It's been less than an hour since the Marlins dismissed their most recent manager, but already some prominent sports writers are pretty much declaring him the Braves next manager. Here is a roundup of the Tweet storm:
To reiterate my oft-expressed view, if Fredi Gonzalez is available, he immediately moves to top of the list of potential Cox replacements.
A possible replacement for Bobby Cox is now available. Florida Marlins fire manager Fredi Gonzalez.
fredi gonzalez deserved award for standing up to hanley, not firing he got. owner's expectations too high there.
and:
fredi is the heavy early favorite to replace legendary bobby cox. marlins favored to keep ridiculously low payroll.
Fredi Gonzalez now has the path cleared to become the #Braves next manager after being fired by the #Marlins.
Gonzalez now available to serve as Cox's successor. Will he join the Braves organization soon?
Certainly the writers have their choice to replace Bobby, but we'll have to wait until after the season to see what Frank Wren does. Bowman brings up an interesting point:
With Gonzalez currently available, there's reason to wonder if the Braves will attempt to immediately add him to their organization as an advisor or possibly even make room for him to join their current coaching staff.
I don't know if that's the Braves' style. They may let Fredi know they're interested, but a major league job? I could see them adding him as a roving instructor, then bringing him up in September when the team is allowed to add an extra coach.
0 recs | 97 comments
I was thinking the same thing
It’s clear that he is an option and the front-runner right now, but they act as if there is no other manager the Braves would be interested in. This is a move that everyone expected, the Marlins firing Fredi that is, but just not so soon.
BenDuronio - June 23, 2010
Apparently Mark Bowman and I think alike. I’ll go crawl under my desk and cry now.
Rhyno18 - June 23, 2010
Another awesome picture & caption...
You’re on a roll.
sddbaker - June 23, 2010
Also acceptable would have been “There’s Homer! BLAM There’s Homer! BLAM There’s Homer! BLAM There’s Homer! BLAM”
BullManUGA - June 23, 2010
Am I the only one who wants chipper for manager?
SidGlaus - June 23, 2010
probably
no coaching experience and I’d bet that once he hangs them up he’s going to want to spend some time with his family before getting back into baseball.
was385 - June 23, 2010
I expect him to go spend time with his family..
but not sure a player like Chipper would really require coaching experience..
SidGlaus - June 23, 2010
I disagree with that
he’s a great and knowledgeable player but in this day and age everyone needs coaching experience to become a manager.
was385 - June 23, 2010
Except AJ Hinch apparently.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
I've got to assume he held a baseball-related position after playing
the point I’m getting at is that players don’t go straight from playing to managing.
was385 - June 23, 2010
He did, he was the head of player development for the Diamondbacks, for about a year and a half, after being a scout for a year. He had very little time between the end of his career and becoming a ML manager.
But still, working in the front office and coaching/managing a team are very different. I’m not saying that doesn’t make him qualified, I’m just saying it doesn’t fit toward your original point that “everyone needs coaching experience to be a manager”.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
I'm sure they hired him in that capacity to groom him as a manager
my original point was that chipper won’t move right from player to manager, so yes, this still goes with my original point.
was385 - June 23, 2010
I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a player-manager if he stays on next year. That would be fun.
Weldon - June 23, 2010
that'd be great i'd rather have him as hitting coach though
bravesfan1047 - June 23, 2010
Does anyone buy into the theory that people that are great at something, or that come by it more naturally, have problems teaching others with less “natural ability” how to do it?
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
Yes, please.
tcstew - June 23, 2010
I approve of this awesome picture.
TonyAlmeyda - June 23, 2010
NRA spokesperson Freddi
bravestatoo - June 23, 2010
Just like shooting Fish in a barrel.
carpengui - June 23, 2010
The SPCA is boycotting Fredi being hired…
j/k, btw
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
Great picture, and I agree, I think he should be the #1 frontrunner to replace Bobby. I think Bobby will have a say in the matter, and I see Fredi being the manager (since he has managing experience) getting the nod over TP. Ned Yost would have been a good option too.
Dave_D - June 23, 2010
My two cents worth: Fredi over Ned by a fair margin.
carpengui - June 23, 2010
oh for sure.
SidGlaus - June 23, 2010
this
Braves24 - June 23, 2010
Well said.
btw, contrary to my email, the last time I was at the Ted, the lens was seen, yet ok’d by a security guard. Go figure. But maybe it was just that guard, plus I was going through the season ticket holders line. idk
Lizziebeth - June 23, 2010
Do they ban long lenses now? 10 years ago it wasn’t a problem.
