Fire Fredi? No, but the Braves did some major mismanaging
Esteemed colleague Mike Luckovich offers this extremely flattering bit of imagery.
Midnight had come and gone, and Frank Wren stood in Bill Acree’s office just off the main clubhouse. (Acree is the Braves’ director of travel, and earlier he’d been triangulating the hoped-for trip to St. Louis and then to Milwaukee or Phoenix. Moot point now.) The general manager was staring at a TV above the door. Boston had just lost. Tampa Bay had just won.
“Coming into September,” Wren said, disbelief in his voice, “we [meaning the Red Sox and the Braves] had two of the four best records in baseball.”
Neither will be part of the sport’s eight-team tournament, and today the Braves’ one source of consolation is that the Sox choked even harder than they did. (Unbelievable that two of the three biggest September flops in the game’s century-long annals were concluded within moments of each other. The third happened in 1964 to the Pholdin’ Phils.) There were similarities in these contemporary collapses — starting pitchers got hurt and everything unraveled — but we’ll let long-suffering New Englanders suffer long with theirs.
As for the local nine: Wren did his job. He built a good-looking team. He landed Michael Bourn in July and fleshed out his roster with Matt Diaz and Jack Wilson in August. (And what did the glove man Wilson do? Became the new Brooks Conrad by erring on a double-play grounder that became Philadelphia’s second run Wednesday night.) This should have been a playoff team, and for 5 1/2 months it was playoff-bound. Then it derailed itself.
Blame should attach itself to Fredi Gonzalez, but not the sort that has been tossed around. Jose Constanza would not have saved the season. (He’s a journeyman. Come on.) Starting Derek Lowe in Game No. 161 was a justifiable choice. (You’d start the rookie Julio Teheran instead? Come on.) This wasn’t so much about managing situations — every manager, even the learned La Russa, whiffs on a nightly basis — as in managing people.
I’m not a big fan of team meetings, but sometimes they’re necessary. Gonzalez had one after the Braves lost seven of nine early in the month, which might have been a day too late, and another after they lost Game No. 161 to fall into a tie with St. Louis. What Fredi said Tuesday night was appropriate — “I wouldn’t pick any other guys over you to go out and win a game” — but by then the panic was full-blown. Panic is why this season ended after 162 games.
Ninth inning, Game No. 162: The kid closer Craig Kimbrel is on to do as he has done 46 times in 53 tries — slam the door. He yields a leadoff single to Placido Polanco, strikes out Carlos Ruiz, walks the part-timer Ben Francisco. It’s clear the kid closer, who’s 23, is trying to hurl the ball through the backstop. (”I was overthrowing,” Kimbrel admitted.) Brian McCann walks to the mound.
Roger McDowell sits in the dugout.
Only after Kimbrel walks Jimmy Rollins to load the bases does the pitching coach emerge to speak to his kid pitcher. (Something similar happened in Monday’s game, when McDowell watched as the Phillies mustered four base runners and one run in the fourth inning before going to the mound to counsel the rookie Randall Delgado.) It’s entirely possible that a coaching visitation would have had no effect on Kimbrel, but why not try? Why didn’t Gonzalez say, “Roger, get out there,” one batter sooner?
I asked. This was Fredi’s response: “That’s here or there.”
But it isn’t. There are certain things managers can do to manage a game, and dispatching a pitching coach is one. The Braves’ dugout seemed to be a beat slow in this final series, this whole final month. Again, it might have made no difference. Again, why not try?
And then the hitting, or the lack thereof. Once the Phillies tied it, nearly every Brave wanted to be Kirk Gibson. Guys were overswinging as badly as Kimbrel had overthrown. The Phils were deploying pitchers who won’t work a postseason inning, and the Braves’ flailing made Justin DeFratus and David Herndon look like Mariano Rivera.
“We’ve been swinging really, really hard for a while,” said Chipper Jones, who had the best late-game swing — the deep drive that Michael Martinez hauled down in the 10th — of any Brave. And that, sad to say, was this team’s signature: Swing really hard in case it hit something.
Under hitting coach Terry Pendleton, the 2010 Braves led the National League in on-base percentage. Under Larry Parrish, the 2011 Braves were 14th of 16 teams. Parrish was hired as hitting coach despite never having been a big-league hitting coach. Maybe the Braves would have hit .193 in September with runners in scoring position with Ty Cobb as their tutor. Then again, maybe they wouldn’t.
