After a wasted homestand, the Atlanta Braves are in trouble
This man isn't a bad manager, but his team is in a bad patch. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
If you check the standings, the Braves are still OK — four games behind Washington in the National League East, nicely positioned in the wild-card chase. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad:
If you watch them play, you see a team in trouble.
A homestand that began 2-0 wound up 3-6, with a week on the road — first the Bronx, then Boston — coming. “There are a lot of guys in here frustrated right now,” Chipper Jones said Sunday.
June began with the Braves wondering about their starting pitchers. The rotation has stabilized — although a rotation awaiting an MRI on its best arm can’t quite be described as stable — but now the losses are coming hand over fist. Randall Delgado yielded two runs over eight innings Sunday, and it mattered not.
This wasn’t one of those games where the Braves left a zillion runners at second and third. They pushed only two runners into scoring position, both of those in a third inning that came undone when Delgado bunted into a 1-6-4 double play. Contrast this with the Baltimore sixth, when pitcher Wei-Yin Chen sacrificed Steve Pearce to third. Delgado began to pitch from the windup, whereupon manager Fredi Gonzalez whistled to warm Delgado to work from the stretch, whereupon the addled rookie halted his delivery and balked Pearce home.
If a guy pitches a one-hitter against you, you take your loss and tip your hat. (Jason Hammel had done just that Saturday night. Sure enough, Gonzalez said: “You’ve got to tip your hat to him.”) To lose another winnable game in a week that saw three winnable games lost gives greater pause. Are the Braves turning into one of those clubs that does just enough to lose?
Said Jones: “There’s a lot of pride in here. We’re going to go up there [to Yankee Stadium] looking to win a baseball game.”
Then this: “The only thing we need to do is to avoid pressing.”
Which is hard to do when you’re losing. The Braves hit into double plays in innings 1, 2 and 3. (First Jones, then Jason Heyward, then Delgado’s failed sacrifice.) That did suggest a batting order that was getting antsy. But then they came to the game’s final out, when Gonzalez thought too far ahead.
The right-handed Matt Diaz, who was hitting .120 against righties, was allowed to bat against Orioles closer Jim Johnson. With left-handed hitters Brian McCann and Eric Hinske available, why not deploy one? Gonzalez’s reasoning: He planned to pinch-hit McCann for David Ross if both Diaz and Heyward reached, and if Hinske had been used in Diaz’s slot there was a chance the pitcher’s spot could roll around with the tying run at third and nobody to hit except Tim Hudson, who’s a pitcher.
The counterpoint: If Diaz makes an out, all points are moot. And it should be noted that Gonzalez had sacrificed the left-handed Juan Francisco in the eighth not because Jack Wilson is a better hitter — Wilson isn’t a better hitter than many people in the big leagues — but because he hits right-handed and the O’s had just summoned lefty Troy Patton. (Wilson popped to first.)
The impression — heck, the reality — was that the manager of a team that had lost five of six suffered a sixth loss in seven games without using either of the two left-handed hitters on his bench against a righty closer. Had Diaz ripped a single (or drawn a walk), we would applaud Gonzalez’s patience. Instead Diaz whiffed, and his final swing was as meek as the rationale that put him in that spot.
This isn’t to suggest that Gonzalez is overmatched or that his team has stopped playing for him. He’s a solid baseball man, and there has been little to suggest his men aren’t trying. But these past four weeks — the Braves have lost 15 of 24, and that’s with a six-game winning streak mixed in — have put a hitch in this team’s swagger. First the Braves weren’t pitching well enough, and now they’ve stopped hitting.
“We blew a couple of four-run leads [on the homestand],” Jones said, “and those would have gone a long way toward having people not take a loss like today’s so hard.”
Add two wasted leads to the losses-for-no-reason that closed the sets against the Yankees and the Orioles, and you have a well-pitched-but-wasted homestand. (And with Brandon Beachy out, there’s no guarantee the starting pitching will be this good again anytime soon.) It’s still too early to say the Braves’ season teeters on the brink, but it’s not too early to suggest they need to stop losing winnable games.