BullManUGA - June 23, 2010
Is this a metaphor for something? ;-)
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
LOL, usually on here it would be, but not this time!
Lizziebeth - June 24, 2010
They have for at least the past 2 seasons. It was an MLB rule, not an Atlanta Braves rule (as explained to me by the security guard who stopped me 2 years ago) that lenses longer than a ticket were not allowed in the park.
This is what the AB website states right now:
Lizziebeth - June 24, 2010
Sorry about being silly earlier.
If this really is an MLB rule it wouldn’t surprise me too much since security has become so stringent in public areas where large crowds gather over the past 8+ years. But in every game during the White Sox series I saw a guy with a camera that clearly fell outside those guidlines sitting behind the Sox’ dugout. He looked to be a fan, not a credentialed photographer. So I don’t know if it’s an MLB rule or a rule at Turner Field. Still I wouldn’t risk taking expensive equipment that you’d have to leave in a vehicle during the game, or miss the game.
Old Braves' Fan - June 24, 2010
I don’t have anything specific against Fredi, but I’m not sure why he’s such an obvious choice to be the next Braves’ manager other than having previously been a coach for Bobby Cox.
redwards95 - June 23, 2010
Great temperment, experience in the organization, experience as a Manager at the ML level, and repeated success as a manager despite a terrible organization that penny-pinches at all times and utterly fails to provide sufficient resources to get to the next level.
In this case, we have to measure “success” carefully, for no, they haven’t made the playoffs or won a division. But they seem to be perennially acknowledged as a team “not to be ignored” and that could have perhaps competed for the division if the ownership had any inclination to get veteran help. All of their players have been either home-developed or obtained via trade of their best in exchange for new prospects. I would likewise put Joe Girardi in the same category for exactly the same reasons.
carpengui - June 23, 2010
Plus he's worked within the Braves' organization before.
He knows the “Braves’ way” of doing things, obviously, so it make for a more smooth transition.
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
Psh...
Wes Helms isn’t veteran help?
MichaelProcton - June 23, 2010
the way he coaches is just like bobby: keep switching pitchers until you find one the other team can hit
telemakhos - June 23, 2010
It's worked more often for Cox than all but three other managers all time.
MichaelProcton - June 23, 2010
I'm not suprised he was fired
Marlins have high expectatations and Fredi wasn’t doing what they wanted. I thought he did a great job from what the FO was giving him. I t always thought he was the front runner to get the job even before he was fired. There are other options ,so he’s not the manager yet.
Braves24 - June 23, 2010
High expectations?
Maybe, but you have to have more than expectations to work with as a manager. It’s like the little signs you see at the beauty shop:
sddbaker - June 23, 2010
You’re absolutely right, of course. But how often has baseball ownership/management failed to use common sense or logic in these sorts of things? cough Steinbrenner cough
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
Fredi's probably not surprised either
& is probably quite happy to have been fired.
adc62 - June 23, 2010
High Expectations
Yup, they gave him the two things that an organization can give a manager to succeed- marquee free agents and enough payroll maintain arbitration eligible players. The Marlins have a long history of doing that!
frozendesert - June 23, 2010
Just wondering out loud but..wouldn't a pitching coach or former catcher
be better suited as the braves manager…considering we will and will always do it with great pitching.. whats your thoughts?
SidGlaus - June 23, 2010
Fredi Gonzalez was a catcher. He played in the minors for the Yankees.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
As
Hanley Ramirez is so kind to remind us, he never played in the majors.
frozendesert - June 23, 2010
Vote Eddie Perez!
J-Turn14 - June 23, 2010
I was waiting for someone to say this!
bwellnjonesco - June 23, 2010
Hell yes!
Scott Coleman - June 23, 2010 via mobile
CHINO CADAHIA...
… has what it takes to get this team back to a Championship.
sdp - June 23, 2010
....Haithcock for bench coach?
sddbaker - June 23, 2010
Hell yeah.
And personal trainer.
sdp - June 23, 2010
Oh, Jeffrey Loria.
So the Marlins added zero veteran players this offseason and Loria expects the team to run away with the division. Hilarious. How about next time, you open up your pocketbook if you want to win? Oh well.
Fredi’s not perfect as a manager, but he’d be a pretty good choice. Way better than Ned Yost (who seems likely to keep the Royals job anyway). We’ll just have to wait and see what happens at the end of the season. Hopefully we’ll all be too excited from the World Series title to care much.
Jacob Peterson - June 23, 2010
I second your hope!
redwards95 - June 23, 2010
I second your hope
Trek - June 24, 2010
failed...
meant to say-
I hope your second
Trek - June 24, 2010
Not sold on adding Fredi now...