Yes, players ultimately must bear the blame for plays unmade, but this fine team was, in the end, both too laid-back in its oversight and too tightly wrapped in its playing. I don’t think Fredi Gonzalez needs to be fired — he did, after all, lose his two best starting pitchers — but I do think he needs to be more assertive. He absolutely needs a new hitting coach, but …
No such luck. Fredi announced Thursday the coaching staff would return intact. Which makes you wonder about Fredi.
By Mark Bradley
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585 comments Add your comment
Just Plain Average
September 29th, 2011
7:36 pm
To be a great manager you have make bold moves and not be afraid to manage big ego ball players. I really thought Fredi was a great choice as mngr but after watching him all season he just doesn’t have that winning at all cost mentality. Last night with Fredi Freeman on 3rd and 1 out Jack no hit Wilson at the the plate I was screaming at fredi ,”safety squeeze”. Runs were going to be hard to get and this would have been the best way to score at the time. Then reality, Wilson and Hudson strike out and no runs score . Now I understand why the Marlins got rid of him he’s average at best.
Monster Mash
September 29th, 2011
7:51 pm
The mismanaging was done by John Schuerholz and Frank Wren for having Chipper Jones and Derek Lowe still on the roster. Fredi got dealt deuces. Hudson (good), Beachy, Lowe and Minor does not a starting staff make. Yes Venters and Kimbrel were over-worked….smoke and mirrors…if they had not been, we would never have gotten to Aug 25th with a 10.5 game lead. My only bitch is that we have not gotten Tehran settled into the rotation…and that maybe more McDowell than Fredi.
Forlorninnyc
September 29th, 2011
7:58 pm
This column utterly ignores Fredi’s most unforgivable offense this season: his handling of Jason Heyward. Jhey is still the main hope for the future of the franchise, despite his struggles this season. Benching him the way that he did is inexcusable and something that never would have happened under Bobby who was loyal to a fault. Is it any wonder that this team stopped playing for their manager when it counted most?
Someone should be held accountable for this collapse, by my lights the buck stops with Fredi. He needs to go.
ccrider
September 29th, 2011
7:58 pm
seasons’ over and done,, quit beimg FANatics it’s just a game played by overpaid adolescents. you bloggers have better things to do and i can assure you the braves’ lamers are out spending their $$$ without a concern about you. it’s just a game played for entertainment and profit. look at the teams in the playoffs, they play hard every minute of every game. the braves are LOSERS!!! and it starts in the dugout. the frediot must go!!!
Dr. Phil
September 29th, 2011
8:16 pm
Lowe lost 17 games by my count. Fredi would leave Lowe in until he game up six runs, then bring in Proctor or Linebrink. Who was the last pitcher in MLB to lose 17 games? I like Fredi, but his continued flirtation with Lowe was stupid.
Angie O'Plasty
September 29th, 2011
8:17 pm
I say it’s football season. Get over the Braves and lets turn to the pig-skin.
Top Rope
September 29th, 2011
8:23 pm
What a letdown. Can’t hang this one on FW, he did his job. He went out and got a leadoff man and did what he could to strengthen the bench. “Fredi, step into my office.” “Why Frank?” Because you’re freakin fired, that’s why!! Everyone talks about how the Braves aren’t built for the hit and run and putting pressure on the opponent’s defense. Nonsense, by starting runners and hitting to the vacant shortstop/second baseman’s position, it doesn’t matter whether the guy on base is slow are not, he’s on the move and if the batter is successful, you have a first-third situation which is better than a 6-4-3 double play.It’s called manufacturing runs. Smallball still works Fredi, stop being the second coming of Bobby Cox and be your own man for goodness sake. Fire Larry Parrish and give the job back to TP. The players were much more selective and patient at the plate. It was downright painful to watch them swing at change-up after change-up that was no where near the strike zone. 2012 rotation 1) Huddy 2) Hanson 3) Beachy 4) Medlin 5)Teheran. Trade bait, JJ, Minor and Delgado. One of them should net a good player in return.
