Is it time to start giving Fredi credit?

[weso1]

I know that we all complain about his in game moves, but I also imagine every fan of every team ever complaining about their manager's daily in game moves. But the bottom line is that we're now 12.5 games in first place and have a record right there with the best in baseball. Fredi has to be doing something right, doesn't he?

We weren't expected to do this well and we haven't escaped injuries and horrible slumps from key players. I think it's time to give Fredi some credit.

[nsacpi]

I pick on Fredi some for bullpen management, but other than that I think he is a good manager. He is patient with slumping hitters, but after a couple months he starts to reduce their playing time. That approach seems about right to me. He's been good in terms of recognizing the value of young players like Gattis and Terdoslavich.

As far as the pen goes, my only real complaint this year was the overuse of Gearrin in the first couple months of the season. I was impressed this last series the way he got the platoon matchups in our favor by using Carpenter and Ayala in some high-leverage situations. Having the second lefty in the pen is going to help him.

And I love the current lineup. I'm a little undecided there whether to congratulate Fredi or ask him why it took so long.

[Gary82]

I hate to give him credit for moving Simba out of the leadoff spot, but I guess I'll give him credit for not being an obstinate ass.

Seriously, he's handling a winning team with a lot of egos. That's not so easy to do.

[VirginiaBrave]

Its been time to give him credit, he followed a legend and the organization didn't miss a beat. Now win this thing.

[GovClintonTyree]

He's real good. I don't like bunting, I'd like to run a little more, I'd like him to argue more and protect his players, but that's not in his nature. He handles the clubhouse and that's 90% of the gig.

[The Chosen One]

He's real good. I don't like bunting, I'd like to run a little more, I'd like him to argue more and protect his players, but that's not in his nature. He handles the clubhouse and that's 90% of the gig.

Maybe it's something as he gets older. Older he gets the grumpier he gets.

[bravesnumberone]

Yes indeed it is. Still not going to back down from pointing out obvious ill-advised moves. But overall, he's doing a good job.

[parkvadawg]

He is a good skipper. His lineup construction sucks. He is bold with the bullpen. I like him

[50PoundHead]

I pick on Fredi some for bullpen management, but other than that I think he is a good manager. He is patient with slumping hitters, but after a couple months he starts to reduce their playing time. That approach seems about right to me. He's been good in terms of recognizing the value of young players like Gattis and Terdoslavich.

As far as the pen goes, my only real complaint this year was the overuse of Gearrin in the first couple months of the season. I was impressed this last series the way he got the platoon matchups in our favor by using Carpenter and Ayala in some high-leverage situations. Having the second lefty in the pen is going to help him.

And I love the current lineup. I'm a little undecided there whether to congratulate Fredi or ask him why it took so long.

I actually think Gonzalez does a good job with the bullpen. He rides the hot hand and I suppose one could argue that he does that a bit too much, but Gonzalez, like Cox, realizes that a win in May is equal to a win in September. I think the other thing that needs to be remembered is that our starters haven't been going deep into games consistently and that is causing as much wear and tear on the bullpen as Gonzalez' usage patterns.

As for Gearrin, he was the hot hand for a couple of weeks and sidearmers supposedly do not need as much rest as other pitchers. Gearrin is probably a AAAA guy and I think Gonzalez just wanted to use him until he got "solved," which was likely to happen.

I think we need another arm in the pen. Getting Downs helped and maybe Wood moves back out to the bullpen in the post-season (if we are there). But unless Ayala shows he's to be trusted, I think another RHP would help.

As for line-up construction, given the nature of the players on the team, there's no obvious lead-off hitter and it was bound to be trial-and-error to find the right mix at the top of the line-up. He's managed through some tough injuries and ton of underperformance early. If for nothing else, he deserves credit for that.

[nsacpi]

He has an underrated sense of humor. His comments in spring training about Pastornicky and Schafer missing the first few optional days was pretty funny. Except a lot of people got all worked up taking it seriously. More recently his comment that he "succumbed" to pressure to move Heyward to leadoff was pretty sly and funny.

[thethe]

I'm just happy the lineup is finally looking good. I can't complain with the results.

[Heyward]

Outside of bullpen management at times, no problem with Fredi.

Like how he rests Luis and Walden last night.

Unfortunately Kimbrel isn't available tonight though...