Official Fire Fredi Thread

[clvclv]

Actually, I "bitched" about the changes to his delivery, and I suggested they were because he made an adjustment after getting hit in the knee. And players CONSTANTLY say they aren't hurt when they are. It happens all the damn time. Julio changed his delivery almost IMMEDIATELY after getting hit. Last night was the first start since then that it looked more like before, but it was still off some. You think it's a coincidence that he went 12 innings with only 1 run before getting hit in the knee and immediately blew up afterward for 3+ weeks? I also don't understand why you and others have to be so damn hostile when discussing an issue. Can't people disagree and debate something without insulting and being childish?

And if you'd have been paying attention yesterday, they continuously updated the difference in pitch selection and how they made a point of discussing it with Julio between starts. He's said since day one that his knee wasn't bothering him, and those of you that honestly believe that Roger and Fredi haven't watched their #1 SP's throwing sessions and bullpens like hawks for differences in his delivery that could be attributed to his knee actually bothering him are just nuts.

If they were indeed being that reckless, both would deserve to be fired. Of course some of you know Julio's delivery and demeanor MUCH more intimately from watching him on TV than Fredi and McDowell do when they watch him every day.

[Dalyn]

No point in trying to discuss things with you. You might be right. Maybe his knee is fine. Maybe it was all coincidence that he blew up directly afterward and changed his delivery and started pitching scared and put on a knee brace. But you aren't happy with being maybe right. No. Everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot and nothing you say is ever wrong, and you make sure to point that out just about every post.

[Dalyn]

For the record, Teheran admitted that getting hit in the knee rattled him and got in his head and that he pitched scared afterward. If he's not really hurt, and it looks like if he was maybe he's better now (though I think we need more than one start to see), then I think it stayed in his head for a couple starts. He CLEARLY changed his delivery and pitched scared afterward. Whether it was a physical injury or a mental one is the real question.

[clvclv]

No point in trying to discuss things with you. You might be right. Maybe his knee is fine. Maybe it was all coincidence that he blew up directly afterward and changed his delivery and started pitching scared and put on a knee brace. But you aren't happy with being maybe right. No. Everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot and nothing you say is ever wrong, and you make sure to point that out just about every post.

Actually that's far from the case - I don't ever KNOW whether I'm right about anything - I simply point out the opposing side, particularly when there's substantial evidence available to support a differing opinion.

I'm certainly not a qualified "numbers guy/stathead" like many here are, but it was pretty easy to look up his pitch selection percentages on FanGraphs and find out that he's been throwing a much greater percentage of sliders and much lower percentage of changeups than he has in the past (25.2% sliders including yesterday's improved outing).

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx...on=P#pitchtype

The one pitch that has always gotten Julio in trouble is his slider - he has a tendency to not finish when he throws it at times, and it turns into a spinner. When he does that it gets hammered - and there's not much of a coincidence that when he does that he gives up HRs in bunches.

[50PoundHead]

I don't know if the knee affected him or not, but I've never seen him pitch like he did against the Nats last Tuesday night. It was like he was afraid to go inside. The Nats were pummeling all of our guys when they worked away, so it may have been the scouting report. Whatever, when Teheran isn't aggressive, he becomes very ordinary.

[Dalyn]

Actually that's far from the case - I don't ever KNOW whether I'm right about anything - I simply point out the opposing side, particularly when there's substantial evidence available to support a differing opinion.

I'm certainly not a qualified "numbers guy/stathead" like many here are, but it was pretty easy to look up his pitch selection percentages on FanGraphs and find out that he's been throwing a much greater percentage of sliders and much lower percentage of changeups than he has in the past (25.2% sliders including yesterday's improved outing).

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx...on=P#pitchtype

The one pitch that has always gotten Julio in trouble is his slider - he has a tendency to not finish when he throws it at times, and it turns into a spinner. When he does that it gets hammered - and there's not much of a coincidence that when he does that he gives up HRs in bunches.

There's definitely some good points around his pitch selection, which we've discussed during the games before. We also discussed his changed delivery, his command issues (a result of the delivery change, most likely), and his sudden change to pitching scared. I think he went a long way toward correcting some of that last night. He still had a hitch in his delivery and some command issues. Props to Roger for getting most of that worked out.

[dak]

New Rosenthal article lists Fredi as on the hot seat. That much we probably already know. There are a couple interesting passages though that I've highlighted below. I continue to think that Fredi is a dead man walking.

The reconstructed Braves, at 18-19, actually have exceeded expectations, and their weekend sweep of the Marlins in Miami helped trigger Redmond’s dismissal.
So, what’s the rub, especially when Gonzalez is thought to be a favorite of both team president John Schuerholz and special assistant Bobby Cox?
He isn’t necessarily a favorite of the new president of baseball operations, John Hart. The Braves had lost five of six games before sweeping the Marlins, prompting internal finger-pointing, according to major-league sources.
It will be difficult for the Braves to justify a change if the team hovers around .500; hardly anyone expected them to contend this season. But it also stands to reason that Hart eventually might want his own man. The team’s previous GM, Frank Wren, reportedly wanted to fire Gonzalez at the end of last season but ultimately took the fall himself.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/n...d-black-051815

[zitothebrave]

John Hart better watch out, last guy who tried to fire Fredi got fired first.