Lineup
1. Bourn cf
2. Prado.3b He’ll bounce back strong next season. Watch.
3. Freeman 1b
4. Uggla 2b
5. BMac c
6. New leftfielder
7. Heyward rf. After extensive work on correcting the holes in his swing, he’ll quiet his critics.
8. New shorttop
9 See above rotation.
Peace.
bobby dews
September 29th, 2011
8:42 pm
on lineups-
1)bourn -played with some fire and should have an excellent year
Skeezix
September 29th, 2011
8:43 pm
Mark: To help get us all out of our misery, how about posting something on the first round of the playoffs where we can all pick/predict the winners/losers?
Mike
September 29th, 2011
8:43 pm
More Bradley garbage, you can’t disect one baseball game. We played pretty good baseball for 145 games and played lousy baseball for the month of September. I’ve been a diehard braves fan since 1966 but i was not pulling for us last night. We didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs this year. In the big boy leagues hitting coaches don’t make or break teams. Major League hitters have to make adjustments all year long. Many of our guys don’t adjust very well. We helped a lot of pitchers look much too good ! We got a good nucleus of a ball team, just need a couple of more pieces
Rowsdower
September 29th, 2011
8:45 pm
@Top Rope – Couple of things:
1) Delgado and Minor are more Majors ready than Teheran
2) Medlen will not be in the rotation unless there is a rash of injuries
3) Trade JJ? You realize he is 25 years old and a proven commodity when healthy, right?
4) What sucker are you planning on unloading Lowe on?
5) Chipper is coming back next year, so Prado is our LF
6) Don’t be surprised when Seabass is back until Pastornicky is ready
The roster is pretty much set once we get rid of Linebrink, Moylan, Wilson and Conrad.
Vizcaino and Medlen will replace Linebrink and Moylan in the pen and we’ll bring in a few bodies to replace Wilson and Conrad.
bobby dews
September 29th, 2011
8:48 pm
cont….:D
1) bourn- played with some fire and should have an excellent year
2) prado lf-braves are cheap and he is on the decline…more of the same(woeful numbers for an outfielder) from him and definitely another late season physical collapse
3)Freeman 1b-expect an outstanding year(35 homers and 100 rbi)
4)Uggla 2b -same season as this one with fewer homers(low average and he will continually be snakebitten while here)
5)Bmac c-hard to say…looks like he is on the decline. mentally and physically…another late season breakdown is likely
6)Chipper 3b-can’t move him…expect at best average performance and of course physical breakdowns
7)Heyward rf-broken both mentally(esp. after being sat down for diaz) and physically-another subpar year perhaps sent to minors for periods of time
8)Gonzalez/rookie/second tier free agent-Braves probably go with a glove guy here with no bat…again the cheapness
Jordan
September 29th, 2011
9:06 pm
http://isportsweb.com/2011/09/29/braves-blow-wild-card-lead/
ScottBravesFan
September 29th, 2011
9:11 pm
If he brings Larry Parrish back he’s an F’n moron. You don’t get from 1st in on base to 14th in one year with basically the same freaking roster. Fredi is an idiot and next year when the same crap happens he’ll hopefully get fired.
phil
September 29th, 2011
9:13 pm
Fire fredi?
Yes.
Of course. But we don’t have the guts. My cat could manage better than him. Lifeless, senseless, worthless.
phil
September 29th, 2011
9:13 pm
And fire FW too!!
phil
September 29th, 2011
9:17 pm
As i’ve said on a few blogs today, until FG is canned, i won’t set foot in the Ted again. Join me in staying home.
Rowsdower
September 29th, 2011
9:17 pm
@bobby dews – Prado is 27 and had a staph infection. He also had to change positions all year and learn to hit with a basestealer in front of him. He is entering his prime. He will be fine.
Mac was also hurt. He was an MVP candidate before he pulled his oblique. My guess is he came back too soon and compensated for the pain by changing his swing. He is also 27 and entering his prime. He will be fine.
Chipper is what he is at 40. Uggla will have a slightly better BA and roughly 30 HRs. Hopefully these 2 will drive in more runs with Bourn here all year.
Heyward had a rough Sophomore year, but plenty of great players did as well. He’s 22 and has all the physical tools. Give him a chance.
Seabass will almost definitely be back on a 1 year deal until Pastornicky is ready.
heyward in 2012!
