Fredi Gonzalez, the only real choice? Not so fast (UPDATE)
UPDATE: The Braves have scheduled “a major announcement” for 2:15 p.m. today after Bobby Cox’s already scheduled valedictory at Turner Field. Sounds like Fredi will be introduced today, as opposed to tomorrow.
The last time the Braves held managerial news conferences on consecutive days — one to bid farewell, the next to say hello — it didn’t work out so well. They fired Joe Torre in the press lounge of the old stadium in October 1984, and the next day we were back to greet …
Eddie Haas.
Who lasted 121 games.
Yes, there’s a huge difference this time. Fredi Gonzalez has been a big-league manager; Haas never had. (And, after being canned by the Braves, never would again.) But the Braves back then were so certain Haas, who’d been their Class AAA manager, would be the man to improve on what Torre had started that I developed a kneejerk response to kneejerk promotions. I’m leery of Perfect Choice successions because they so rarely turn out to be.
Everyone in baseball was so convinced the Braves would anoint Gonzalez as Cox’s successor that it had to be either the worst-kept secret or the best-constructed ruse in the history of the world. Turns out it wasn’t the latter. And clearly the Braves have their reasons: He did meritorious work here before leaving to manage the Florida Marlins, who might just be unmanageable. That said …
He never quite lifted the Marlins to the playoffs — got them over .500 in both 2008 and 2009, though — and this year’s team was thought to be (at least by owner Jeffrey Loria) of playoff caliber. And that’s why Gonzalez was fired after 70 games. And before you say, “Well, Loria wouldn’t know a baseball from the back end of a buffalo … ” let’s consider that Loria did hoist the World Series trophy in 2003 after changing managers in midseason.
But my quibbling about Gonzalez has less to do with his Florida days than with his background: The Braves are essentially hiring from within, and after having the same manager from June 22, 1990 to Oct. 11, 2010, this was their chance to look outside and tap someone who wasn’t immersed in The Braves’ Way Of Doing Things. Other clubs are much heavier into statistical analysis. (Terry Pendleton, the hitting coach, was actually surprised earlier this season when I mentioned that his club led the league in on-base percentage.)
The Braves’ Way worked largely because players loved playing for Bobby Cox. I’m not sure they’ll love playing for Gonzalez quite so much. That’s not a knock on the new man. It’s simply to say that there is — or was; got to get used to using the past tense — only one No. 6.
Please understand: Fredi Gonzalez is not Eddie Haas, who was overmatched from Day 1. Fredi Gonzalez is a solid hire made for logical reasons — the Braves know him and like his way of doing business. But I was hoping for someone who wasn’t a Cox acolyte. I was hoping for someone like Jose Oquendo, who’s the third-base coach in St. Louis and who has apprenticed under Tony La Russa. And, apart from their love of stray animals, Cox and La Russa have as much in common as chalk and cheese.
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396 comments Add your comment
Multiple Meigs
October 13th, 2010
3:19 pm
Duh………..Chino did what C O X told him to do in the playoff win.
Terry Francona
October 13th, 2010
3:21 pm
Yes I will be happy to leave the one of the top 2 MLB clubs in the entire world to come to the the city of poor men.
Yes call me today.
bascogcjs
October 13th, 2010
3:23 pm
Eddie Haas’s post game comment,”these things happen”.
I bet he said that 40 times after another loss.
bascogcjs
October 13th, 2010
3:25 pm
Not sorry to see Hubbard go. He was too quiet and didn’t he smoke?
I know he smoked when he played.
Jim (original Jim)
October 13th, 2010
3:28 pm
Where are these posts about the coaching retentions/departures coming from? Has an official announcement been made? If so, is it that McDowell, TP, Snitker, E. Perez are in and Hubbard and Chino are out?
Mitchell
October 13th, 2010
3:29 pm
Wow, it sounds like Mark Bradley who called Bobby Cox “the greatest” doesn’t think his way of doing things is so great after all.
Strange.
What’s the deal by the way with a media member such as yourself, Brad, questioning these kinds of decisions?
This isn’t like you.
Spurgeon Hendrick
October 13th, 2010
3:31 pm
Congrats to Fredi Gonzalez and to the Braves organization for a fine choice. Gonzalez earned my everlasting respect when I sat next to him in a jury pool in Cobb County a few years ago. Everyone around us was trying to figure out a way to get out of being selected. For Fredi, being selected would mean he could be late arriving to Spring Training for his very first season as a manager with the Marlins. I heard him telling one of the whiners (my word, not his) about how he came to America from Cuba, about his love of our country, and how doing his duty as a citizen was more important than baseball. I’ll never forget it. Kudos to the Braves for giving such a classy guy a chance. I’m sure he won’t let them down.
