Braves Turn an Old Adage on its Head
“It’s Easier to Fire the Manager Than it is to Fire 25 Players”.
Seemingly every Fall we hear this adage – the justification for removing a manager when the problem was really the players’ performance between the lines.
At the end of the 2014 season, many – including some of us here – wanted Fredi Gonzalez gone. But once Bobby Cox wielded his considerable clout, any chance of that happening vanished.
So instead, it seems that Atlanta took up the task of the entirely opposite approach: firing the players.
Let’s tally it up.
The Short List… the Survivors
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In all seriousness, it
is
a quicker list to make – those who were
not
voted off the diamond within the past season:
- Freddie Freeman
B.J. Upton(though everybody knows how much they tried)Christian BethancourtChris JohnsonPhilip GosselinAndrelton Simmons- Shae Simmons
Craig KimbrelJames RussellLuis Avilan- Julio Teheran
Alex WoodMike MinorDavid Hale
That’s it. Just 14 names. (updated: only 3 now remain in 2016!!) I imagine that sales of team programs in the stadium should be brisk this year as casual fans try to make sense of who is still here and who is gone.
The Casualties
Yes – you knew there were several departures. You may not have realized just how many, though.
- Jason Heyward
- Justin Upton
- Tommy La Stella
- Dan Uggla (July)
- Jordan Schafer (August)
- Kris Medlen
- Brandon Beachy
- Gavin Floyd
- Ervin Santana
- Aaron Harang
- Ramiro Pena
- Ryan Doumit
- Gerald Laird
- Evan Gattis
- Anthony Varvaro
- Gus Schlosser (was DFA’d, then re-signed a minor-league deal)
- Jordan Walden
- Emilio Bonifacio
- David Carpenter
- Chasen Shreve
- Jonny Venters
- Tyler Pastornicky
- Cory Gearrin
- Ryan Buchter
- Pedro Beato
- Aaron Northcraft (technically – was recalled on 9/27 for the last weekend)
That’s twenty-six names (at least) that had been on the major league roster at some point during the last season who are no longer with the organization (excepting Schlosser). Some were released; some DFA’d. Some ‘elected’ free agency with no/minimal attempt to re-sign. Several were traded.
And that’s clearly not even done yet: once Jonny Gomes is added to the roster, somebody else will be DFA’d – probably a 27th name. The pending addition of Dian Toscano could end up saving a spot if Daniel Winkler can be put on the 60-day DL before he’s added. Some – Jose Constanza, for instance – are out of options and likely will not find a clear path to the active roster this Spring.
Regardless of the “how”, that still amounts to an incredible amount of turnover for the course of a single season… it would seem the Braves have indeed managed to figure out how to replace a full roster – 25+ names – while keeping their manager.