September 29th, 2011
9:30 pm
in 2012, heyward’s bat will explode—he’ll put up 30 HRs easy and the braves O will dominate the division. Mark it down–braves go the playoffs next year!!!
bobby dews
September 29th, 2011
9:50 pm
@rowsdower-
you know you could very well be right-i mean mac is a proven commodity(5 time allstar)…but-the physical breakdowns of the last two years do cause some concern. Why should we assume that just because its a new year he will somehow be stronger(mentally and physically-his defense as you know is poor but his offense was more than making up for it)? Isn’t it fair to think that he broke down the last two years…and it is more likely he will break down again.
To prado-his numbers even if healthy will not be those of a starting outfielder. His bat is light(no hr’s no rbis) and his arm is poor. I’m not high on prado when healthy and again as with mccann what is to suggest that nagging injuries wont be a problem again in 2012.
Heyward is the mystery-he has the physical tools…but appears fragile(im sure everyone remembers his dissapearing act with his ‘hurt’ shoulder). The lack of hustle and awareness is a very real concern with him…and of course he has huge holes in his swing. Will he perform like he did for about 60 games of his rookie season(really well) or will he perform like the rest of his body of work(poorly-can’t hit, frequently injured, benched for diaz of all people).
My guess is that Uggla hits .240 or so and like the rest of the braves will fold/fail whenever the games matter. Counting on a bunch of if’s and maybes is what the braves did in 2011 and what they will once again do in 2012.
Bright spots-bourn and freeman
possible bright spots-mccann(with improved fitness and bounceback year)
dim spots-the rest
Wink
September 29th, 2011
9:59 pm
Hey, finally out of my Braves nightmare.
Fire Fredi…well he did not show much, seems as if Booby was still on the bench. He was loyal to a fault and it cost him. He made the bold move to bench Heyward for Constanza and the Braves had their most potent & consistent run production all season. This was with Chipper & Prado out of the lineup also. Check the stats, once those guys returned the winning pretty much stopped. Granted those were starters along with Heyward who had promise, but they messed up the chemistry big time. Bring in Diaz, and now you have Constanza & Heyward on the bench. Even the Bobby Cox nicknames survived in Fredi’s inaugural season. So I say he brought no identity of his own with him. So if he can’t define what his team should be on his own, then he should not have the job. For the last month, the only voice coming from the Braves was that of Chippy Jones, making brash statements and he nor the team could back them up.
Failure to maintain a 10.5 lead for the wild card, and lose it from Aug 26 thru Sep 28 is unacceptable, that goes to management and decision making ability.
Finally, this season was lost some time ago. Who really believes we could have beaten the Cardinals today after playing past midnight and not scoring one run for 10 straight innings.
Lastly, we did not deserve to be in the playoffs after their poor showing going down the stretch. Personally, I am tired of all the sugar coating that goes on in this town regarding all our sports team. I mean really, if they had made the playoffs today, all would have been forgotten how we got to this point, because we made the playoffs…..by a half game or 6 games. The team played poorly and need to feel what they feel. Instead of it being just Conrad, they all got that feeling today!
Now we have over 369 post bemourning the Braves deserved demise. I suggest all 369 of us go support the Atlanta Dream…they are playing for an WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP…and yes I am going. They are taking part in their 2nd consecutive WNBA final in their 4 year existence.
Since the Nightmare is over…..GO DREAM!!!
Brave Fan
September 29th, 2011
10:10 pm
For me this is what must happen:
Bourn = obviously is safe. Will have a huge year next year b/c he’ll be a free agent.
Prado = is safe. Good 2 hitter and a good player. He had Staph. Wish he would be at 3B rather than OF.
Mac = is safe. One of the best catchers in MLB. Let Ross play more often. Mac plays hard. He seemed to have gotten tired.
Uggla = is safe. He will have a better year b/c he’ll be more relaxed from the start since he has been here a year.
Freeman = is safe. Great defender and solid bat.
Need a right hand hitting left fielder that can put the ball in play here.
Heyward = is safe. Great talent that needs confidence back but that’ll only happen when someone shows they have confidence in him.
Need a SS that can make plays and at least put the ball in play.
Encourage Chipper to retire. Great player thats just too old now.
Keep Ross, Constanza, Diaz.
Release the rest.
