Parrish the thought: Braves change minds, can hitting coach
Larry Parrish, seen in his one and only spring training with the Braves. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
It made no sense that Fredi Gonzalez would announce, barely 12 hours after the worst collapse in National League history was complete, that his entire coaching staff would return. It made no sense that such a flop wouldn’t spawn at least some measure of re-evaluation.
Today the Braves started making sense. They fired hitting coach Larry Parrish. We can only assume Frank Wren saw what everybody else except Fredi G. saw — that the hitting had been substandard all season.
To reiterate: This should not have been a bad-hitting team. This wasn’t a lineup built around the fanciful notion that Troy Glaus might revert to 2002 form. (Although Troy Glaus did, in May 2010, revert to 2002 form.) The lineup the Braves trotted out after the trading deadline was comprised of seven guys who have made an All-Star roster and the league’s best-hitting rookie. Wren stitched together a fine everyday eight.
But they didn’t hit. Or, more precisely, they hit home runs and nothing else. They were third among NL teams in homers, third-worst in on-base percentage. You can manage that without a batting coach.
The Braves hit .235 in September, a time when more hitting was needed to back up a rotation overrun by rookies. They scored seven runs in their final five games. Had they won even one of those final five, they’d have gotten to play a 163rd game in St. Louis on Thursday. The Braves led 3-1 after three innings of Game No. 162 — and worked 10 more innings without a run.
To retain Parrish would have been the height of folly. The man had never been a big-league batting coach and spent the summer proving he wasn’t one. Who among the Braves seemed to hit better under Parrish than under the hugely chastised (and subsequently reassigned) Terry Pendleton? Brian McCann stopped being as patient. Martin Prado got lost. Jason Heyward got so confused he wound up getting benched.
A hitting coach cannot actually hit for his men, but he can instill an approach. Parrish’s approach seemed to be: Swing hard in case you hit something. (The Braves had the fourth-most strikeouts among NL clubs.) This team entered September with baseball’s fourth-best record because it had hit just enough homers to buttress a stellar rotation and a lockdown bullpen, but two starting pitchers were lost and the bullpen began to buckle from the strain, and when that happened the Braves had nothing.
The Braves hit .243 as a team. The average National League player hit .253. Think about that. Think about a lineup of Uggla and Chipper and McCann and Heyward and Prado and Freeman and finally Bourn falling so far below average … and then deciding the batting coach had earned his keep.
Parrish is a nice enough man who surely knows his baseball, but the men under his tutelage performed so far short of expectations and abilities that he could not possibly have kept his job. Simply to retain credibility as an organization, the Braves had to make this move.
By Mark Bradley
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254 comments Add your comment
BosnianBaller
September 30th, 2011
5:58 pm
Fredi Gonzalez on Parrish: “Tip your hat to Larry he did a helluva job here,but we couldn’t get it done.I look forward to coaching with him in Houston in a few years
cloudy
September 30th, 2011
5:59 pm
Someone made a comment about playing for home runs. Bobby Cox made a living managing here with a great pitching staff and playing for the three run homer. He did not know how to manufacture runs. We very seldom hit to right other than the years when we had Bob Watson as a hitting coach(my recollection. When you get to the playoffs everyone has a great pitching staff and now you have to manage and hit to win it all. The Braves could not punch that ticket under Cox save for the one year.
George Stein
September 30th, 2011
6:01 pm
I hope he was not terminated because of poor situational hitting. The idea that a player does better or worse because of a situation is a horrible way of analyzing the performance of either or a hitter or a hitting coach.
rally
September 30th, 2011
6:01 pm
Francona with 2 WS titles. Hey that’s 1 more than the legendary #6.
George Stein
September 30th, 2011
6:03 pm
Eh, mostly winning in the playoffs is having strong power pitchers and a whole lotta luck.
Mark Bradley
September 30th, 2011
6:07 pm
Speaking of the playoffs: Texas, which a lot of people think can win the World Series, is trailing Tampa Bay by six runs as we speak.
