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
Bernie
January 21st, 2012
6:17 pm
The problem the past 2 seasons is the current nucleus of players can’t hit with the exception of Bourn. Bourn gets on base and dies there because nobody can move him over J urjeins and Hanson has been injured the past two seasons when the team needs them most. Chipper was good in his time but now the team needs his salary to use to pick up some needed help and besides he won’t be able to go a full season. Everybody else in the division got better except the Braves so don’t expect a whole lot this season unless we can pick up a true hitter or two. I hope I can say GO BRAVES but I’m not too optimistic
Keith
January 21st, 2012
9:21 pm
362nd?
Sorry, there’s always such a big deal about being 1st…I just had the thought of pointing out this meaningful comment.
Thanks for your blog and update, Bradley!
GOP Cannon
January 21st, 2012
10:53 pm
I am really bumbed out by this offseason… Given the magnitutde of last season’s collapse, I am amazed that Frank Wren did nothing to make the team better.
I will always be a fan; however, due to the apathy on the part of managment, my interest in the team is at an all time low.
bravesfanbob
January 22nd, 2012
2:22 am
I have said many times on here that the Braves should have hired Roberto Kelly as manager. Having watched him manage the Augusta Greenjackets where in 3 years he had a record of 258-157, winning the division all 3 years, and never having a batter in the top 5 in the league, never having a home run hitter in the top 10 of the league, but still leading the league in runs scored for those 3 years. He is the most ingenious offensive manager I’ve ever seen, and he had SO much to do with San Francisco winning the World Series in 2010, as it’s first base coach. The Braves so desperately needed a mind like Roberto running the club last September, when on 3 different occasions, Fredi had the tying run or winning run on 1st as Michael Bourn, and Fredi didn’t send him. Roberto’s teams led the league in stolen bases every year, because he is an aggressive manager. It’s not too late Frank to admit your mistakes! But like our beloved president, you never make any, do you?
Larvell Blanks
January 22nd, 2012
6:02 am
It’s always entertaining to read the idiotic comments of most Atlantans. I’ll give the prize to that clown Donavon this time.
Jim from Roswell
January 22nd, 2012
8:23 am
If Fredi had benced Lowe after the break they would have been in the playoffs. He had 3 young guns that could have taken Lowe’s starts but chose not to use them. Thank goodness Lowe is gone!
phil
January 22nd, 2012
10:39 am
A quick congratulations to the hysterical media that ran Joe Paterno off instead of according him the respect he deserved.
Way to go, guys….hope you’re all happy today.
phil57
January 22nd, 2012
11:22 am
I feel for Wren…having to deal with owners that care about nothing but the bottom line. I’ve said it many times, until the Braves are sold to someone who loves baseball and Atlanta, the Braves will be no better than mediocre.
Skeezix
January 22nd, 2012
11:41 am
I will second Phil’s comment on Paterno. What exactly did Joe Paterno do so wrong that warranted his firing? He did what most of us would have done, he reported what he had heard to the appropriate authorities in his chain of command. He was not the head of campus poice or the local DA– he was the very busy head coach of a major college football program. Shame to all those in the media that help crucify this innocent man and all those cowardly Penn. State administrators/trustees, who wilted in that media firestorm, threw him to the wolves and fired him.
May he now rest in peace in God’s embrace.
Skeezix
January 22nd, 2012
11:46 am
Oops……..that should be campus police not campus poice.
phil
January 22nd, 2012
12:01 pm
Well said. There was never an opportunity afforded Mr. Paterno to defend himself or to simply retire after a few more games.
He was ousted by a blood frenzy of media hysteria. It was a shame and a disgrace as it happened, and it will always be so. They can say what they will. They will be wrong.
May he rest in peace…
Farnsworthy
January 22nd, 2012
12:02 pm
Did Wren graduate from high school?
Farnsworthy
January 22nd, 2012
12:07 pm
I must say though, Frank Wren does dress well……..a lot of empty suits do however.
Pete*
January 22nd, 2012
12:46 pm
Can anyone explain to me what “….stunk on ice” means? Thanks.
Farnsworthy
January 22nd, 2012
1:34 pm
Maybe they meant to say ’skunk on ice’; but that doesn’t sound very tasty.
Ronald Millsaps
January 22nd, 2012
1:41 pm
The “Wren Zen”? This Zen ideology contains no merit.
How did Ryan Braun win NL MVP? He isn’t even the MVP of his team, and worse, he got busted for performance-enhancing drugs, and yet Dale Murphy— one of the greatest of all time– still hasn’t made the Hall of Fame and doesn’t even get a respectable percentage. Appalling, to say the least.
The Braves have serious pitching on the roster and on the farm. I would keep this devastating status quo just as it is.
Why the apathy about making Michael Bourn a respectable offer? He changes the entire structure of the team.
I hope Jason Heyward swings more for the fence and less for average.
I expect Martin Prado to rebound very strongly from his 2011, which wasn’t bad as it was. My main concern with him is that his playing an uncomfortable position distracts him, a la Ken Caminiti when he played out of place here at first.