[Dalyn]

I think the main reason they kept Fredi is because Wren wanted to fire him, and that's just pathetic. Hopefully, they correct that error sooner rather than later.

[50PoundHead]

I don't particularly like or dislike Gonzalez, but his bullpen management is his biggest problem.

[nsacpi]

I don't particularly like or dislike Gonzalez, but his bullpen management is his biggest problem.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. He is managing the bench much better this year. He kind of let some guys rot there last year, which affected things like pinch hitting.

[The Chosen One]

Not to defend Fredi here, but does Hart think he actually has some type of 95 win team on the field?

THe players seem to be playing hard for Fredi. The clubhouse seems to be more close knit than it was previously. Reality is Fredi doesn't have a bullpen anymore that he can rely on.

[50PoundHead]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. He is managing the bench much better this year. He kind of let some guys rot there last year, which affected things like pinch hitting.

The Doumit acquisition was kind of puzzling in retrospect. You can't go from 400+ ABs to less than 200 ABs in one fell swoop. Plus, he's atrocious defensively. Simply an AL player. The rest of the bench was kind of this odd mix. Fredi went sink-or-swim with his 8 main guys, which means they all had to perform. Of course, you had to give Uggla the opportunity to either play himself back or off the team given the investment and that kind of messed things up. I think it's another example of how Wren painted himself into a corner.

Speaking of possible bench guys, I can't remember what Terdoslavich's injury is and when he is slated to return.

[nsacpi]

Hand injury for Terdoslavich. Those can take a while to come back from.

[Julio3000]

John Hart better watch out, last guy who tried to fire Fredi got fired first.

Chessmaster Fredi is gonna orchestrate a palace coup against Hart.

[Julio3000]

It's really hard to imagine what kind of finger-pointing could be going on in the FO. Pretty much everyone but Teheran and Wood are performing as expected, and most guys are over-performing.

"YOU said Stults was better than Wandy!" [SCHEURHOLZ POINTS FINGER AT HART]

"Oh yeah? YOU said Bert Callaspo reminded you of Terry Pendleton!" [HART POINTS FINGER AT SCHUERHOLZ]

"Stat boy over there said Cahill is an upside steal at $5M!" [BOTH POINT FINGERS AT COPPY]

[CyYoung31]

New Rosenthal article lists Fredi as on the hot seat. That much we probably already know. There are a couple interesting passages though that I've highlighted below. I continue to think that Fredi is a dead man walking.

The reconstructed Braves, at 18-19, actually have exceeded expectations, and their weekend sweep of the Marlins in Miami helped trigger Redmond’s dismissal.
So, what’s the rub, especially when Gonzalez is thought to be a favorite of both team president John Schuerholz and special assistant Bobby Cox?
He isn’t necessarily a favorite of the new president of baseball operations, John Hart. The Braves had lost five of six games before sweeping the Marlins, prompting internal finger-pointing, according to major-league sources.
It will be difficult for the Braves to justify a change if the team hovers around .500; hardly anyone expected them to contend this season. But it also stands to reason that Hart eventually might want his own man. The team’s previous GM, Frank Wren, reportedly wanted to fire Gonzalez at the end of last season but ultimately took the fall himself.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/n...d-black-051815

I'm not in Fredi's corner or anything, but what the hell did Hart expect after this offseason? More evidence of a Mukaki Rebuild.

[Millwood1Hitter]

It's really hard to imagine what kind of finger-pointing could be going on in the FO. Pretty much everyone but Teheran and Wood are performing as expected, and most guys are over-performing.

"YOU said Stults was better than Wandy!" [SCHEURHOLZ POINTS FINGER AT HART]

"Oh yeah? YOU said Bert Callaspo reminded you of Terry Pendleton!" [HART POINTS FINGER AT SCHUERHOLZ]

"Stat boy over there said Cahill is an upside steal at $5M!" [BOTH POINT FINGERS AT COPPY]

[Perfect Cell]

New Rosenthal article lists Fredi as on the hot seat. That much we probably already know. There are a couple interesting passages though that I've highlighted below. I continue to think that Fredi is a dead man walking.

The reconstructed Braves, at 18-19, actually have exceeded expectations, and their weekend sweep of the Marlins in Miami helped trigger Redmond’s dismissal.
So, what’s the rub, especially when Gonzalez is thought to be a favorite of both team president John Schuerholz and special assistant Bobby Cox?
He isn’t necessarily a favorite of the new president of baseball operations, John Hart. The Braves had lost five of six games before sweeping the Marlins, prompting internal finger-pointing, according to major-league sources.
It will be difficult for the Braves to justify a change if the team hovers around .500; hardly anyone expected them to contend this season. But it also stands to reason that Hart eventually might want his own man. The team’s previous GM, Frank Wren, reportedly wanted to fire Gonzalez at the end of last season but ultimately took the fall himself.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/n...d-black-051815

Sounds like a mess. Wish Wren would have gotten rid of Freddi.

[The Chosen One]

Ok. Hart is only going to take the job for the next 2 years at the most, why bring in his own guy? Coppy and Hart have two different philosophies. Why not just let Coppy hire his own guy when Hart steps down?