RJ Vorhees
September 30th, 2011
6:10 pm
@Mark Bradley, Do you think the Braves will entertain the idea of firing Gonzalez and hiring Francona?
eastbound and down
September 30th, 2011
6:15 pm
this shows how clueless Fredi is. he can say all day who is coming and who isn’t but it isn’t his call. what a knucklehead..
JeanE
September 30th, 2011
6:15 pm
Frank Wren realized what Fredi apparently couldn’t or wouldn’t, something had to change with the hitting coach, good for Frank! I wish Don Baylor was available but Chipper would make an awesome hitting coach when he retires.
RJ Vorhees
September 30th, 2011
6:16 pm
Enter your comments here
quinntheeskimo
September 30th, 2011
6:16 pm
Anyone know what the buyout is on Lowe’s contract, are they on the hook for the full 15M?
RJ Vorhees
September 30th, 2011
6:18 pm
Fredi Gonzalez is a terrible manager.
Princess Winnalotta
September 30th, 2011
6:18 pm
Bring back teepee. Hit come.
BaseballBuff
September 30th, 2011
6:19 pm
The outrage and shakeup in Boston make made Braves management realize it couldn’t just sit back on its haunches and do nothing. The Bostonians want blood, and rightfully so. They care. They want championships. If in the face of catastrophic failure, heads should roll, coaches and players alike. There must be accountability. To continue in the right direction, the Braves have hopefully made the decision to dump Derek Lowe. Try to deal him, to get someone else to help pay his salary. If nobody bites, then simply give him his walking papers and eat his contract.
JeanE
September 30th, 2011
6:20 pm
Hey Rafaell,
Why don’t you take a chill pill before your stroke out. Matty was just trying to be funny, like DOB said, laugh so you don’t cry. No need to go all crazy, Matty is a true Brave in the best sense of the word, hustles with everything he’s got. Braves don’t need nutjob fans like you.
jo1vila
September 30th, 2011
6:21 pm
I say lets trade fredi while the market is hot .throw in lowe for say a bag of balls and a bat with some hits in it!
Blue Fox
September 30th, 2011
6:23 pm
The only thing Parrish accomplished was turning Jason Heyward into Jeff Francour.
Mark (another one)
September 30th, 2011
6:25 pm
I’m looking forward to some end of season wrap up articles where we get to hear ideas of what gets done with KK’s and McLouth’s salaries. Who else is leaving? Are the Braves comfortable with their current outfield or are they looking for more production and who are the possibilities. If they swap someone for Prado, where does he go? What are they thinking about at SS next year and 3rd in 2013?
How about the pitching staff. Hanson has to be a question mark. Lowe has shown he’s about out of gas. Is Medlen going to the pen or rotation? Will pitching get better by having better run production from the regular lineup? Its going to be a cold winter. Fire up the stove!
Larry
September 30th, 2011
6:29 pm
Tito Francona is a prefect 8-0 in two world series sweeps.
Thunk about that again…two world series sweeps with all the pressure and playing in opponent’s parks and never lost a single game! Now compare this to Bobby Cox’s last 8 world series games.
Wren, what on earth could you be waiting for?
jo1vila
September 30th, 2011
6:32 pm
can we trade fredi while the market is hot and throw in lowe…,for a bag of balls and a bat with some hits in it!
Jo-Bu
September 30th, 2011
6:36 pm
Sure would be nice to see Francona in a Braves uni. I just don’t think Wren would fire Fredi after his first season. But hey, you never know with him.
Dawgdad (The Original)
September 30th, 2011
6:37 pm
If Julio Franco is available, hire him, if not hire Sonny Clusters, as hitting coach. Since 1966, the only hitting coach who actually improved the hitting was Don Baylor. Fredi is in over his head and Wren helping him is not working.
After Wren overruled him on Parrish, it is now clear to me, that it was Wren who insisted we put the light hitting Jason May Would back in right field, when the team was on a roll. I think that was the beginning of the decline. A guy doing the job sent to the bench for a fading prospect had to effect morale.