“saw”– I wouldn’t be so quick to use my closer if I have a two- or three-run lead. A big difference exists between such leads, and giving a less-developed reliever a chance to get a two-run save is a fine chance to give him some experience. The term “save” is used interchangeably as if each one carries the same weight, though, yes, in some instances a three-run save might be harder to attain than a one-run save.
The Falcons need to address their lines of scrimmage. Until then, they can forget about being an elite team. Arthur Blank needs to stop complaining unless he wants to complain toward himself.
Ronald Millsaps
January 22nd, 2012
1:44 pm
I meant to add concerning Murphy/Braun that Murphy never took any supplements– and was far better than Braun.
I guess the same folks voting for the Hall are the same ones listening to bastions of prejudice and propaganda, like Oprah, telling folks who to vote for.
Ronald Millsaps
January 22nd, 2012
1:50 pm
By the way, Chipper needs to retire? Well, the Braves don’t need him to retire. He outperformed Jason Heyward last year.
Critics oftentimes go by age and not mental acumen. Chipper’s one of the smartest hitters of all time and would be an excellent hitting coach once he does retire, something Larry Parrish was not last year.
Ronald Millsaps
January 22nd, 2012
1:51 pm
I guess the Falcons now sport the Nolan-Ryan attack.
Powder Blue
January 22nd, 2012
2:21 pm
No, this organization will not make any substantive personnel moves. And they will finish in second or third or fourth place in the NL East. Meh.
phil
January 22nd, 2012
2:34 pm
Fire FG!!
pat
January 22nd, 2012
2:44 pm
Fire Liberty Media! Boycott Liberty Media until they sell the team to Braves Fans!
Why don’t we buy them? Let’s pool our money and buy the team. Then WE can put together a winning team that will contend every year. WE will do what it takes to win.
old man
January 23rd, 2012
7:12 am
Funny how there is always some dope who makes an intelligent comment, then ruins it by injecting presidential politics.
The oughta be a rule.
old man
January 23rd, 2012
7:33 am
If someone has a starter go down in ST, could we get a top-notch 4th OFer and a prospect for JJ? Assuming the hypothetical team had no one with quality in their own system to step up and start? That would be an ideal situation.
The possibility of getting someone in that scenario who is a huge upgrade over Prado is probably too optimistic. If Prado is a 3.4 WAR type of player, I’m picturing someone who is maybe a 2.6-3.1 type of guy. Plus a second-tier prospect with high upside.
This is pretty much the only scenario I see for us making a significant move before opening day.
Sonny Jackson
January 23rd, 2012
12:35 pm
Guys, as someone who has been a fan since the day the Braves got here in ‘66 and suffered through the ’70’s and ’80’s, the problems we have now are nothing. I can’t understand what everyone is so upset about… just cool down for the next 10 weeks and let’s see what happens.
TPic
January 23rd, 2012
3:01 pm
Before we clear Fredi Cox of any poor management of the pitching staff, let’s consider this: Earlier in this post someone (including the GM and a few of you) made the excuse of having to play so many close games early in the season. I think we can all agree that the Braves staff (both rotation and bullpen) was among the league’s best. By contrast, the World Champion Cardinals had an average staff at best. Both teams played roughly the same number of close games through the first half of the year. In fact, if you check, I would guess ALL teams played about the same number of close games. Let’s go somewhere else with this argument; one that has some merit.
Homer every time
January 23rd, 2012
4:27 pm
The Braves have a good lineup, but they have to produce. Last year, most players had off years. When are we getting a new owner?
ryan
January 23rd, 2012
5:19 pm
Atlanta is a bad sports city Braves and the Hawks we lost another hockey team none these ownerships wants to spend money it sucks being a sports fan in Atlanta .
Reason
January 24th, 2012
12:33 am
Unless improvements take place the Bravers will be in third place, only if——-.
FFA mere who?
January 24th, 2012
7:03 am
When the braves big news is 33 percent off food for season ticket holders, you know they
are in trouble
chris
January 24th, 2012
7:12 am
if the players who struggled last year bounce back Wren will look like a genius if they don’t he’ll pay a price…seems the Braves always love putting our fans through it – always rolling the dice…wow I just made that up..I just hope this dice roll proves to be lucky….we really really need a bat in the middle of that lineup to produce runs and make pitchers think twice about pitching around Mc, Uggs and if Jason gets back to form the Jay-Hay Kid
chris
January 24th, 2012
7:14 am
And FFA I tend to agree lol
Go Go Pilots
January 26th, 2012
2:46 am
Are you kiddin Me Wren Phillies are best to beat lets Try Marlins now and nats well Mets No we close to Mets in lousy Owners sayin are Payroll is 94 million dollars we set yes u are…Try 4th place at 78-84 this season but look at bright side we get lower food prices at the stands n vendors ha…Better Trade Frank Wren to Baltimore for 6 players and the cat
Terry McQuirk said it All Folks!
January 26th, 2012
2:40 pm
Dang U! Terry McQuirk! Dang all u Braves brass of Mediocrity & Liberty Media,I’ve been a sucka too long, Here’s mud in ur eye, enjoy foolin’ yourselves, hopefully others will wise up, because this is crap man!