By Mark Bradley
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363 comments Add your comment
RoyU
June 17th, 2012
10:38 pm
Sorry not to clarify who “he” is and that respectfully is Chipper.
Ed
June 17th, 2012
10:53 pm
Ok. My comment for those of us who have never played ball above city streets. I cannot believe the futility of Chipper and Danny. The only thing Chipper is capable of now is a weak bounce out to second. And Danny? Surely a hitting coach could make a liittle siggestion to him. He swings wildly at balls amd misses them entirely. And Brian? The AJC has a nice article on how he is back so he takes the day off. And Freddy? One day with glasses, next day none. Then the hand problem. I too see the many blunders our manager makes. And I wonder if the team has just quit trying thinking it futile to even try with our manager. As I said, these comments are made by just a fan of baseball and the Braves and not by an expert.
BravesfaninWis
June 17th, 2012
10:53 pm
Funny how under Gonzalez’s picture it says he isn’t a bad manager. The hell he is not, he dismantled the Marlins, then last year when the Braves choked away a 10 game lead in the Wild Card race in Sept, now this year they are more up and down then a damn roller coaster ride.
The entire pitching staff with the exception of a few absolutely suck, our bench has to be the weakest in MLB, and the manager is constantly making idiotic move after idiotic move, and oh yeah, the pitching coach sucks ass as well.
Add all that with a cheap ass ownership group, and we all have our beloved Atlanta Braves. They are paying 10 million for a guy that is pitching pretty good in the AL this year, they are paying 12 million this year for a guy that will play a 100 games only if he rubs the hell out of a 4 leaf clover. So why haven’t the management team approached Bourn about a new contract? The guy has only proven himself for how many years now? He was a bright spot on a otherwise crappy Astros team, he played well for us last year when he came here at the trade deadline, and he has been arguably our MVP on offense this year. So why haven’t the Braves tried to lock him up knowing damn well that both Chipper’s and Lowe’s contracts will be off the books next season? Because it makes to much damn sense which we all know the Braves don’t have. That is why I am sick and tired of watching this team, and frustrated that I was dooped into spending my hard earned money again this year on these losers.
Bvillebaron
June 17th, 2012
10:55 pm
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! All you chicken littles take a deep breath and look towards the east tomorrow when you get up and you will see the sun come up. The real concern is Beachy’s health. The fact of the matter is that the Braves actually GAINED a game on the Nats this weekend. As one of the other posters noted, the Braves play in the NL East and are far from out of anything.
Reason
June 17th, 2012
11:03 pm
The Brave’s players have to decide if they want to play like loses or winners. This time blaming Fredi doesn’t cut it the manager doesn’t hit or catch for these so call professional Baseball players.
These guys play like little kids and they played the same under Cox’s. The Braves are an annoying team.
Hinke, and Francisico, need to go. They are without a doubt a bunch pitiful overpay crowns.
StingerSplash
June 17th, 2012
11:04 pm
No, Fredi is in over his head. The Red Sox careened out of control at the end of last year, when most prognosticators had them penciled in for a spot in the World Series, and the manager and general manager were ultimately told thanks, but no thanks. The Braves made no big changes and here they are, mired in another rut of mediocrity.
And is anyone else scared blankless over the thought of Jurrjens – in Fenway – against the Sox and Big Papi? That might get ugly. Fast.
Peter
June 17th, 2012
11:08 pm
Welcome to Corporate baseball………all the yes men are lined up nicely in a ROW…….
Buzz2011
June 17th, 2012
11:14 pm
Sorry, as I noted earlier the Braves are not even a 500 team for the long run!
Hitting and pitching at the same time is required..
P.T. Barnum
June 17th, 2012
11:18 pm
Braves look like they would be overmatched by a little team. FW-DO SOMETHING–ANYTHING
kirkinga
June 17th, 2012
11:27 pm
Funny how those who have deemed Heyward a bust at 22 can totally overlook McCann who appears to have peaked several seasons ago. The veterans on this tam are not carrying their weight and that is not helpful to the development of the newer players.