That would seem to be blatant disrespect towards our hitting coach. Even if we don’t think he deserves to manage the Braves (I think he’d be a good manager, but that’s just me), we at least owe it to him to keep him in on the hiring process after the season. 9 years is a lot of time.
Weldon - June 23, 2010
Way too early to crown anybody yet.
Here is who I would like to see get interviewed:
Fredi, absolutely.
Chino Cadahia
Bobby Valentine
Dave Brundage
Eddie Perez
We’ll get a good manager out of that short-list, for sure.
Chopaholic - June 23, 2010
Dave Brundage is a darkhorse. If it’s not gonna be Fredi or Eddie, he and Brian Snitker are my choices.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
Bobby Valentine? Really?
Rhyno18 - June 23, 2010
not my choice either
I say give Glavine or Maddux an interview
BeantownVol - June 23, 2010
They need
a good laugh, apparently.
frozendesert - June 23, 2010
If that ever happens
My fandom will be in major, major jeopardy.
Sam Jethroe - June 23, 2010
Can't stand Valentine
I’m with all the above on this one.
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
I think it'll be Fredi
but I’d love to see Eddie Perez managing. The players love him and he is just a generally great guy.
was385 - June 23, 2010
Fredi would be great, Eddie would be freaking awesome. Watch, it’ll go to TP anyway…
John Holton - June 23, 2010
You and Bobby Valentine can jump off a cliff. Might as well have Barry Bonds manage the team.
BullManUGA - June 23, 2010
Bobby Valentine
revoking of Braves fan card for that! haha.
jwrocks - June 23, 2010
I'd love to hear the reason for all the Bobby Valentine hate here.
And please, no “cuz hes da sUx0rz
” or any other such juvenile response (No, that isn’t directed at you jwrocks…coughcoughbullmancough). Sure, I understand that he managed the Mutts, a team we all love to hate, making it to the World Series one of those seasons. He has had great success in Japan in the past. Clearly he can manage, and he is damned cut above the guy that is probably going to get the job…Terry Pendleton.
My only knock on him is that he is 60 years old, and would most likely be a transitory option until the guy I would like to see get the job, Dave Brundage, is just a tad more seasoned.
Chopaholic - June 23, 2010
anyone ballsy enough to do this I wouldn't mind having
was385 - June 23, 2010
Bobby Valentine is actually one of the coolest coaches/managers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and I love watching one of the games that he’s broadcasting. He’s a great baseball guy and I think he’d be a good choice. That being said, I’d rather it be somebody who already has ties to the Braves, and also someone younger.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
I can give you
a few reasons off the top of my head, but these are personal observations that affect my view, therefore probably different from yours. I’ve seen his writing, mostly on ESPN.com, and it seems as if his head is completely stuck back in the nineteenth century. He makes no reference to statistics beyond win-loss records and ERA regarding pitchers and B.A. regarding batters. Instead, his writing focuses on more of the abstract and non-quantifiable characteristics of players. This is not a characteristic that I would want in a manager. Second, it seems as if (again, in my experience) he has a vendetta against the Braves and Bobby Cox. He rarely ever says anything positive. Third, as a manager, he was not that good. In 15 years in the majors, he made the playoffs twice (!) and has a .510 winning percentage. I don’t know exactly about payroll numbers during his tenure with the Rangers, but I’m going to guess that they were pretty high during his time with the Mets. Finally, I just don’t really like him. I’ve never met him, but he seems to be fake rather than a genuine guy (again, just my opinion).
frozendesert - June 23, 2010
The Braves have been great for 20 years because they've focused on makeup and intangibles, not Sabermetrics.
MichaelProcton - June 23, 2010
True
HEYJUDE - June 24, 2010
he’s a good broadcaster. The man is meant to be on tv. But matt millen has shown the sports world that even the best, most personable commentator don’t necessarily know anything about sports.
telemakhos - June 23, 2010
Steve Karsay, Terry Mulholland, Bobby Valentine, Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura….Names that are stricken from the Braves book, IMO. Most of my reasons for not wanting Valentine are also personal, so I’ll just digress and say that I really don’t have any other reasons than what is stated already.
jwrocks - June 23, 2010
The ONLY problem with Eddie Perez...
is that I could see him calling for a “beanball” at least 4 times a game!
We would lead the league in bench clearing brawls!!
HalleyGator - June 23, 2010
And you say that's a problem? :)
John Holton - June 23, 2010
Especially if Paul Byrd is pitching.
TonyAlmeyda - June 23, 2010
If that's the deal
I say “You’re hired”
We need to up our Badass Quotient.
