And gives everyone the finger as he walks from the dugout to the locker room a very lonely, bitter old man who has just become a ghost of the past…
John Rocker
October 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
I would’ve gotten that last strike and everyone one of you freakin know it!!! YEAH!! (Pass me another couple of Red Bulls, would ya Honey?)
Sportsfan
October 11th, 2010
5:07 pm
All that matters is that Conrad is being benched tonight, and kudos to Bobby for making the tough decision. Although everyone that is getting on Conrad needs to remember that without him the team is definitely sitting at home watching the NLDS instead of living it.
To everyone that is saying that Conrad should’ve been taken out a long time ago, if he was and Glaus botched a few routine balls because of his older legs would you still be saying the same things. TV coaching is a two-way street, remember that.
This team is definitely not the team we planned on taking to the post-season (injuries), but as Braves fan we need to all get behind them with our support. This team has fought all year, and there is no reason to believe that they will not continue fighting tonight.
Just some thoughts from a Braves fan that never gives up, and doesn’t give up on the players.
Mr Charlie
October 11th, 2010
5:15 pm
Heyward should have thrown the runne at home.
Andy
October 11th, 2010
5:21 pm
Conrad is like a lame horse that needs to be put down. Bobby did the decent thing and put him down. I hope we don’t see Conrad again.
CurlyHoward
October 11th, 2010
5:22 pm
Mr. Charlie: I hope you are not Charlie Liebrandt because if you are, you have already cost us one world series already.
Stizz
October 11th, 2010
5:26 pm
If you think his mindset is screwed now, I really hope he hasn’t tuned in to espn lately. The only attention we get from those idiots all year is when they make somebody out to be the next Bartman. Grief.
JohnRocker
October 11th, 2010
5:30 pm
honest to God, I dont expect perfection but please tell me why jason heyward has quit on the season. Heyward is hitting a WHOPPING 0.00 in the playoffs so far (completely unacceptable). Why on earth is Infante or Ross not starting for Heyard and Bobby is allowing this anemic batting average to continue to gather starts. It doesnt make sense Jason is hurting us both offensively and defensively (he hurt himself last night trying to dive into the seats). Jason should save everyone a lot of grief and heartaches by just asking for the remainder of the season off so he can heal himself, mentally and physically and get ready for spring training next year. He was undoubtedly the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR this season, but for some reason he has completely quit on the season so he should be pulled immediately for someone who hasnt yet quit on the baseball season. DOES THAT MAKES SENSE!
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
5:31 pm
Ijudge, You’re infusing emotional language. “you don’t dare use Diory…” Who said anything about “dares”? Again, this isn’t a poker game. It’s not a playground game in which you bluff and dare. It’s a game of tactics and there are certain moves you make on the road, and others you make at home. I was not in the dugout, so I don’t know how was left as a possible pinch runner. But as I said, there are only three possible moves: 1 – Allow B Mac to stay in the game. 2 – PR for B Mac using Ross (which keeps D Hernandez available to PH later in the inning). or 3 – “double-switch” by having Herandez run for Mac, and has Ross “replace” Conrad. But again, this takes Conrad out of the line-up and takes 2 “reserves” off the bench (Ross and Hernandez). Do the math. You can’t use 2 players (Hernandez AND Ross) to replace McCann in the top of the 9th, in a 1 run game. By the 9th inning “Catcher” is more imporant than “slow” or “fast” catcher. As I said, this may not be ideal, but it’s the right move.
ClassicBraves
October 11th, 2010
5:34 pm
BENCH HIS SORRY ASS!! BROOKS SUCKS!! SORRY BROOKS.
clipper
October 11th, 2010
5:35 pm
No one could feel worse about the errors than Brooks Conrad himself. Let up! By the way, being called a journeyman ballplayer by a journeyman sports writer is like being called ugly by a bullfrog.
gabugman
October 11th, 2010
5:36 pm
Booby Cox and Mark Richt:
Never have two men done so little with so much.
clipper
October 11th, 2010
5:37 pm
And the texas leaguer that fell ten feet in front of Jason Heyward would have been caught by Andruw Jones, all the way from centerfield. Jason needs to show more hustle.
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
5:37 pm
Larvell, I do not have baseball acumen, but I know the tactics are different at home, and with two catchers on the roster, and a dwindling supply of available players off the bench, you cannot essentially afford “two pinch runners” (Hernandez AND Ross). If you want Hernandez to gear-up and catch the top of the 10th, and save Ross for a PH, yeah, then do it. But who was left at that point?
5150 P.O.A.D
October 11th, 2010
5:38 pm
All of you bow down before me. I have more knowledge about everything than all of you idiots combined!!! Now if I can just get my sister from kicking my tail all the time….. mommmmmmyy
TORPEDO
October 11th, 2010
5:39 pm
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY HEYWARD IS NOT GETTING A DAY OFF? DOES THE FACT THAT HE IS 0-12 WITH 7k’S NOT REASON ENOUGH TO PUT MCLOUD OR MELKY FOR A GAME?