Get rid of Lowe, Linebrink. Let the rest compete for spots.
Get rid of Parrish and put Freddi on notice that this is not acceptable again
Most importantly, always, always, always upgrade when possible. This is a game but the goal must be to win. It has to be important and everyone needs to know that if you relax and get complacent you will be gone! Big difference between playing tight and playing complacent. Braves did not look tight to me. They looked sorry this past month.
If there is a club house problem get rid of it!!
Come on Frank. You did well this year. Made some good moves. Keep it up b/c we need a left fielder and a SS.
Lastly, tell Freddi the bullpen rotation thing we did this year needs to be over
Wink
September 29th, 2011
10:13 pm
Now that the NIGHTMARE is over…and they deserved their fate.
Chokeahontas indeed…10 inning to score one run and you crap your pants.
One observation that also may have cost us a run. With Uggla on second and the flair single to right to Pence, check the video on the hit, my man Uggla did not bust it from second base, he kinda jogged and did not kick into another gear until he was half way down third base line…check it out!
Of course, Bourne was safe at third and should have been a 3 run homer by Uggla earlier in the game. 10 innings later still no more runs, so their is enough blame to go around, especially from managerial standpoint.
Time to DREAM…there are over 370 comments on here about the SAD SACK Braves…but it is over and frankly they did not deserve to go to the playoffs. Who really believes they would have beaten the Cardinals today after playing past midnight with a 3:30pm game today…really!
So I say we take it to the court, the WNBA court, and support the…Atlanta Dream!! They are in their 2nd consecutive WNBA FINALS, in only their 4 year of existence. Yes I will be there. Go take your frustration out on the Minnesota Lynx.
The NIGHTMARE is over…LET’S GO DREAM!
Brave Fan
September 29th, 2011
10:17 pm
Ooops, forgot one of the most important things.
Tell the starting pitchers now that they had better be ready to go more than 6 damn innings when we break spring training next year. If they can’t they can go pitch for the Astros or somebody. Its a mindset and ours is to be ahead after 5 or 6 and let our good pen guys kill their careers and our hopes of having a pen in Sept.
Wredi's Resume Writer
September 29th, 2011
10:17 pm
Hope you enjoy the steak dinner Wren & Fredi (Wredi) buy you for the weakest material you’ve put forth in a long time, Mark. Makes you look just as bought off as Fredi when he started Derek Lowe in game 161 – which NOBODY in their right mind would have ever done – and then left him out there to “melt” into a big pile of goo.
You should be ashamed of yourself! Don’t you have a Poser Meter in the office that went all the way to 11 this year watching Fredi “I’ll Make A Jolly Old Saint Nick This Year With My Fatass Self” Gonzalez PRETEND to manage a baseball club?!? Are you friggin BLIND????
There was no way this should have been a lovey-kissy piece…..You should’ve ripped Wredi a new one right here, right now! Kawakami? Derek Lowe? Getting douched by Hunter Pence – who we SHOULD have picked up – on offense & defense? Losing the final 5 games of the year in a playoff race? Stop me when you get the picture…..That Wredi is absolutely CLUELESS in the Front Office as well as the Dugout.
Get used to it. Nothing changes until this dysfunctional Wredi dumbass duo is flushed. More shame to come……Get your season tickets now!!
chuck
September 29th, 2011
10:35 pm
I was fully in support of Fredi until I heard some of his flippant answers and the absurd decision to retain Parrish as our hitting coach. If Fredi can’t make better decisions than to retain Parrish, then he needs to be fired. As for his smarkalec answers, he is in no position to be a smartass.
TheAntiMe
September 29th, 2011
10:45 pm
Starting Derek Lowe in Game No. 161 was a justifiable choice. (You’d start the rookie Julio Teheran instead? Come on.)
I would have started the resident president of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad instead of a pitcher who has been lousy for his 5 previous starts, Mr. Bradley.
iTiSi
September 29th, 2011
10:56 pm
Someone said on another column by JS(no comment section) that the “big” question asked of Fredi G was about pitching to Pence and not putting him on to get to Martinez. FG would not answer the question after the game, but did Thursday morning. I, and probably many others, think there is another question that is even bigger, in fact, IT’s HUGE! What manager, who has a clue as to what he is doing, would bring in Lowe to start a must-win 161st game, and Linebrink in relief with the game on the line, knowing what they had done in their last few games? That has to be the epitome of ineptitude!!!!!