Dirty
October 13th, 2010
3:31 pm
Pendleton Deserved the Job…
Mitchell
October 13th, 2010
3:32 pm
In defense of Mr. Gonzalez, his Marlins finished ahead of Cox’s Braves in consecutive years.
And Bobby Cox is the greatest so Fredi must know something the great one doesn’t.
BG
October 13th, 2010
3:36 pm
Mark, Are you negative about everything??? Or is it just the Braves and the Dawgs?
Bobby Cox
October 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
How many games does this team win:
Prado, 4
Infante, 7
Chipper, 5
Werth, 8
McCann, 2
Heyward, 9
Freeman, 3
Gonzo, 6
Bama Brave
October 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
We to get some guys with speed at the top of our batting order.
Jim (original Jim)
October 13th, 2010
3:43 pm
It should be noted that Joe Torre never won another WS after Don Zimmer was let go as his bench coach. It appears that Zimmer was the brains behind those Yankee teams all along. It was the terrible beaning of Zimmer back in the 50’s when he was a Dodger prospect that ushered in the use of the batting helmet. I believe Zimmer still has a steel plate in his head from that beaning, and this may account for the unorthodox thinking that has allowed Zimmer to always predict the move that will lead to a positive result. His inspired advice to bring in Mario Rivera to close out close games made Joe Torre rich and famous. It doesn’t matter who we get to manage the Braves. We need to hire Zim as our bench coach!
We get paid
October 13th, 2010
3:45 pm
Werth & The Craw go to the top bidder.
Atlanta tooooooo cheap for us.
David Ellis
October 13th, 2010
3:51 pm
Mark, in 1976, Walter Alston retired from the Dodgers after 24 great years as their manager. Rather than going in a different direction, they hired a guy from within who had worked and trained under Alston’s system. The name of the guy they moved up was Tommy Lasorda. That worked out OK, don’t you think? Fredi Gonzalez is the most appropriate replacement for Bobby Cox, period.
Phil
October 13th, 2010
3:56 pm
Things are looking up. The best it’s looked in 15 years.
kool$kat
October 13th, 2010
3:56 pm
Mark, you referenced Haas being brought in to finish what Torre started, but Torre just took over what Bobby Cox had built from ‘78 to ‘81. The team started ‘82 with 13 consecutive wins, rode that to the playoffs (barely getting in) and then fell short in pennant races in ‘83 and ‘84. Me thinks Cox deserves credit for ‘82 pennant also.
John Greene
October 13th, 2010
4:07 pm
Mark, you hit the nail on the head when you wrote, “this was their chance to look outside and tap someone who wasn’t immersed in The Braves’ Way Of Doing Things.” Don’t the Braves realize that they have been disappointed the last eleven times they have been to the post season? Don’t they realize that it’s time to try something different? Don’t they realize that “The Braves’ Way of Doing Things” needs to be changed? Apparently I am more frustrated than Wren and Schuerholz.
Charlie
October 13th, 2010
4:11 pm
Why would the heck would the Braves hire a manager with a below .500 lifetime record (276W-279L)?
Nurse Ratched [Randal Patrick McMurphy]
October 13th, 2010
4:11 pm
Good choice? Sure, if you’re Liberty Media… this guy isn’t gonna change one thing. It’s the same-old, same-old from the same-old people. Another dead-weight maneuver from a clueless management group. There was hope, but alas it’s gone with this guy. Mark my words, they’ll be lucky to finish 3rd in the division next year. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this Idiot is shown the door before the 2011 seasons half over too… good grief, Charlie Brown… :-/
Jim (original Jim)
October 13th, 2010
4:11 pm
Lasorda had the likes of Garvey, Lopes, Russel, Cey, Yeager, Welch, etc. around to ease his transition. Fredi will be as successful as his talent permits.
ChuckT
October 13th, 2010
4:14 pm
Probably not a bad pick, but should be viewed as interim. Also-Braves need to retire number 6 immediately.
steve
October 13th, 2010
4:21 pm
To all of you Bobby Cox fans, what has he produced over the last several yrs. They always stall at the end of the season. What good is it to have a decent season but the post season falls short year after year. Now they go and hire Cox’s puppet who was fired in Florida. What a joke!!!! They need more diversity. You can’t win championship games where most of the players are from Cox’s Cobb County!!!
GTSteve
October 13th, 2010
4:29 pm
Ok for those that don’t like Fredi….who would you choose for manager
MitchC
October 13th, 2010
4:31 pm
Okay, Mark. I just went to your link from June 2009, and it proves you didnt contradict yourself from what you’re saying today, so I;m sorry if I accused you of that.
However, I didnt contradict myself either. I didnt recall that I was posting here a year and a half ago, but apparently I was, and I said Gonzalez would be a good choice.
