More from Wren the GM: On Fredi, the bullpen and the Phillies
Frank Wren likes what the guy he hired to replace Bobby Cox did in Year 1. (AP photo)
For your listening enjoyment, here’s a bit more from this week’s conversation with Braves general manager Frank Wren. (Other snippets of the Wren Zen can be found here.)
On the the epic collapse of 2011: “We have to learn from it and grow from it.”
On starting pitchers Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, whose injuries helped undo the 2011 season: “[Tommy] feels great. We feel very good about where he is. Jair was ready to pitch a week after the season was over. And Tim Hudson [who underwent offseason back surgery] should be ready or close to ready by the end of spring training. He says he feels better than he has in two or three years.”
On whether or not a major personnel move will be warranted: “I think we’ll have more answers at the end of spring training. If everyone bounces back, then we’ve got a good ballclub that doesn’t have a major need. I’d rather be in that position [than having to fill a specific void] because when the season starts another need can come up.”
On how it was to watch St. Louis, which finished a game ahead of the Braves, win the World Series: “We felt like we matched up very well with the Cardinals, but they seized their opportunity to the max.”
On the excruciating final night of the 2011 regular season: “Once [the Phillies] tied the game in the ninth and it went into extra innings — and we’d been watching the Cardinals win their blowout — the reality was that we knew we had to win. [The Braves lost in 13 innings and were eliminated.] That was a very empty feeling. It was a tough clubhouse that night.”
On Fredi Gonzalez in Year 1 as Braves manager: “It’s a tough situation following a legend [in Bobby Cox], but I thought Fredi did a terrific job in setting the right tone. We had a tough month [meaning September], but it wasn’t for lack of trying. This year I think Fredi will be more relaxed and more himself, and that bodes well.”
On the notion that Gonzalez overtaxed his bullpen early in the season: “We played so many extra-inning games and so many close games, and that was largely a function of our offense. It’s a tough thing [regarding the use of relievers]: You’re trying to win every game you play. I think Roger [McDowell, the pitching coach] and Fredi made a conscious effort to try to rest guys the second half of the season.”
On this year’s relief corps: “We’ll have an even deeper bullpen, and our back three [Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty] is as good as anybody’s.”
On the impulse, especially after an epic collapse, to make a big move just for the appearance of motion: “You have to fight that urge. We took a realistic look at our club. We had opportunities where we could have made deals if we wanted to make deals for the sake of making deals.”
On the Phillies: “They’ve got a big hole in their lineup. [Ryan Howard ruptured his Achilles on the final play of Philadelphia's season and will miss a few months.] But they’ve got a good ballclub and they play the game the right way — they’re going to be there.”
By Mark Bradley
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284 comments Add your comment
Mister Frisky
January 20th, 2012
11:27 am
Wren is a mindless tool.I usually end each of my comments with 4th place.But after hearing the spew that comes form this guys hole every interview.I’m going with 5th place.Go Mets.
ChopAttack
January 20th, 2012
11:27 am
Apparently all one has to do to improve a team is sign free agents.
SR
January 20th, 2012
11:31 am
Good Lord, it’s through the looking glass here. There can be no debate that Wren has done absolutely NOTHING to patch the holes in this bunch. It is all, wish, hope and pray and thus he is doomed to fail again. Watch as he proclaims that we are loaded with pitching talent and then gasp in amazement when once again, Jurjjens and Hanson go on the DL. Be absolutely stunned when Chipper Jones misses 30-40 games with various pulls, strains and headaches. Scratch your head in wonderment as Martin Prado tries to pull a pitch outside the zone and rolls over it into a DP. Amaze your friends as Matt Diaz fans again on a heater up around his eyes and strands runners. Express shock that a Pastornicky without an AB hits .175 and starts pressing at the plate. Watch and ponder how Venters can be unhittable for most of the year and then as he is running on fumes in September cannot get anybody out. Yes, step up and see another uneventful summer for Frank Wren and his traveling circus act. No thanks.