While I don’t believe the season is over, I do think there might come a point where being sellers could bring a handsome return. There can’t be more than 3-4 core young players and guys like Uggla should be shopped if it get’s to that point.
Vel Crow
June 17th, 2012
11:39 pm
I guess the losing streak will continue against New York, because the Braves have the worst record in baseball when they play on Monday.
dlh82
June 17th, 2012
11:39 pm
I just spent hundreds of dollars bringing customers of mine from Savannah up here,covering everything,and the Braves can’t score a single run while I watch my money go down the drain. NOT ONE RUN OVER SAT SUN. See you later
Carter
June 17th, 2012
11:42 pm
Fredi sucks. If you’ve played beyond high school you know that. However, their whole approach sucks. Chipper swinging at a 2-0 pitch when down by two leading off the 9th—Take a pitch! Same with Diaz—GToo aggressive and swinging at balls that are below the strike zone. Their pitch selection stinks. Hinske does it too. We need baserunners. Also, send Bourne every now and then. Yes, hit and run (or better yet run and hit) with Bourne and Prado. When we’re down in the 6th and 7th innings, pinch hit for your starting pitcher. Fredi simply doesn’t know how to manage OR MOTIVATE HIS PLAYERS! I guarantee I would demand much more and show a lot more emotion!!
dlh82
June 17th, 2012
11:51 pm
fire freddy i just decided. frank wren must go as well. this team stinks.i won’t be spending another dime. watch yankees/redsox feast on this carcass. ITS OVER
gadawgs
June 17th, 2012
11:52 pm
Hanley Ramrez may have been right about what he said about Fredi when they both were with the Marlins after all!!
reasontocry
June 17th, 2012
11:54 pm
Reason, geta life..I hate fans that can’t see two feet in front of them..you can’t see are either dumb as ??
Vel Crow
June 17th, 2012
11:57 pm
Can we officially label Freddie Freeman”s season a sophmore jinx.
Rick
June 18th, 2012
12:09 am
I live out of state but anytime an Atlanta team is close I try my best to go watch them.
I am a Georgia born and raised sports fan. I’ve taken my licks from other sports town friends that know my Georgia teams are not as good as theirs. Since I can remember , let’s go back to 1980 when the Dogs won the national championship ( I was there by the way) and the Braves won in 1995 we don’t have anything to cheer about. That’s 31 years and 2 Championships. The Braves were division champs what 12 or 13 straight years and 1 freaking world championship. Something is and has been missing with this bunch for a long,long, long time my friends. Besides big money players there is no killer instinct with this team. I hate the Yankees,and other teams that have bought their teams, they have the trophies to show for their money. SPEND SOME FREAKING $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ AND LETS TRY OUR BEST TO KEEP UP WITH THE WINNERS!!!. Don’t get me started on that sad, sad football team there in Atlanta. MONEY AND KILLER INSTINCT WINS IN SPORTS!
The day in Fredi « Rowland's Office
June 18th, 2012
12:11 am
[...] Judging by Mark Bradley’s account of the Bravos’ sixth loss in seven games, Fredi was in fine form. [...]
Just Because
June 18th, 2012
12:21 am
Blah blah blah. I told you this last October.
BravesfaninAugusta
June 18th, 2012
12:27 am
It won’t happen but they should bench Chipper and let Prado play third….bring up Constanza to play LF… Waive Diaz
Thadsdad
June 18th, 2012
12:30 am
While this team will stay close for the majority of the season – simply because no team in the division – save Washington – is capable of pulling away, the fact is, this team is going nowhere and has zero chance of winning anything. But instead of facing reality, the Braves will not trade Bourn (because we still have a chance, they’ll say) and lose him for nothing to free agency. They’ll hang on to the manager because they still can contend – even though it’s obvious he’s in over his head. They’ll hang on to the likes of Diaz, Wilson and other useless spare parts because they’re inexpensive and “they’re good in the clubhouse,”
And realistically, even if this club had a chance to contend, ownership wouldn’t spend 49 cents to get them over the top, let alone a sizable chunk of change to make them better.