The thing is: I see this as a no win situation for the Braves, whoever they hire. What I mean by that is.. that.. hopefully, the Braves will win.. a lot of games, in 2011, and beyond, for Gonzalez, or whoever else they would have named… but.. the next Braves manager is taking over for a guy who has the fourth most wins in major league history, soo… it’s inevitable that he will be under a microscope, immediately.
I’m sure that if the Braves are under 500 in April, 2011, you will be writing a lot of articles questioning if Gonzalez is the right hire. As you know from my posts, I’m not a big fan of Frank Wren, with his moves for the team… but.. hopefully, this will turn out to be the right decision, to keep the Atlanta Braves as a winning team for a long time to come.
Frank Grin
October 13th, 2010
4:32 pm
Anybody who don’t like my dealing,can kiss my grits!
South Georgia
October 13th, 2010
4:46 pm
Gonzalez is already good in my view. He addressed the lack of hitting in one of his first moves by changing hitting coaches.
RichieRich86
October 13th, 2010
4:47 pm
This has been very uplifting after that horrible series with the Giants. I love Fredi Gonzalez I’m so glad they didn’t take any time to hire him. Congrats Fredi Welcome back to the Bravos and please please get rid of T.P as our hitting coach!! and get rid of A Gonzo’s no hussling ass!!! You think hanley is lazy wait till you see A Gonzo not even run to first base after hitting a LINE DRIVE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!
Navigator
October 13th, 2010
4:50 pm
We all have opinions about who should or shouldn’t, but I look at how well Florida performed after Gonzalez left. They never improved, so their problems were not with the manager. Until he’s gotten a season under his belt, no one has a clue how well he can manage this team. I hope he’s forming some opinions on who stays on the staff, and not drag that out over the winter.
Can You Dig It
October 13th, 2010
4:56 pm
Bradley…You know as much about baseball as you do about college football….and that ain’t much! Your the type of guy that would toss Chiristie Brinkley aside for a shot at Rosie O’Donnell just so you can check her out….Gonzalez is a great hire and his own man too based on the changes he’s already announced in his staff…Give the guy a chance before you start unloading your BS on him…but then again that would take some class on your part and we all know you don’t have any……Can You Dig It1
TampaGator
October 13th, 2010
4:57 pm
Congrats, Fredi. I hope you manage well in during the season and show Bobby Cox how to manage in the playoffs….here is to winning more than one WS in 20 plus years as a manager.
…..and I hope the Braves management gets you a decent centerfielder (who can run and hit for avrerage to all fields) and a decent left fielder (who can hit homeruns and drive in runs)…..and that Chipper can stay healthy for more than 10 games in a row next year…and he gets his bat stroke back. Good luck…man…I think you are going to need it.
BRAVES100000
October 13th, 2010
4:58 pm
Not sure why there is so much love for Wren and Shurholtz. I am sure Wren is a great guy but he has a pretty miserable track record so far with position players. Nate Mclouth, Rick Ankiel, Gonzales at SS, Feliz at Texas, Glaus, D. Lee, Melky were all poor decisions. When is someone going to hold them accountable????
Blackberry Cobbler
October 13th, 2010
5:00 pm
I like the Fredi Gonzalez pick very much. He’s been my choice since the day Booby Cox announced his intent to retire.
That being said, success in 2011 and beyond will depend on getting youth and talent on the field. PLEASE, PLEASE get rid of McCl(out)h and get rid of washed-up has beens and failed experiments like Lee, Cabrera, Gonzalez, Ankiel, and Glaus.
You can’t build a championship team with band-aids, ace banages, ice packs, baling wire and duct tape. Both starting pitching and bullpen needs to be strengthened as well.
TP needs to go and I’d like to see Chipper as a player/coach. The rest can stay although I’d like to see Smoltz or Glavine as the pitching coach.
I’m already looking forward to next season and hope the Braves can put a real good team on the field.
bob
October 13th, 2010
5:08 pm
Gonzalez’ team finished ahead of Cox’ team 2 out 3 years in the same division. Not many can say that in the last couple of decades.
Appalachia Brave
October 13th, 2010
5:13 pm
Fredi is Cox light….whoever said the Braves would win the WS next year must be smokin cRacK! Big changes are needed in order for that to happen….They were lucky to even get into the playoffs.
Appalachia Brave
October 13th, 2010
5:16 pm
Fredi coming back to Atlanta is like working for your family…They’ll be telling him what to do all the time….Cox and Wren will have their noses up his butt so much he won’t be able to sit!! That is why they hired him….Its all about control.