IHEARTCARROLL
January 20th, 2012
11:33 am
I would love to hear from starting pitchers how much they feel that lack of offence affects how deep into a game they go. Not just because the game is in jeopardy and managers have them on a short leash, but how the extra strain of always pitching in tight games wears on them mentally and physically.
don
January 20th, 2012
11:38 am
When one takes a look at the picture of Wren and Gonzalez and realizes that they run the show, it is impossible to be optimistic.
Boston Braves
January 20th, 2012
11:39 am
The biggest player for the Braves in 2012 is named IF
IF Chipper, Tommy Hanson, and JJ can stay healthy
IF Martin, Brian and Jason can bounce back
IF the young kids (freddie,craig, etc) can keep it going forward.
Lots riding on that player named IF
George Stein
January 20th, 2012
11:39 am
Right, Chop! I think we should have signed CC Sabathia after he opted out of his contract, signed Yu Darvish, & CJ Wilson for our rotation. Then, for the bullpen, we should have gotten Papelbon, Heath Bell, and Ryan Madson. Then, for the lineup, we should have gotten Pujols, Reyes, and Prince Fielder. Sounds easy enough.
ExBraves Fan
January 20th, 2012
11:42 am
If Hudson (back), JJ (knee), and Hanson (shoulder) do not bounce back or have break downs, this team is done. They are HOPING that 3/5ths of their starters are healthy otherwise a bunch of 21 year old rookies have to carry the load. That ain’t happening. They also are hoping a 40 year old damaged 3B can play 125 games and hit .270 with 20 HRs; hoping a rookie untested SS can play and his back up is nothing; hope that the LF bounces back or was 2 seasons ago really a surprise not to be repeated; hope Ugly can hit better than .175 for 2/3ds of the season. And hope that the catcher can come back and play decently. A LOT of IFs in this line up. A LOT LOT LOT of IFs.
Fish Bisch
January 20th, 2012
11:44 am
braves are done stick a fork in them.
The marlins and nationals will have a better record than the Braves in 2012.
Mister Frisky
January 20th, 2012
11:49 am
A rotation that can’t get out of the 6th even when healthy.And a line up with no legitimate 3 hitter.5th place.
Walker, Texas Ranger
January 20th, 2012
11:59 am
The Braves better start worring about the rest of the division. The Marlins are buying anybody they can and I believe the Nationals will be Fielder to their lineup. If they do, I believe they could be a front runner this year.
Ervin Waller
January 20th, 2012
12:01 pm
So for those of you who want to stand pat ..where is that additional budget that Wren said we had in October,,it seems to me that D.Lowe,A.Gonzalez,and others were made out to be scapegoats for Freddi G.’s managerial shortcomings…for the fact that he couldn’t motivate a T-ball team much less our beloved Braves.I have been fan for 50 years and have stuck with the team thru thick and thin…but i believe that you have to passion from the manager…didn’t see that in Freddi G. at all.
BravesfaninWis
January 20th, 2012
12:04 pm
I know he is the GM, but why interview this bafoon? We all know what he is going to say every single time he opens his mouth. Part of me wants the Braves to have a horrible season just so Wren and company can lose their jobs. This team is hardly a solid ballclub. They have the chance to be, but way to many questions marks to think they will all come together. We shall see.
Walker, Texas Ranger
January 20th, 2012
12:05 pm
The Braves are set to make a push in 2 years. In the mean time, they need to blow this thing up. That means get rid of Martin, Chipper, Hudson, Jurgens, Uggla and I hate to say it but our beloved catcher. Get what you can and build for 2014. Build around the young pitchers, and bullpen.
Klaus
January 20th, 2012
12:14 pm
Funny Wren says they had lots of close or extra inning games early in the season due to the offense re: over using the pen. Yet out of the other side of his mouth he said we had one bad month in September and so I like this team.
So which is it Frank? Did the offense underperform all year or did it just under perform in September?