5150 P.O.A.D
October 11th, 2010
5:41 pm
All of you. Drop and give me 20! Your all Gay!
Brave New World
October 11th, 2010
5:42 pm
Brooks Conrad is hurting right now and taking full responsibility for costing the Braves the game. The difference between Brooks Conrad and his detractors is that he has character. If hitting someone when they are down gives you pleasure, it might be time to take a good look at yourself before you mindlessly spew hateful words at someone who simply tried his best and failed.
Alex The Great
October 11th, 2010
5:47 pm
Bobby Cox and Braves Ownership are the LUCKIEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET. Why? Because Cox wouldn’t get away with overmanaging, overusing, over analyzing, being overrated for 3 years let alone 5 years if he lived where I do here in the Northeast.
And with ownership never increasing payroll for 10 years, they will never get the players to compete with the big boys. And when they do get them, they can’t keep them.
Bradley, O’Brian, Bowman and all the other writers just drinking the Braves Kool-Aid
TORPEDO
October 11th, 2010
5:47 pm
CONRAD HAD A BAD GAME PERIOD… NO NEED TO MAKE HIM A GOAT…DID ANYBODY CARE TO REALIZE HE SHOULD HAVE NOT BEEN TRYING TO CATCH THAT BALL IN THE FIRST INNING? THAT WAS HEYWARD’S BALL ALL THE WAY BUT HE WAS TAKING A NAP ON RIGHT FIELD.
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
5:53 pm
Jay-Hey is not getting the night off because it is the post-season. Every one of the 25 players has a role. There are starters and who is on the bench players, and they need to be used in those specific roles. Jay-Hey has been a starter all year, so Melky, or McClouth are more suited to come of the bench. Again, sports fans, this is the difference between playoff baseball and regular season baseball. It stinks that You don’t “tinker” with the line-up when you’re getting ready to play game four of a five game Series, and you’re down 1-2.
Abner Doubleplay
October 11th, 2010
6:00 pm
So Alex, you think Bobby “overmanages” but you’re OK looking over his shoulder while he works. You think geography plays a role in managing a baseball team? Were I Chris Farley, I would say; “remember when I lived in the Northeast? Remember how demanding fans and the media in the Northeast were? That was awesome!” Sixteen trips to the post-season in 20 years does not lend itself to being overrated.
GSU Eagle 91
October 11th, 2010
6:01 pm
I look forward to seeing the winner of this series take on the Phillies ( who remind me of the 1985 Bears at the moment)…Halladay awaits the winner in Game 1.
That being noted…We need a Hero tonight…someone who can score or drive in some runs and make a statement early for a change….
I feel this will be a 5-4 game tonight…Braves force a Game 5….
kkong
October 11th, 2010
6:22 pm
Back off, Bradley…you make me sick. Is Brooks the only player on this team? Score a few more runs, and there’s no problem.
Mark in mid-town
October 11th, 2010
6:35 pm
A few years back and on occasion since, I would half facetiously post that the Braves upper management should go down to the Atlanta chess club and recruit one of the local chess masters to sit next to Bobby Cox on the bench so as to try and prevent more of Cox’s tactical insanity. After watching Cox’s tactical decision making for a couple of decades, I’ve become convinced that he just does not possess the critical thinking skills to make sound tactical decisions.
The interesting thing about baseball is that you can make the wrong tactical choice and have it end up going well, and you can make the right tactical choice and have it go bad. But over a pro-longed period of time, if you continually make the wrong tactical choice, the end results will not be pretty.
What we saw last night was the culmination of 20 + years of abysmally poor tactical managing by Cox. Had Cox left Kimbrel in, it still might not have ended well — but leaving Kimbrel in was clearly the better tactical choice at that point. Removing Kimbrel not only meant a weaker pitcher against a batter who hits lefties better than righties, it meant one fewer pitcher being left in case it went to extra innings. Even though there were 2 runners on base, Kimbrel’s stuff appeared un-hittable. I’d like to know whether it was Cox or McCann who called the off-speed pitch with 2 strikes that resulted in the hit up the middle before Kimbrel was removed. How do you not call for Kimbrel’s best pitch in that situation is beyond me.
tardawg
October 11th, 2010
7:16 pm
For all you Bobby bashers, I think Kinbrell will be great but the fact is if he doen’t walk a batter give up a hit he would have not been pulled he had his chance did not get it done. If he stays with the fast ball it would have been over. I agrree Conrad should not have been in there but we all need to be sympathetic he is a Brave and a good guy, it’s not like he is trying to throw the game. With that said Go Braves and do to the Giants what they did to us a few years back win the next two.