Solution?
Boot Fredi, trade Bourn, bring up Teheran and the other kids. It’s always best to lose with kids than lose with veterans.
Chances of those things happening? Same as their chances of making the playoffs with the same team that couldn’t do it last year – zero.
The Rev Al
June 18th, 2012
12:37 am
Yes…the Braves are in deep trouble. The vaunted pitching staff (starters and relievers) is in real trouble. Hanson and Hudson (if Beechy is seriously injured) are not enough to get this team to the playoffs. Venters has a meltdown every other time he pitches. Now to the hitting. While Chipper is still a great talent (when he plays), his fifteen million takes the Braves out of contention for any major starting pitchers of big time hitters as the trading deadline approaches. Chipper at best will play half the games for the balance of the season. Fredi is no Bobby Cox and his total failure last season when the Braves went into the last month of the season with a nine game lead to make the playoffs is certainly in part his fault. Now we see further decision making that means last seasons collapse has continued into the 2012 season.
A not so bold prediction is tha the Braves will struggle to be a .500 team by the end of the season and the playoffs are out of the question. Washington is a far better team and the Marlins and Mets arent going to lay down either and let the Braves make a run. Heres hoping 2013 will be a better season because the fat lady is warming up.
JRW7
June 18th, 2012
12:37 am
Freddi, DID you notice that the Braves started losing when Chipper came back off DL?
JRW7
June 18th, 2012
12:40 am
Fredi is no BOBBY COX, Braves are being outcoached!!!!
Spencerforhire
June 18th, 2012
12:50 am
It’s not just the Braves that stink, it’s Atlanta sports in general. New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among others have all won multiple world championships in multiple sports. In case you haven’t figured it out, they’re not satisfied with division championships. Snap out of it and get a clue.
Veritas
June 18th, 2012
1:41 am
it’s clear that Fredi is a graduate of the “Crash Davis School of Baseball Cliches”.
“We gotta play ‘em one day at a time.”
“I’m just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ballclub.”
“I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out.”
It’s too bad Fredi never learned Crash’s lesson about messing with a winning streak.
Go Go Pilots
June 18th, 2012
2:06 am
Where did all the great wins go ..why down the toilet as we swept by Ny lose to a Baltimore watch Ny mets swept them …and now chipper Jones we goin to Ny try win 3 games..How about lets do what they did to us sweep them off the field in Yamkee stadium No we be all gooy goo eyes at place chipper will strain his nose on the field and heyward will strike out before game..And freddi he be just with O’Brien ajc kisser sayin we better team we just in a funk yep…Right after the sweep by red sox at fenway and 0-6 tour…chipper will come out of lawyer office losin his home n stuff and marry his3rd wife soon…and freddi will be fired for are new Manager if its okay with bradley n shultz and O’Brien and the MLB crew who say freddi is a great manager…..One other note rockies be firein there Manager very soon so maybe we can give freddi to rockies for 4 top draft picks and cash!
Bryan
June 18th, 2012
2:12 am
Fredi is sad, man. He shouldn’t be calling out ANY player for making an error whether it be a mental or physical one. The man makes errors every other game with his decisions, and costly ones, too. When things are overwhelmingly bad, he fakes that smile to the reporters I’ve noticed. He jumbles his words trying his best to cover his obvious ignorance of his management skills.
Chipper has always been a baby when things go wrong for him or the team. He pouts like a little girl. And yes, he’s very quick to point a finger when it is clear as day his dp’s have been very costly to the team. But yeah Chip, the bullpen choking it up those two games is at the forefront. It never me, is it?
no mo
June 18th, 2012
2:19 am
no big deal, the division is weak–the braves will get the wild card—book it.
Bryan
June 18th, 2012
2:20 am
The old robotic, conservative Braves with the cap tippin’ garbage is still here. Holy shi* it is STILL here!
