Should the Atlanta Braves Fire Fredi Gonzalez Now?
By Josh Brown
Here’s what Fredi Gonzalez said after Monday’s loss, which put the Braves at 0-6… the night before they advanced to 0-7.
“I told the guys: Keep your heads up. … Don’t get down. We’re playing good. If you have this in July — you lose five in a row or six in a row in July — nobody worries. It’s the beginning of the season,” Gonzalez said, according to The Associated Press. “And I am worried, but I know that we’re playing good baseball. We’re close to playing good baseball. And, you know, we’re going to be a lot better off for it.”
Now, before I delve into my thoughts on the matter, let me begin by saying this. Prior to last year, I think a lot of Fredi Gonzalez’s in-game decisions were being controlled by former Braves GM Frank Wren. I say this because Fredi Gonzalez was a slightly different coach in 2015 than he was in years prior with the Atlanta Braves. A slightly better coach. A coach who actually played his best players.
Although Fredi Gonzalez has never impressed the heck out of me, he actually impressed me last year despite the team’s tanking. Don’t yell at me yet. Hear me out. Last year the team really didn’t start tanking until the Braves traded Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to the Mets on July 26. At the moment of the trade, the Braves were only 5 games back from first place. When we think of 2015, we think of colossal failure, but really before the end of July the Braves were playing good baseball. I think the tanking was attributed to that trade. Players loved Uribe and Kelly brought legit leadership and pop to the lineup.
Prior to 2015, Fredi was the kind of manager who would start Dan Uggla and Melvin Upton, Jr. for literally no reason other than they were being paid a lot of money. I think a lot of that had to do with Frank Wren. I think Frank Wren is the reason Fredi had Upton hit lead off.
Am I saying that all of Fredi Gonzalez’s mistakes prior to 2015 can be laid at the feet of Frank Wren? No. Certainly not. I think Fredi Gonzalez is a complete goon for pulling an able veteran like Aaron Harang out of a no-hitter. But, I really think that some… maybe even a lot of Fredi’s in-game bad decisions prior to 2015 (which seemed to be more frequent than post-Wren) were because of Frank Wren. And again, I’m only saying this because I saw a slightly different, more rational, and more determined Fredi Gonzalez in 2015.
Another thing that we should rationally talk about, while many of us are overly emotional, is Fredi’s “misuse of the bullpen.” I don’t disagree with the notion that Fredi Gonzalez does not manage pitchers well. But honestly, neither do most managers these days. If there’s one thing I loathe in baseball these says it’s “pitch count” and the obsession with lefty/righty match-ups. It drives me crazy. What this has done is it has stacked up teams with enormous bullpens. Enormous bullpens means more contracts. And more contracts means managers have to play said contracts. And when managers have to play said contracts in a fair fashion, starting pitchers get pulled too early and my blood pressure goes up.
Does this excuse Fredi Gonzalez for taking out Jhoulys Chacin during a scoreless game after 69 pitches? Heck no. Chacin should have stayed in that game.
Now back to 2016. I’ll give the Atlanta Braves and Fredi Gonzalez the first two games of the season. Two games in which the Braves could have won. And, before I looked at the numbers for the first seven games, I’ll admit that I felt slightly crazy because I thought the Braves have actually been playing well. I didn’t realize the Braves have been THIS BAD. Perhaps it’s because, after last season, my standards have completely dropped. But, Fredi Gonzalez and his players have little excuse at this point. Here are the hard facts.
After Monday’s game, and after Fredi told his players that “we’re playing good” the 2016 Atlanta Braves are 17th in on-base percentage, 29th in batting average, 28th in slugging, 28th in OPS, and 22nd in runs scored. From the seventh inning on, they’ve been outscored 22-2.
This is actually the direct opposite of good. This is bad. Very bad.
Braves pitchers have accumulated a 6.67 ERA, good for 29th in baseball. They’ve combined for a WHIP of 1.74, also 29th in baseball. Opposing hitters are batting .284 against the Braves so far. That ranks 27th in baseball. Opposing hitters have an OPS of .842. That’s fourth-worst in the league. The bullpen has three blown saves. That’s tied for worst in the league.
If your team has the 29th worst ERA in baseball, then your team is not playing good. They are playing absolutely terrible.
The Atlanta Braves are not the type of organization to fire a guy like Fredi Gonzalez this soon. I just don’t think they are. But, let’s just say that the Atlanta Braves continue on this path through the entire season. If that happens, then Fredi Gonzalez will be fired in September. Even if they do okay this year, I think there’s still a very good chance that a guy named Eddie Perez will be the manager in Cobb County.
It is important to note that Fredi’s only signed through the end of 2016 – Something that I don’t think is a mistake.
Often times managers are only as good as the players they manage. I get this. This is why the Indians haven’t done anything amazing with Terry Francona (who I think is one of the best) at the helm. And, this is why the Mets went to the World Series last year with Terry Collins.
But, when you have a manager that doesn’t have the personality to get players fired up during a 7-game losing streak to begin the season and when you have a manager who pulls a pitcher who’s pitching a gem after 69 pitches, I think you need to look real hard at how your team can get better.
I want to hear your thoughts. Should Fredi get fired now? Is he to blame for this terrible start to the year? Do you think Fredi is a good manager or a bad manager?