Rake Yohn
October 11th, 2010
9:52 pm
Rowsdower
October 11th, 2010
4:26 pm
Ok, Phillie fans. Let’s think about this for a second. Take a Hall of Famer and an All-Star out of your lineup and see where you’re at. Don’t have a Hall of Famer? Alright, a couple of All-Stars will suffice. You’re not exactly ripping the cover off the ball right now at full strength. Doc and Hamels looked great and needed to in order to win the series.
Good luck the rest of the way…I hope the Rangers make it to the dance so you can be reminded what you gave up in Cliff Lee.
Yo, Rowsdowner…The Phillies ARE an All-Star team…I’ve got news for you, even if you had the Chipster and Prado the Braves are still no match for the Phillies….as far as ripping the cover off the ball goes, how many teams hit .300 in the postseason? Not many because the pitching is usually top notch…and the Phils have the best staff in all of baseball…yeah the Rangers have Cliff Lee, but we have Cliff Lee times 3…SF will win tonight and spare the Braves from the embarrassment of getting smacked around by the Phils. The Giants are gonna be sorry they won this series though, ’cause the Phils will make them look like the Bad News Bears…. GO PHILLIES!!!
Daily News Compilation » Bobby Cox
October 12th, 2010
2:20 am
[...] We saw it last night even at those times he wasn’t making an error. He looked to second base before throwing — accurately — to first base, and in the game’s strangest moment he called off Derrek Lee to run over and catch a pop that should have been the first baseman’s all along. It isn’t that Conrad isn’t trying. On the contrary, he’s trying so hard he can barely remember where to … Read More [...]
Here's why Bobby Cox cannot play Brooks Conrad in Game 4 | Mark … | ENA news
October 12th, 2010
3:42 am
[...] See original here: Here's why Bobby Cox cannot play Brooks Conrad in Game 4 | Mark … [...]
Here's why Bobby Cox cannot play Brooks Conrad in Game 4 | Mark … < Read what Young Americans Read
October 12th, 2010
5:24 am
[...] Read the original post: Here's why Bobby Cox cannot play Brooks Conrad in Game 4 | Mark … [...]
McCann fan
October 12th, 2010
9:27 am
Okay so obviously its not all his fault becasue we still lost! and plus you can;t blame that whole game on him because we only got 3 hits. all of you who boo him and talk smack probably make him want to kill himself. True braves fans would never give up on ANY player. You have to remember he was brought on the team as a PINCH HITTER not a fielder so he was doing something he wasn’t comfortable doing for his team. just cut him some slack! GEEZ! Also, booing him at the games is just showing the world what jerks atlanta people are. we went down as a team together. that’s the best way to go.
ClownStephenson
October 12th, 2010
12:34 pm
Jay Hey should have been givene the night off last night. Some folks would say that is cruel to not let your ‘ROOKIE OF THE YEAR’ play and he will be bitter and angry about it. But whats worse, Jeysen going O-for the series, getting zero RBIs and batting ZILCH or letting Hinske play and the Braves winning the series. Jeyson is just a rookie and he has a lot to learn. Jeyson completely abused his body in center field and did not use the wall correctly when he crashed into the other day. What you’re supposed to do is ‘GENTLY’ crash into the wall instead of crashing into it head first like he did. Jeyson should have been benched the last two games and this would have given the Braves the series and advancing to play the Phils. Its unfortunate because I STILL THINK THE BRAVES HAVE THE BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL. The problem was the manger was so inept that Cox blocked the Braves from advancing by making his stupid moves (like pulling Kembrall instead of leaving him in to get us the victory). Cox still manages likes its the ’70s during the time when Earl Weaver was managing. Cox will never become a modern manager which is why I think its time for Cox to step down so that he can continue battering his wife during his golden years of retirement.
GoldenRetriever
October 12th, 2010
1:48 pm
Bobby needs to come down off his high horse, his soapbox or his prideful high chair and ADMIT THAT HIS BONEHEAD MISTAKES ARE WHAT COST THE BRAVES FROM ADVANCING PAST THE GIANTS TO PLAY THE PHILLIES. Bobby can advoid a ton of damage control by admitting that he pulled Kibrell too early in Saturdays contest after two batters were out in the ninth inning. If Kimbrell had stayed in to finish the game, there would have been a game 5 with the Braves likely winning that game or the outcome of game 4 might have been different because the braves would have been riding the emotions of a win in game 3 instead of a loss in game 3. No matter how you slice it, BOBBY IS A STUBBORN OLD MULE AND LIKE MANY OLD PEOPLE REFUSES TO ADMIT WHEN HE HAS MADE A MISTAKE. I believes that is Bobbys only fault that I could see. Other than that, the guy is a perfect genius.