Bourn will walk. We should all be disgusted by it, too. He’s everything we need. A good hitter, great fielder, speedy and passionate. Reckon everybody gets along with him in the clubhouse as well since they always talk great about him. And he’ll be gone. Thanks cheap asses. The teasing continues even after this season is over when we read he’s signed with Washington or some other team than is willing to hand over the cash to win.
We deserve better, but they don’t care.
Mister Frisky
June 18th, 2012
2:55 am
Stand pat with a team full of fat , slow,soft,heartless choking losers.Mix in baseballs WORST manager this is what you get.Why is everyone do surprised.They actually have over achieved so far.Look out Philly were making a move for last place.
Long time Braves suffering fan
June 18th, 2012
3:00 am
Chipper sums up the problem with the Braves attitude… “There’s a lot of pride in here. We’re going to go up there [to Yankee Stadium] looking to win a baseball game.” Why is the team looking to win “a” game??? Same philosophy as Cox had in just winning a series… That suggests that you are perfectly willing to LOSE games. I know that teams will lose games. I just hate to hear athletes and/or managers focus on “a” game or best 2 of 3 wins… How did that work out for the Braves in the 14 year run of division championships??? Once!!! Why can’t this current cast of Braves focus on going out and winning EVERY time they hit the field???
Train Wreck Bystander
June 18th, 2012
4:02 am
I think we can all agree that the 2012 vintage of this storied franchise is not a juggernaut.
However, I do not subscribe to the notion that the season is going down the proverbial crapper.
As ugly as June has been, this team is still in 2nd place in the division and only 4 games out. When you look at run differentials, our Braves are respectable at +20. The Nats, Mets and Phils all have longer losing streaks than the Braves.
July is mostly against the NL East, and those are the games that will make or break the Braves’ post-season hopes.
P B Orr
June 18th, 2012
4:11 am
I love baseball, and do not mind watching kids flail about. But I cannot stand a bad manager. I gave up completely on the Braves in the years before Cox. Although Cox had his issues, they were outweighed 10-1 by positives.
Not so Gonzales. When Dave O’Brien introduced him to us, he was striking a pose on his Harley, like many of the weekend badasses who visit my watering hole. I know these posers – and my heart sank. I knew then and there what we were in for.
He’s an awful, awful manager because he lacks what no manager can afford to lack, from Little League on up – a sense of his own self that shows up on the field as leadership. This man could not lead the Cub Scouts to a skin flick.
The Braves are headed for utter catastrophe that will be years long unless something is done quickly to get shed of this person. FG may be a good guy and a great motorcyclist – but he’s an awful manager. Having grown up around here, I’ve seen my share. We were spoiled with Cox. The party is definitely over.
35 yr season ticket holder, BUT
June 18th, 2012
5:59 am
Odd moves during the last few games, for sure. If Heyward and Mac were hitting, any of the starters
were consistent for more than three or four starts and Freeman could get healthy it would help. A totally overmatched Francisco and a rapidly aging Hinske give you pretty much nothing from the plate.
Francisco gives you no range, none at third. If its obvious he is not Chippers replacement next year, and it is, why not release him?
Ellabell1
June 18th, 2012
6:22 am
Bobby Jr. (aka Freddi) doesn’t know how to light a fire under his boys. I put the blame on him. Get a real manager. Too much talent being wasted.
clint
June 18th, 2012
6:26 am
Come on, everybody—THINK!
This team does not have the talent, pure and simple. Look at it by position…
—Bourne is great at what he does
—Prado is absolutely indispensable
—Heyward is a bust
—Chipper’s skills have badly eroded and his salary consumes the budget
—Simmons is a potential future star
—Uggla is excellent
—Freeman may be a future star but this season he is a huge disappointment
—McCann seems to have lost his mojo
—Pitching staff that was so great last year is now strictly mediocre
—Bench is only average
While other division teams improved over the winter, the Braves did not. In my opinion there needs to be a housecleaning starting at the very top and a new plan put together that will build the team for the future.
Fredi Will Screw It Up Somehow
June 18th, 2012
6:43 am
“Company shills in the broadcast booth . . . .”