Sam Jethroe - June 23, 2010
The comments on the Braves facebook fan page
Make me want to shoot all of them.
They’re starting a TP for manager campaign!
BigG1392 - June 23, 2010
Oh God....
…..no………
AvoidTheDolphin - June 23, 2010
No! Not a guy the organization has trusted for 9 years!
Weldon - June 23, 2010
+1
I don’t know if TP would be a good manager or not, but neither does anyone else. Whatever his strengths and weaknesses as a hitting coach, you can’t really infer too much from them regarding his potential as a manager. I don’t see any reason to fear him being named manager.
That said, he’d be (at best) 3rd on my list, behind at least Fredi and Eddie Perez.
Jacob Peterson - June 23, 2010
I'm for TP, first and foremost.
Eddie second (and I want TP to retain him if he gets the job.)
I hate to pull the Old School card but I never thought I would see the day that Bobby motherfucking Valentine would be running more or less even with the guy who was the catalyst for this team learning and believing how good it was in 1991.
Sam Jethroe - June 23, 2010
I could support pac’s list.
Lizziebeth - June 24, 2010
As could I
HEYJUDE - June 24, 2010
Side topic:
Why isn’t Leo Mazzone employed as a manager or coach somewhere? Maybe I’m missing some backstory on him.
KoKo the Monkey (T-Bone) - June 23, 2010
He’s too arrogant to accept a job as anything other than a Major League pitching coach, and after his time in Baltimore people are convinced he’s not as good of a coach as everyone thought he was in Atlanta. He doesn’t work very well with younger players because he destroys their confidence by riding them. He’d be fine on a great team with great veteran pitchers, but anything else probably wouldn’t work out well, which is why he doesn’t have a job as a coach.
cbwilk - June 23, 2010
Great insight. Thanks.
I’ve never been very impressed with his expert baseball opinions he shares on 680 the Fan, so I’m not jockeying for him to get a job with the Braves. Half of his commentary is on how bitter he still is about his experience in Baltimore.
KoKo the Monkey (T-Bone) - June 23, 2010
And why shouldn't he be?
Awful organization to be a pert of.
MichaelProcton - June 23, 2010
I’ve heard similar things about his coaching style. Never heard any direct criticsm or specifics, but I recall one or more former Braves’ pitchers that played under him basically saying he had a “my way or the highway” mentality. He didn’t listen to what the pitchers had to say, much less cared.
Old Braves' Fan - June 23, 2010
I like Fredi Gonzalez.
I feel like he’s the front runner at this point. Frank Wren and Fredi do have a previous connection, as Frank was the director of scouting for Florida during the early to mid 90s while Fredi was a minor league manager in their system.
As much as I like Fredi, I wouldn’t discount someone like Brian Snitker. Brian had a great rapport with his players when he was coaching in the Braves minor league system. His experience level is not that different from Fredi’s when he got the Florida job.
KB21 - June 23, 2010
Manny Acta
Call me crazy but I prefer Manny Acta to Fredi Gonzalez. I think if Acta was given a legitimate roster (aka not Washington or Cleveland) he would be a great manager.
McLouth Maniac - June 23, 2010
I agree with that.
Sam Jethroe - June 24, 2010
Fredi has to be it
Really their are three opt’s for ATL to replace Cox on the bench after this season.
1 – T. Pendleton
2 – E. Perez
3- F. Gonzo
(no the order of the above mean nothing)
So with that posted above Freddie Gonzo has to be the favorite at this point; he knows the organization and the players and I think he did pretty well a couple of seasons ago for us.
E. Perez would be my second choice, just love the guy but he needs to be a manager at the minor league level before he takes on our MLB club. An Terry P is nowhere near ready to be a MLB manager although I have said all along that he is waiting around ATL for the at chance.
I vote Fredi for manager in 2011 ~ Go Braves.
Holty_Panthers_Fan - June 23, 2010
Dont let Mr. Cox fool you
He will NOT be hanging it up after this year. Once he gets another WS ring, he will want to be back.
SOOoooo all this talk is pointless right now
Trek - June 24, 2010
ha, i really doubt that
McGriff the Crime Dog - June 24, 2010
I can't help but wonder if Fredi is going to be the one,
and the Marlins somehow found out and fired him. I say this because Bobby said Fredi called him at 8am the following morning to let him know he had been fired. I realize they are friends and all, but still….IDK, just a guess.
I would be happy with Fredi. I think it would be a smoother transition with someone that has worked with the Braves in the past. That said, I would not want TP for various reasons.
HEYJUDE - June 24, 2010
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