ShempHoward
October 12th, 2010
2:45 pm
Bobby Cox is a COWARD with a capital “C”. I am tired of him parading around, crying and complaining that his team had to go though a ton of injuries. Had Cox pushed the right buttons, the Braves would still be playing now, getting ready to open their series with the Phils. All Bobby did during his press conference yesterday was blame the Braves ineptness on just about everything except the weather. You are a manager and you are getting paid millions of dollars to make the right decisions. When you are continually making the WRONG decisions, you should be held accountable by either being kicked out of the organization or getting fired. Well, those actions are not necessary this time since you have coached your last game you are not subject to any discipline. But I would appreciate for you to make a statement to the team and to the press at least saying, you know what folks, I messed up. We lost game three because of me jumping the gun and getting excited I made a couple of mistakes that cost my team the series. The two mistakes I made that cost my team a world series appearance was: #1:NOT SITTING JEYSON HEYWARD DOWN WHEN IT WAS OBVIOIUS HE WAS SWIINGING AT DUST AND UNABLE TO HIT THE BASEBALL; and #2:Jumping the F*ing gun and pulling Kimbrell one out too soon and not letting him finish the f*iing game 3 which would have given the Braves the advantage 2-1 after 3 games into the series. A FORMAL APOLOGY WOULD BE FINE WITH ME.
LordStanley
October 12th, 2010
4:55 pm
Someone asked the question, why was Brooks Conrad in the game defensively in the ninth inning; BECAUSE BOBBY COX IS A FOOL, THATS WHY. I remember the other day when they had the Bobby Cox celebration on the last day of the regular season, the announcers kept introducing Cox as the greatest manager in the history of the game. I DONT AGREE WITH THAT ASSESSMENT. When you have been in baseball for 50 years, you’ve made the playoffs over 15 times, the world series 5 times and all you have to show all those years is one friggin title, it tells me two things. #1: YOU ARE OVERRATED and #2: YOU ARE INCOMPETENT AT GETTING YOUR TEAM TO WIN THE BIG GAMES. With any luck at all, BOBBY COULD HAVE MANAGED TEAMS TO FOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS HERE IN ATLANTA. That should have been his legacy. He should have won this year (2010), (1991), (1995) and (1996). All he has on his resume is the 1995 title. Thats it. For 50 years of baseball you were only good enough to get one title. That stinks if you were askinig me. If you were the greatest manager of all times, you would have guided your teams to at least four titles and left yourself a great legacy to carry on with.
WreckingBall
October 12th, 2010
5:10 pm
Thank God Bobby is gone. He is a great manager but he has been unable to keep up with the modern game. Bobby manages as though the time period is the ’50s, ’60s or ’70s. The game is much different today. If you have a young pitcher who is a flamethrower who can bring the heat at 99-105 mph as Kid Kimbrell can, then why on earth would you take him out of a game that you are about to win? That makes absolutely no sense to me. The outcome of that game (game 3) was so certain that ESPN was about to announce a Braves victory had Bobby Cox just sat still for about 30 more seconds. Instead Bobby comes STORMING OUT OF THE DUGOUT LIKE AN ANGRY BULL and demands to the umpire that he is going to make a pitching change. Bobby puts in McDowell to pitch to Dunn and that move BACKFIRES.. Then the rally ensues to knock us out of the playoffs. All Bobby had to do was grab some chewing tobacco and chew on it for another 10 minutes and keep his mouth shut. If he wasnt going to do that then go to the umpires throw your hat to the ground and get yourself ejected to you could get out of the way and let the win unfold naturally. Instead you march out of the dugout and WRECK OUR SEASON.
JuniorBridgeman
October 13th, 2010
12:33 pm
Its amazing the amount of discrimination that still is present in baseball. Here in the Braves organization, I’m not accusing anyone of discrimination, but Terry Pendleton has been with the Braves organization for 20 years now and is waiting patiently for a chance to coach in the majors. Every time there is an opening, however, not just here but all over the major leagues, Terry isnt even as much as granted a courtesy interview. Why do you think that is? If Terry were lily white he would have already had at least 10 years of managing experience because he wouldnt have continually been swept under the carpet for people with lesser qualifications and accomplishments. Terry is a hitting expert, (current Braves hitting instructor), a former batting champion AND a former MVP. Terry knows baseball as well as anyone who hasnt been given a chance to do anything but be a cheerleader in the dugout. All these other guys, ex-players Joe Torre, Joe Girardi, are given opportunities IMMEDIATELY as soon as they retire and demand chances. Torre has tons of years of managing experience because as soon as their playing days were over, they were given interviews immediately and their coaching careers were commenced right out of the gate right away. Joe Torre even hinted he wanted the Mets coaching job when there was already a manager in place. Torre apologized for that, but it still wreaks arrogance and a bit of obnoxiousness. Terry is deserving of a chance but will never get one unless he does a palotte change on his complexion.