Ex-Brave fan
September 30th, 2011
6:40 pm
Every team goes through slumps and injuries. As long as FatFreddie is running the show, the Braves will continue to decline. Soupy Sales or PeeWee Herman would do a better job!
azbrave
September 30th, 2011
6:46 pm
Frank, while you’re at it, FIRE the entire coaching staff. We need new blood to for offensive woes, be aggressive on the bases, and develop all our good young arms…….
NickGranite
September 30th, 2011
6:49 pm
If Fredi G. didn’t change the hitting philosophy then he tacitly approved. You can delegate authority, you can’t delegate responsibility. Frank Wren has very publicly undermined his manager. This tells the team that Fredi no longer has the clout to back them if they are in a jam. If I were Fredi, I would seriously consider resigning.
rally
September 30th, 2011
7:01 pm
On Lowe’s contract: according to COTs Baseball Contracts site, there is no buyout so we are stuck with the entire $15 million.
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html
Landshark
September 30th, 2011
7:06 pm
Hey Loudmouth Leo (Mazzone)..Wren was quoted as saying: “it’s hard to imagine Lowe in the starting rotation next season.” Still want to defend him?
Boyz From N. Ave.
September 30th, 2011
7:06 pm
So….who actually fired Parrish, Feddi G. or Wren?
Boyz From N. Ave.
September 30th, 2011
7:11 pm
Francona is going to the ChiSox…..we should promote Terry Pendelton, a player who did more with little talent than most of the silver spoon players these days. I know the Braves would hustle under him!
MD
September 30th, 2011
7:17 pm
Ok, my prescription … or proposal as hitting coach:
1. actually work on bunting – all players – and be proficient at it
2. learn to go the other way on off-speed and outside pitches
3. cut down their swing and put the ball in play with two strikes
4. practice situational hitting
The stats back up that this team was among the worst in the majors at each of the above.
That is not technical swing mumbo jumbo, that is getting an attitude and having a mental game plan – and then practicing it. Not merely having home run derby in BP.
Hillbilly D
September 30th, 2011
7:18 pm
Sounds like this move was made by Wren and not by Fredi. Doesn’t bode well for future relations between the two.
Mike
September 30th, 2011
7:19 pm
This is a relief. Hitting coach had to go. There is no doubt, and Pendleton isnt the answer either. His team didnt hit much better the year before. They need to bring in some new blood…experienced MLB coaching blood. The staff needs help next year. I honestly dont think of this as a collapse. This wasn’t a high dollar team clicking on all cylinders that just packed it in (see Red Sox). As you mentioned, Mark, this was a team that didnt do much of anything all year at the plate and got bailed out by the pitching staff which was best in baseball for the first 4 months. Without that, they are lucky to end with a .500 record.
Ted M
September 30th, 2011
7:21 pm
OMG – This is another indictment on Fredi’s stupidity. Fredi doesn’t have a clue, he made all the wrong moves and wanting to keep Parrish was another one. I’m sure Wren overrode him and fired Parrish.
Maybe after one more year Wren is gonna realize Fredi is not the guy.
Scott from Fairburn
September 30th, 2011
7:24 pm
I tip my cap to Frank Wren
O'Brien
September 30th, 2011
7:36 pm
Mark,
We complain about liberty media, but how does Joe madon, playing in the AL East, with half the braves payroll, lead his team to the playoffs almost every year the last 5 years?
What is the braves doing wrong?
O'Brien
September 30th, 2011
7:38 pm
Najeh,
The Hawks are an elite team. Stop complaining
iTiSi
September 30th, 2011
7:40 pm
Wow, yeh, that makes about as much sense as the season and last game did. MB, you are hopeless! That flop and the last game especially was a total team effort to fail, and fail miserably. If the hitting coach getting fired makes sense, then why not the pitching coach. Then why not the head coach, who just happens to be THE MANAGER! Yep, that really makes a lot of sense. Common sense and logic doth not prevaileth PERIOD! The Braves office staff and announcers think the crowds were bad at the end of the year, just wait until the start of next year. It will rival Florida’s crowds.
O'Brien
September 30th, 2011
7:42 pm
Mark,
What does it say about Fredi when the whole world thought Parrish should be fired, but the morning after Fredi endorsed him, only for Wren to step in.