Bourn Brave
September 29th, 2011
11:05 pm
Some how, some way you got to get more explosive on offense. We did not have a pulse for most of this season.
Our collective aproach at the plate was horrible. We’ve got to go to the opposite field more at
the plate and if larry Parish can’t help our guys with that he needs to go.
On Fredi Gonzalez, I think he is just a little too passive a skipper. He’s got to fight a little harder to get the calls like when Bourn gets thrown out (and was obviously safe) on the play at third in the 4th. HUGE run in the game right before the Uggla two-run homer. I think the guys will fight a lot harder for a manager that has their back like guys said about playing for Bobby. Gonzalez made a critical error choosing to pitch to Pence with a struggling Michael Martinez on deck- the guy was hitting like .190 or something for the season.
CHUCK UGA
September 29th, 2011
11:16 pm
Fredi has one more season. No playoffs, no job. The Larry Parrish experiment is a failure. Perfect example is the multi-talented, severely underachieving Justin Heyward. Clearly the Braves organization seems to have a problem with finding someone to achieve the best possible results as a hitting coach. Hopefully having a healthy pitching staff next April will pay dividends, but Frank Wren clearly needs to stop pinching pennies with the relief staff and do something to bolster that group. No more washed up relievers please.
CHUCK UGA
September 29th, 2011
11:18 pm
P.S. This team has probably learned a valuable lesson that should pay dividends later. Making the playoffs in this condition would have yielded a loss at St. Louis anyway. No doubt about that. Plus a guaranteed sweep at the hands of either Milwaukee or Arizona. No doubt about that either.
christophorm
September 29th, 2011
11:31 pm
If your a braves fan like me from the 70s ,then you knew with linebrink in the game, with the season on the line it was over.You have to pitch your best there no matter what.most of these guys are not big time players but hopefuls and the big timers show up like uggla and bourne, the rest trade for pitching.
pop
September 29th, 2011
11:37 pm
fire the hitting coach listen gm fire the hitting coach he is stupid
Ghost of '82 Braves
September 30th, 2011
12:00 am
What it comes down to, Braves don’t really care about competing in Sept or Oct. They are all CASHING in ,patting themselves on the back. Manuel showed the Great Fredi how to use your pitchers, by committee. Lowe did not deserve to pitch a playoff type game. Why is that everyone can see that Mark Redman was washed up in a Braves uniform but give DLOWE the benefit of doubt? There are so many ways a smart manager would have gotten this team to compete like the Rays did but you will never see it from this coaching staff. By the way how many times did FrediG get thrown out of ballgames having his players’ backs?
Ghost of '82 Braves
September 30th, 2011
12:02 am
Frank Wren did not do his job when gave away the teams’ budget to DLOWE and KK.
Ghost of '82 Braves
September 30th, 2011
12:06 am
Marlins sweep Braves next year or Guillen gets thrown out of half of those games
Ghost of '82 Braves
September 30th, 2011
12:14 am
Atlanta is too soft, saying everyone did their job in management, while in Boston they are calling for Red Sox management heads
choozer
September 30th, 2011
12:18 am
Even if JJ and Tommy had not been out hurt, 3.1 runs per game most likely would’ve produced the same result.
Alex
September 30th, 2011
12:24 am
I agree with you 100% about Larry Parrish. The Braves were much better at working pitchers into deeper counts and getting on base. They were 5th in the National League in 2010 in runs scored largely because they were first in on base percentage as you mentioned. I attribute that largely to Terry Pendelton’s approach as a hitting coach. The best examples of this were the struggles of Jason Heyward and Martin Prado. Both guys were patient and effective hitters in 2010 but were the opposite this year. Young players need a good hitting coach there to help them keep their swing and approach right. I thought it was real strange when Fredi kept Roger McDowell as the pitching coach but demoted Terry Pendleton in favor of Larry Parish. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it as the old saying goes. Well, this year the Braves offense is broke and needs some serious fixing. Hopefully Fredi and the Braves brass will wake up and make a change.
Mister Frisky
September 30th, 2011
1:18 am
Schultz right Bradley wrong.And if Wren stands pat with this roster the Braves will be fighting the Mets for 4th place.