StottsEra
October 13th, 2010
5:18 pm
Dusty Baker would have been terrible
Atlanta news | Minute by minute (Oct. 13) | Atlanta News | Minute by minute
October 13th, 2010
5:19 pm
[...] 5:10 p.m. Going to wrap it up for the day, but here’s a summary. For more detail, scroll down below. >> The rescue seen around the world has so far been a success, with 24 miners rescued thus far. AP Story. See the miner-by-miner rescue photos. More photos. Rescue seen around the world. >> This news broke late last night but the Atlanta Braves held a press conference today to confirm that former Braves assistant Fredi Gonzalez would be the team’s next manager, after the retirement of legend Bobby Cox. Gonzalez was an assistant under Cox and the decision was anticipated. Story. Photos. Jeff Schultz thinks it’s a good idea. Mark Bradley disagrees. [...]
Dirty Dawg
October 13th, 2010
5:40 pm
Seems to me that they were saying, whoever ‘they’ are, that Liberty Media would only have to hold onto the Braves until the end of this year in order to take advantage of the ‘tax dodge/give-away’ that the ‘code’ offered them. If so, then how’s about speculating on the potential of new ownership…get the fight started on that one if you want to do something productive Mark.
As for those that keep mentioning moneyball and all – just when, Mark, did you figure that the Braves don’t do enough analysis – that’s statistics you know – and, again, Mr. Bean is so ‘last decade’. The fascination has pretty much worn off – even if the movie hasn’t even been cast yet – and Oakland’s still nowhere near the top in the AL West. And sure we could use another ‘hitting coach’, but more importantly we could use better hitters…starting with our RF phenom. The kid had better do something about that loopy swing of his or he’ll become a bigger bust than Brad Komminsk…and I still say that he’d make a better center fielder than right anyway – hit or no. And surely we’ve got another shortstop in the organization that can do a better job than the one we ended up with.
nashvillewill
October 13th, 2010
5:49 pm
Fredi is fine. I am relieved it wasn’t TP, who was the other “rumoured” candidate. Also, TP is out as hitting coach. Yea! Bring in someone who can work with hitting approach, working the count, and preparation. Heyward and Freeman need some help.
So, since Fredi benched Hanley for lack of hustle, does he continue this trend with Braves? Let’s hope so. I got sick with Gonzo not running out balls and even Prado on occasion.
Looking at next year’s team: McCann needs relief from defensive specialist in late innings and off-days. Ross is not much better defensively. So IMO Braves need defensive catcher. Freeman at first is an unknown, but Braves need right-handed hitting 1B (not Glaus,not Lee). Prado at 2B. Enough said.
Chipper at 3B. Braves need prospect to work there and take over in 2012. Is Alvarez (Pirates) available?
Someone like him. LF should be Infante’s to have. Period. He earned full-time position and there’s an opening there. WE ABSOLUTELY MUST FIND A CF WHO CAN HIT. Number 1 need. Heyward in right.
I skipped SS: I have no confidence in Gonzalez, but I fear we may be stuck with him. I Believe a new SS is number 2 need.
Pitching: Keep Venters and Kimbrel. Hudson, Lowe, and Hanson are fine. Numbers 4 & 5 starters are an issue. JJ was not right most of the year. Medlin won’t return til late summer. I am not encouraged by Mjnor or Beachy, but we need a rookie SP to step up, like Medlin did this year. Rest of bullpen is due for an overhaul. Rest of bench also due for an overhaul, holding Hinske. With some reluctance I think we say goodbye to Diaz, Conrad, Moylan, O’Flaherty. With no reluctance I think we say goodbye to Melky, McClouth, Ankiel, Dunn, Saito.
With re-tooling, improved defense, new management, and new hitting coach, I look for the Braves to be improved. Still, likely, to be second to Phils unless LM is willing to pay $$$ or new ownership comes in.
So, a better team with a better attitude still finishes second to Phils. Wildcard anyone?
scottc
October 13th, 2010
6:09 pm
Mark, I dont really get your point. Since the Braves have won so many division championships doing it The Braves Way, why should they seriously consider going in a completely different direction? Your arguments to support that opinion are pretty weak . . or non-existent.
Homer
October 14th, 2010
12:50 am
The Braves are chumpeando con el naco now.
Tim
October 14th, 2010
5:25 am
Once again you posted an idiotic comment. You make me miss Terrence Moore and he was the biggest idiot racist writer out there. Where do I send my resume? The AJC is actually paying you money to write? Un$#*%*& believable.
Atlanta news | Minute by minute (Oct. 13) | Exploring Things
October 14th, 2010
9:47 am
[...] under Cox and the decision was anticipated. Story. Photos. Jeff Schultz thinks it’s a good idea. Mark Bradley disagrees. DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis will appoint William O’Brien as police chief on Thursday. Story. The [...]
TOMY FOURNIER
October 15th, 2010
1:06 pm
I’m for sure…not H.Ramirez to Atlanta….oh yes!!!
avg
October 15th, 2010
7:28 pm
we gon’ party tonight