Hint: It was both.
September was just so obviously bad a blind man would have seen it. All season the offense never clicked and it was not about injuries until June. Starters fresh from an offseason of rest & training were only pitching to the 5-6 innings at best from day 1.
Wren should learned from JS and say nothing b/c his double talk ranges from sadly naive to insulting people’s intelligence.
Put this team in NY or Boston – FG and Wren are fired long ago and we have 40% new personnel on the field and maybe Eddie Perez is still here as a coach.
Somewhere between that drama and the glacial, millennium at a glance strategy in ATL is the right answer.
It may not be Liberty’s lack of financial support that is holding this team back but its willingness to support the mgt team in ATL.
Before they throw more cash at this franchise do something that is nearly free (on a relative basis) fire some suits and get some new baseball people in ATL.
Old Dog
January 20th, 2012
12:14 pm
Same old crap from Wren.
On collapse: “We have to learn from it and grow from it.” Well, sitting there, doing nothing, is not learning OR growing from it.
. ” If everyone bounces back, then we’ve got a good ballclub that doesn’t have a major need.” The big IF again.
Half truths and innuendos. It’s all BS. Something to pacify the fans.
Mister Frisky
January 20th, 2012
12:21 pm
Texes Ranger is spot on.Wren needs to push out 5 or 6 of the turds in the line up now.Let’s start makin room for Joey Terd and the boys.
Mister Frisky
January 20th, 2012
12:28 pm
Wren out Klaus in.
Ted M
January 20th, 2012
12:29 pm
I don’t think there was a good deal available for Wren to make, so standing pat was probably the best thing to do.
However, I believe the Braves will finish in 3rd place and out of the playoffs.
Yurtle_the_Turtle
January 20th, 2012
12:29 pm
why do we have such articles or interviews? Is anything really said to the reporters or fans? Wren is a waste of time. This is why I appreciate Ozzie Guillen of the Marlins. He may be nuts at times but at least he is candid…not canned like Wren.
DetroitBraves
January 20th, 2012
12:30 pm
For all this talk about Fredi not having enough passion, or not inspiring the team that’s not the issue. I’m not saying it’s not true. It’s just not easily measurable so I don’t know, and neither does anyone else. But what I do know is that he has trouble with concepts such as OBP (or, in other words, not making outs), managing a bullpen, identifying high leverage situations (having Venters pitch in a blowout/having Alex Gonzalez hit for himself in a close and late situation against an ace right-handed reliever), understanding win expectancy, and the inherent randomness of baseball in small samples. This may have worked in 1985 but in 2012 most of baseball has passed the Braves by. But I agree with George Stein that many of these are an organizational issue, not limited to Fredi. And therein lies the bigger problem.
B-Fan
January 20th, 2012
12:33 pm
Mister Frisky January 20th, 2012 11:27 am
Wren is a mindless tool.I usually end each of my comments with 4th place.But after hearing the spew that comes form this guys hole every interview.
Mister Frisky: Are you Frank Wren?
ed simmons
January 20th, 2012
12:38 pm
Just sent Liberty a not asking them to sell. Here comment link,
http://ir.libertymedia.com//contactus.cfm
Lonnie Smith
January 20th, 2012
12:41 pm
“We played so many extra-inning games and so many close games, and that was largely a function of our offense…”
Yeah so the best thing to do is just go into the next season by downgrading your offense(rookie SS) and just hope everybody will bounce back and there will be no injuries. Sounds like a good plan…
The only reason the Braves were good the first half was b/c of pitching. This year we have our top 3 pitchers come of injuries going into the season. I wish there was reason for optimism but i just don’t see it…
Sweet Old Buck
January 20th, 2012
12:46 pm
Wake up, Frank! The world is real, but your thoughts and notions aren’t
Gerhulk
January 20th, 2012
12:47 pm
Geez….Everyone relax. Yea we had an epic collapse at the end of last season. We also didn’t really have a very good offensive season at all. Our pitdhers got burnt out or injured at the end of last year. Everyone just needs to chill. Our offense will bounce back. Uggla doesn’t have a history of starting off like that and we’ll see about Heyward. As far as SS position goes who the hell cares that we lost Alex Gonzalez. He wasn’t very good folks. Yea he could play some D, but he was very underwhelming on the offensive side of the ball. Pastornickey will be a solid SS. Mark mty words. He will contribute more to this team than Alex ever did. 2012 = Bravos bounce back year and the end to all you bitchy whiners!!
