I agree with this. I'd like to see a new voice in the club house, but this idea that firing Fredi will make this team much better is foolish. Fredi is so horrible as a manager that he has a career 634-569 record. IMO, Fredi's managerial decisions cost this team maybe 2-3 games on the year, which is what I'd guess is pretty much across the board for major league baseball managers.
The fact that this team had trouble scoring runs when they didn't hit a home run and couldn't bridge the gap between the starters and the pen had a much larger effect on the fact that this team had a losing record this year.
I don't think anyone disagrees the offense and lesser bullpen are the main contributors. But Fredi helped nail the door shut several times with mind-numbingly awful decisions. Not to mention leaving Kimbrel in the pen in the playoffs last year.
Also, this team flat out quit the last month of the year. To me, that does not justify keeping Fredi.
What manager in baseball does give his team an advantage though? I think Buck Showalter is the best in baseball by a significant margin, but I'm not sure I can even point to where he gives his team enough of an advantage where it makes much of a difference relative to wins and losses. I doubt Buck could come in and make BJ Upton a good hitter or make Andrelton Simmons a better base runner.
I'm curious then. Should Bob Melvin be fired for Oakland's collapse this year? I bring him up because he is a guy many of the sabermetric guys tout as one of the best managers in baseball because he is willing to use the data in his decisions, yet Oakland went from having the best record in baseball to having to win its last game just to get into a one game playoff.
Braves1976 (09-28-2014)
I'm not gonna bother with the Braves. I'll post here, I'll check in on the guys I like (Jason, Justin, Freddie, Gattis, Simmons, Minor, Julio, Wood, and Kimbrel) but aside from checking stats/highlights I'm not watching them play live or online, I'm not buying anything Braves related, I'm not gonna do a damned thing to support the Braves if all they care about is loyalty.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Dalyn (09-28-2014)
bravesnumberone (09-28-2014), Garmel (09-28-2014)
Braves1976 (09-28-2014), Dalyn (09-28-2014), jpx7 (09-29-2014)
Braves1976 (09-28-2014), bravesnumberone (09-28-2014)
I'd replace him with a manager whose team doesn't quit on him down the stretch.
I'd replace him with a guy who knows not to hit BJ freaking Upton leadoff.
I'd replace him with a guy who knows how to use his bench.
I'd replace him with a guy who doesn't leave Kimbrel in the pen with the season on the line.
There has to be more than a couple guys out there.
the "good" news is with a new GM a bad start will get Fredi canned in May. And there will be a bad start; this team is absolute toast. He "deserves" another year but when we suck again next year they'll realize he's part of the problem.
Nobody who values job security will take the soon to be vacant hitting coach position. They'll be an interim manager, then a real manager for 2016 and he'll want his own guys, not Fredi's second wave.
Well one thing he could have done was bat our best hitters in a row at the top of the batting order. Heywood/Justin/Freeman/Gattis. I thought it was well established last year that our offense was at its best with Justin batting second. Why is it then that Fredi didn't try it once this year. They never tried Heywood in center and Gattis in left once either. If it was good enough to start a playoff game how can you not even try it once in 2014.
Other than that the bullpen could be managed better. I still think he should be fired for not bringing in Kimbrel in game 4.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
jason27nc (10-01-2014)
AerchAngel (09-28-2014), Dalyn (09-28-2014), jpx7 (09-29-2014)