The only person who occasionally tells it like it is, is Joe Simpson. The rest of them just fall in line and collect that check, keeping clueless fans thinking all is well. HA…
Longtimefan
June 18th, 2012
6:45 am
The “fans” that frequent this blog(generally only during losing streaks) are truly amazing. If you read the comments they range from fire the manager(most), to get rid of all the players, to hire all new management. The same enlightened fan base that frequently called for the head of Bobby Cox several years ago-one of the best managers ever to put on a uniform. I believe part of it is a mob mentality- fans are angry because the team as lost several series in bad fashion and the knee jerk reaction is to clean house-fire everybody! I wonder how you guys would react to a real losing team.If the regular season ended today the Braves would be in the playoffs and 11 NL teams would not. From reading this blog you would think the Braves are the only team to have players injured, leave runners on base or get a bad pitching outting. Do any of you read about other teams? Do you have any perspective? Do you give up on everything in your life so quickly? Do you expect perfection out of yourself and everyone in your life?
Longtimefan
June 18th, 2012
6:49 am
BTW, when Chipper says “Let’s go to NY and win a game” he doesn’t mean he is satisfied winning only a single game. It is a figure of speech. Many of you can’t be that dense, can you?
Fredi Will Screw It Up Somehow
June 18th, 2012
6:55 am
“When Dave O’Brien introduced him to us, he was striking a pose on his Harley, like many of the weekend badasses who visit my watering hole. I know these posers – and my heart sank. I knew then and there what we were in for.”
The man is a phony, that’s why players don’t run through walls for him.
Fredi Will Screw It Up Somehow
June 18th, 2012
6:58 am
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling! All you chicken littles take a deep breath and look towards the east tomorrow when you get up and you will see the sun come up. The real concern is Beachy’s health. The fact of the matter is that the Braves actually GAINED a game on the Nats this weekend. As one of the other posters noted, the Braves play in the NL East and are far from out of anything.”
^Another brainwashed victim of Bobby Cox who probably pounds his chest at all those division title flags in the outfield.
Scott Brantley
June 18th, 2012
7:07 am
Fire Freddi and hire Larry Bowa. We need a culture change and Bowa will light a fire!
jerry
June 18th, 2012
7:10 am
Why have the Yankees won 27 WS? Pure and simple, it was the manager. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, they had very little to do with it. It’s ironic that they have become household names while their mangers can hardly be remembered. Bradley is on the right track, fire the manager, win the WS.
A.S.
June 18th, 2012
7:16 am
I must say I am really surprised how many fans are now asking for Fredi to be fired. It was evident lat year he didn’t have a clue. I do like how some posters said this week he proved he was overmatched. I found that to be useful. He has face off against 2 very good managers with Showalter and Gerradi. He got outcoached in 5 out of 6 times. Time for change. If not for the organization, but for the sake to show you care about the fans. Fredi’s had his chance, he took the team down last year and should be happy he still had a job. If this GM and Ownership is evaluating Fredi he should be on a 7-day watch. See how his team performs this week against potential playoff teams like NYY and BOS. If the Braves drop 5 out of 6, Fredi should be let go. Simple as that, this is a business, it’s time the Braves start operating this team like one again.
Ted M
June 18th, 2012
7:21 am
Fredi almost always makes the wrong move. Even tho I would have made some of them too…it doesn’t matter if you’re always making the wrong moves you don’t know your team.
The Braves are not going to fire Fredi.
dtanner
June 18th, 2012
7:35 am
schuerholtz looked like a genius when he had ted turners deep pockets,not so much after though,wren has always looked overmatched,freddi also
Bravesgonewiththewind
June 18th, 2012
7:38 am
I think the ball club needs a come to Jesus moment.. They need to decide to turn it up a notch… Don’t let up… develope a killer attitude… They are not going anywhere until they do.
Miss Management
June 18th, 2012
7:40 am
Just a bunch of overpaid clowns. The Braves, I mean, not The UGA coaches. Well, yes, them too, actually.