Thadsdad
January 20th, 2012
12:57 pm
Mr. Wren said it himself – the bullpen was overworked because the offense underperformed.
So doesn’t it make sense for the GM to made an effort to improve that offense?
And doesn’t it make sense for that improvement to be made from a position of strength – namely, deals involving the team’s extremely deep collection of arms?
Instead, it appears the team is not so certain about the ability of JJ and Hanson to get through the season without injury and is stockpiling starters just in case they’re needed.
With the perceived position of strength no longer a strength, there’s nothing to do but hope the offense improves by itself.
After last season’s debacle, I don’t know if I want the prospects for this year to be hanging on hope.
TB
January 20th, 2012
12:58 pm
Look, people, we got a big right-handed bat in Uggla last year & he was a disappointment on his average. But he came through on homeruns. I think there should be a name for all these great players who get a big contract & suddenly get the jitters. Jason Werth & Carl Crawford had terrible years after getting the big money. Pujols will break the norm if he puts up a great year with the Angels. The main reason the Braves were so successful in the nineties was none of the starting pitchers ever went on injured reserve & they rarely missed a start. Maybe last year was just Karma coming around & biting us for all the seasons the Braves were injury free.
George Stein
January 20th, 2012
1:00 pm
I can’t imagine Pastornicky will be an offensive downgrade from Alex Gonzalez, Lonnie.
Robert
January 20th, 2012
1:03 pm
“Just saying that Freddi could do nothing in Florida and then comes to Our Braves and if you watched him the last month of the season..he had no ideal how to stop the bleeding”
Fredi couldnt stop the bleeding. That’s still better than having Cox, who caused the bleeding
TB
January 20th, 2012
1:07 pm
Interesting fact–the 1995 Braves team had a collective 168 HRs, 618 RBIs & a .250 BA. The 2011 club had 173 HRs, 606 RBIs & a .243 BA. The big differance was in OBP< SGG & OPS.
bulldogbubba
January 20th, 2012
1:11 pm
When does Camp Roger start?
JRowell
January 20th, 2012
1:16 pm
So, the Braves don’t need a trade. Sounds like posturing. Expect a trade soon. The Braves need a corner outfielder with that can hit. Prado is an infielder and will likely need to play 50 or 60 games a third base this year.
what was the point of the letter?
January 20th, 2012
1:26 pm
Then why the hell did they send out that letter after the season saying that wasn’t acceptable and changes would be made?
Nativebird
January 20th, 2012
1:35 pm
Once again, another season with no sense of urgency at the top of the house to ensure a world series run for these fans. ho hum, another season, another year of placating those Braves fans with the old excuse “hey it’s not as bad as was in the eighties”!. Must be nice to be fat and sassy sitting back in those nice Cush offices pulling down big money each year putting mediocre baseball out on the field.
heartofdarkness
January 20th, 2012
1:36 pm
What is the GM’s projection of team .OBP and .OPS for the upcoming year?
Trojan
January 20th, 2012
1:37 pm
I would consider letting Pastornicki start at AAA to get a few abats and get to mid season form before promoting him.
Wilson or Hicks could hit in the 8th spot until he comes up. I want Pastornicki to not be rushed in order to ensure that he has a good transition to the majors. I hope he develops into a very good player for the Braves.