Doesn’t that show how faulty Fredi’s decision making is?
iTiSi
September 30th, 2011
7:43 pm
Oh, almost forgot. Just heard a rumor that Pres. BO wants to dump Biden, since he can’t keep his mouth shut, and pick up a Vice-President for 2012 who fits in better with him. Heard he is considering FG since neither one have the slightest idea what they are doing. I agree!
Disco Pup
September 30th, 2011
7:49 pm
Pay whatever it takes to get Don Baylor in here as our hitting coach. He turned a bunch of utility guys into a hitting machine at Arizona.
Sonny Clusters
September 30th, 2011
7:54 pm
GT Alum, calling us names when we disagree on the relative merits of uh, Chipper Jones may make you the low class one, not us. Sticks and stones may break our bones but Chipper won’t get another ring. Hasn’t in how many years? We was almost going to Clemson when GT called us and offered us 4 seats, 4 hot dogs, and 4 cokes to play there.
Sonny Clusters
September 30th, 2011
7:58 pm
Julio Franco was smart and he was one of the few who hit behind the runner no matter what BobbyBall called for him to do. A younger Julio would have been much preferred to uh, Chipper Jones the other night with runners on base. When we was a little baby learning to hit behind the runner we found out it could win some ballgames. Seems like it won one Wednesday night. the Braves talk gibberish. The tradition is not one of which to be proud. It is a tradition of losing with the best talent. It is a tradition of not being able to get a runner in when the game is on the line. It is a tradition of seeing the other team celebrate on our field. Chipper is a big part of that and we won’t give him a pass. A huntin’ we will go . . .
Princess Winnalotta
September 30th, 2011
7:58 pm
Hire Albert Hall now!
Sonny Clusters
September 30th, 2011
8:04 pm
Frank Wren, are you reading this? We was always a fan. We was wondering if maybe you could hire somebody (since Fredi doesn’t decide anymore who his coaches are) that can teach these players to bunt, hit behind the runner, run the bases with authority, hit the cutoff man, and play some abc ball. We was wondering if maybe you’d need to go outside the organization because the current coaches and players are imbued with BobbyBall and that has left them at the altar so many, many times. We hesitate to talk Einstein on here but one of the things he suggested was that if you do the same thing over and over you’re going to get the same results. The Braves have proved that true and it is not good enough to win a championship. Proven. Certified. Guaranteed. Fredi may not make it through the off season; should a better manager come available the fans deserve a change and this city and its fans deserve a better chance at winning a World Series. We was thinking our friend Stinky Wintes.
msucurt
September 30th, 2011
8:10 pm
Well said Mark. I agree 100%.
G
September 30th, 2011
8:14 pm
My gosh this team has inept leadership. Who is on charge? I hope someone dressed Conzalez down for being stupid and acting like there were no problems…
realist
September 30th, 2011
8:15 pm
Francona, with 2 world series titles, is twice as good as the immortal Bobby Cox. How can you get a better manager than that?
markmjtx
September 30th, 2011
8:16 pm
Fans, bloggers, Bradley & Schultz should read Teddy Roosevelt’s speech ‘In The Arena’.
Sonny Clusters
September 30th, 2011
8:19 pm
Chino Cadahia. The missing link. Not that missing link but the missing link for this team. On second thought, could be the real missing link but out of shape. When we was playing ball one time Coach said, “Everybody into the gym. We’re going to watch a movie.” Our principal heard that and said to Coach, “Stay out of the gym, Coach, if you value your job.” Everybody heard that and Coach turned red and dropped his chin on his chest and shuffled off the field a lot like Fredi must have when Wren told him he was going to have to fire Parrish right after he assured him his job a day earlier. Somebody has to be in charge and it wasn’t Coach and it isn’t Fredi. Being a new manager with an “epic collapse” team may mean a short career for Fredi. Not being able to name his own coaches is Richt-ish. That is not good.
Hillbilly D
September 30th, 2011
8:21 pm
markmjtx
That is actually some pretty good reading.