Cleanuphitter16
September 30th, 2011
1:21 am
Fredi needs to learn the same lesson I learned after being promoted to management AND getting married…show some FIRE occasionally. It is not in my God-given personality tool-kit either, but it can be learned. Fredi, from everything I watched all season, has not learned that leadership trait. Bobby had it in spades, but Fredi tips his cap, sits in the dugout and keeps his trap shut when he should be leading. Heck, even if the whole team is lost and you have no idea what to do, you still need a leader. I never saw that from Fredi all year watching games and watching how he didn’t confront umpires, didn’t address pitchers on the mound and now refuses to confront the failures of his coaching staff and team.
Old Violin
September 30th, 2011
3:46 am
Sitting here reading some of these blogs, the day after ! So many opinions, and suggestions, and many of them are right on the money…..The braves need a makeover ! They need someone to come in and take control of the team. They need to stay off the golf course during baseball season and concentrate on hitting a baseball. Ponder this ! Since the braves farm club is right up the road, what’s wrong with bringing these guys down to pitch batting practice….I don’t mean tossing the ball ! I mean someone who can throw the same kind of pitches that the scheduled pitcher will throw to them in the game that night ! Any thoughts on that ?
SEEN IT ALL BEFORE
September 30th, 2011
5:09 am
HEY MARK! JUST A THOUGHT! WHY DON’T WE NAME CHIPPER JONES AS BATTING COACH AND HE CAN STILL PLAY.
SEVERAL PLAYERS COME TO HIM FOR HITTING TIPS ANYWAY.
Carpetbagger
September 30th, 2011
5:48 am
Fire Fredi? NOPE FIRE Terry MCJERK the architect of this disaster and mediocrity!
poolcue
September 30th, 2011
6:00 am
IT FEELS NO BETTER THIS MORNING. PEOPLE ALREADY LETTING UP ON ON THE REASON OUR TEAM LOSS THIS MONTH. CHIPPER STEPPED IN AND TIRED TO DO THE MANGERS JOB BECAUSE HE KNEW WE DID NOT ONE . WHAT A JOKE . FIRE FG. HE IS IN WAY OVER HIS HEAD.
Little Bobby
September 30th, 2011
6:26 am
come on you fair weather fans. it is no time to panic. i cant think of a better team to be with or to start the season with than this team. d lowe will bounce back. just had a lot of bad luck this year. our long relievers will be ready to go 6 innings next year. our short relievers who go every day will be rested. our hitters had a lot of bad luck this year. we saw the ball good just couldnt get it in the right place. everything is looking rosey. and one other thing. tonights game is just another game in a long season. ohhhh i almost forgot, we are not playing. i guess we will be fighting for 3rd place in the division now that florida hired a manger with some fire and doesnt pat players that need a kick, doesnt make excuses for players that need a chewing, doesnt keep playing players not getting their job done instead of sitting them and challenging them to step up. another year we will be stuck with freddi leo cox.
dcb
September 30th, 2011
6:33 am
Come on Monday morning quarterbacks – give it a rest. I don’t agree with all the calls Fredi made this year for sure. But from my vantage point with the problems Heyward had all year, and McCann had after his return from the disabled list, the Braves did a fantastic job to get in the position that they even had a chance for a playoff spot entering September. And as for pitching, that wasn’t their problem – even in September. It was the lack of runs. So let Wren do his stuff this winter. Let’s see what Fredi and his staff can do with the material they have next year. And then let’s see where we are. A revolving door manager situation will help nothing. Reincarnating Fredi’s fabled predecessor will not either. Let’s shift our attention to the Falcons and get on with it.
papadawg
September 30th, 2011
6:37 am
With the low payroll the Braves are right where they’re going to be from now on
Packer Ed
September 30th, 2011
7:37 am
Can one imagine how many world championships banners would be hanging at Turner Field if Jerry Jones or Geroge Steinbrenner would have been the owner?
Do you think either of the two would bring back the coaching staff next year in tact if they were in charge?
It is just simply non sense. Braves will never win, they accept and reward mediocrity.
TERRY PENDLETON
September 30th, 2011
7:53 am
they ran glenn hubbard off because they knew he was man for job, but lets bring in man who marlins ran out of town..