Arkie
January 20th, 2012
1:58 pm
Same old BS – Maybe, If’s, Could Have’s, Might Have’s,Should Have’s. If you do not get another big bat – kiss 2012 BYE. Pitching is in the maybe’s. You have to score rus to win. We have too many question marks to do nothing. Wren as long as you sit and draw your fat salary, why should fans matter. OUR Braves are looking flat AGAIN.
Lobosolo
January 20th, 2012
2:01 pm
So, George Stein joins phil, alexis, mitchell and a host of other wannabe baseball managers in spouting off as experts on a game the know so little about… Still time, armchairs… LEARN ABOUT THE GAME BEFORE YOU SO INCESSANTLY CRY EVERY DAY NEXT YEAR…
Sparky
January 20th, 2012
2:09 pm
Essentially we have done nothing to improve the club. We are hoping and wishing guys bounce back. Yes we have a good club, but good doesn’t get it. Wrenn has done little to add to our club in 2 yrs.
backwoods
January 20th, 2012
2:15 pm
In other words….
“we’re broke” so we cant add any more players
JJ is a Whussy and so is Heyward
January 20th, 2012
2:15 pm
JJ is a sissy who is always getting hurt just like “I can’t play my back is sore or I have a splinter in my pinkie finger” Zero Heyward – get rid of the sissies and find some real ball players – oh yeah and while you are at it go ahead and send the disability checks on to GImper Whimper Bad Knees Jones.
backwoods
January 20th, 2012
2:16 pm
Arthur Blank please buy the Braves
TB
January 20th, 2012
2:18 pm
What is wrong with some of you people! The Braves are a business out to make money. If you think these guys are just sitting back resting on their laurels & taking a big fat check without trying to do their best to win, you’re crazy? You must be confusing them with politicians & govenment workers. Top to bottom, they want to win because that’s what puts butts in the seats!
DetroitBraves
January 20th, 2012
2:19 pm
@Lobosolo, don’t be ridiculous. You need not be a major league manager, executive, or player to understand numbers. Just as statisticians in lipid lowering trials don’t need to be cardiologists to interpret the data. Most organizations have analytic departments, ripe with “nerds” to model data and make probabilistic statements. Their expertise is not the manager’s expertise and vice versa. However, their expertise does help field a winning club. The Braves appear to be lacking in this area, which is evidenced in both on-field strategy and personnel decisions, and which has been very well articulated by George Stein, Phil and others. Your use of Caps Lock makes that no less true.
backwoods
January 20th, 2012
2:23 pm
Hey Wren, whatever ya dont make a low risk , one year offer to the gritty, and gutty pitcher named Roy Oswalt ….. who can be had fairly cheap, is from the South ( Weir, Mississippi) and wants to pitch closer to HOME!! and was on record saying he always wanted to wear an Atlanta Uniform
I mean you can never have enough starting pitching so when one of our China Dolls get hurt or needs Tommy John surgery or blows an elbow out, we’ll be just fine with all these young bucks .. **note my sarcasm as I roll my eyes and chuckle***
Ted M
January 20th, 2012
2:32 pm
I’d take anybody st SS over Alex Gonzalez.
Appalachia Brave
January 20th, 2012
2:33 pm
Oh well…same ol Braves…good but just not good enough. Sad, very sad. But as long as you buy those tickets they’ll keep doing it this way….Thanks for nothin Frank!
Herschel Talker
January 20th, 2012
2:39 pm
FREDI SUCKS!!! FIRE FREDI GONZALEZ!!! HE IS THE BUFFOON THAT CONTINUED TO PITCH LOWE THE WHOLE SEASON. HE IS WORTHLESS. WE WON’T WIN ANYTHING WITH THAT MORON RUNNING THE SHOW.
bvillebaron
January 20th, 2012
2:45 pm
BravesFaninWis:
I assume you meant to call Wren a buffoon, not bafoon. Since you and the other critics on here are so smart, why don’t you share with us exactly what it is that Wren should do because this has been a tough week and I could use some good laughs on a Friday afternoon.