Freeman Trade Speculation

He can't say we are burning it down and it will be a while til we are competitive. He just can't. It's not good for ticket sales. I think people want that, but it just really doesn't go down like that does it? They want Joe Casual fan to blindly come to the park still, but if he hears we intend to be ****ty then he writes that off.
 
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Tapate50 said:
He can't say we are burning it down and it will be a while til we are competitive. He just can't. It's not good for ticket sales. I think people want that, but it just really doesn't go down like that does it? They want Joe Casual fan to blindly come to the park still, but if he hears we intend to be ****ty then he writes that off.
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But he is so defensive and clearly puckered that his moves are being criticized. It's very worrisome.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
My lord. Everyone is being incredibly pathetic. Give the dude time...
It's not even December yet.
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He's in over his head. By December the Braves will have zero players left. Two more weeks of him running the show might mean the end of the Braves.
 
You never let them see you sweat. Not a guy in his position. Not ever.

I don't care how good he is at team building, he's got a lot to learn about PR. Adding this snafu to his opening speech debacle doesn't give me confidence that he's the right guy. Maybe Fredi, who's a master by comparison, can give him some pointers.
 
Runnin said:
I hope Coppy's got the stomach for this. If he's doing his job right he should not care what fans think. In the short run fans are always in a panic.
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Right. Of course Coppy deserves time....him and Hart decided to rebuild so we need to see how the prospects pan out....and that takes time. Maybe it's just me but I find it weird him venting so much to Nightengale. He should fully expect this public backlash for trading away the team. Whether it ends up being the right or wrong move.
 
Tapate50 said:
He can't say we are burning it down and it will be a while til we are competitive. He just can't. It's not good for ticket sales. I think people want that, but it just really doesn't go down like that does it? They want Joe Casual fan to blindly come to the park still, but if he hears we intend to be ****ty then he writes that off.
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I agree entirely that he can't say that explicitly, or say other things that are likely to completely alienate casual fans. A masochist like me will be on board even if alienated, but that's not true of everyone.

That said, I agree with a lot of the specific criticisms of his communication. A lot of the things he said essentially read as a guarantee that we will be better then we were last year, and right now there is little, er, reason to believe that's the case.

He came off as pissy and desperate in that interview. And yeah, he painted himself into a corner. The way he's set it up, any moves he makes have to legitimately improve the team NOW and yet not push the hope of meaningful contention further into the future. That's quite a tightrope act. Still, writing him off as incompetent or in over his head is imprudent and premature.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
My lord. Everyone is being incredibly pathetic. Give the dude time...
It's not even December yet.
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I am fine with what he is doing.. just not a fan of what and how he said what he said in that interview...

he set himself up to maybe have to make excuses. he didn't put a time frame on if he would ever trade Freeman. One day a trade might be necessary and if it is and the Braves do it, then he will have to answer to this interview. If the team loses 100 games next year, he will have to answer to this interview. If he would have said we will be better then there is less to have to explain.
 
bravesfanforlife88 said:
I think we all have to remember that he is one of the youngest at his position. He is going to have his growing pains
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Julio3000 said:
That said, I agree with a lot of the specific criticisms of his communication. A lot of the things he said essentially read as a guarantee that we will be better then we were last year, and right now there is little, er, reason to believe that's the case.

He came off as pissy and desperate in that interview. And yeah, he painted himself into a corner. The way he's set it up, any moves he makes have to legitimately improve the team NOW and yet not push the hope of meaningful contention further into the future. That's quite a tightrope act. Still, writing him off as incompetent or in over his head is imprudent and premature.
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And honestly, what's the point of "being better than last year?" We were awful last year. It's one thing if you think you can make the team legitimately good, but the mere goal of just winning more games than we did last season is nearly pointless. If we only lose 90 games next year is Coppollela going to come strutting out to the end-of-season press conference like Vince McMahon while "No Chance in Hell" plays in the background?
 
MadduxFanII said:
And honestly, what's the point of "being better than last year?" We were awful last year. It's one thing if you think you can make the team legitimately good, but the mere goal of just winning more games than we did last season is nearly pointless. If we only lose 90 games next year is Coppollela going to come strutting out to the end-of-season press conference like Vince McMahon while "No Chance in Hell" plays in the background?
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Yeah, exactly. The benefit of winning a handful of games is negligible compared to the importance of

-getting reps for the young guys
-not tying up payroll/playing time on bandaid fixes
-a protected pick in the draft

I realize that Coppy can't say this, but I sure hope he's thinking it. Likewise, I hope that he can smooth out the substance of what he does choose to say.
 
Diesel said:
But he is so defensive and clearly puckered that his moves are being criticized. It's very worrisome.
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Agreed. My primary issue with the FO has not been the moves they've made but the way they've communicated with the fan base. They have basically not attempted any real explanation of their plan; they're just trading the faces of the franchise with mostly silence and weak justifications ('Aybar has a .276 career BA, we can win more with him!'), then becoming upset when people criticize them, or are angry and confused.

You have to at least give the fans some sense of what you're trying to do, and you also have to let them know that you understand it sucks right now. The dismissiveness and defensiveness are ridiculous. I believe Coppy is very good at analytics and determining value, but I think he's going to be pretty bad in the PR aspects of the job. You can't treat your fan base like this and expect them to stick by you.
 
Some context here: first, of all, Millwood quotes are all bogus. Zero credibility, even if he uses part of a real quote, you can't cry wolf. I would personally ban him for the practice.

As for the rant to Nightengale ... for decades, he has been Scherholz's go-to guy, who has been accurate about Braves doing more than any other national media. He is a confidant, he is the pipeline, he is the trial balloon. He is the writer the FO guys tell the truth to. Anything that comes from Nightengale, I as former member of the media will take to the bank every time.
 
smootness said:
Agreed. My primary issue with the FO has not been the moves they've made but the way they've communicated with the fan base. They have basically not attempted any real explanation of their plan; they're just trading the faces of the franchise with mostly silence and weak justifications ('Aybar has a .276 career BA, we can win more with him!'), then becoming upset when people criticize them, or are angry and confused.

You have to at least give the fans some sense of what you're trying to do, and you also have to let them know that you understand it sucks right now. The dismissiveness and defensiveness are ridiculous. I believe Coppy is very good at analytics and determining value, but I think he's going to be pretty bad in the PR aspects of the job. You can't treat your fan base like this and expect them to stick by you.
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Which all along is why I believe we put Hart in the position he was in the first place, to spearhead the teardown and bring back and assemble the scouting/development portion. But moreso the PR part. I don't like how Coppy is handling things in the media so far at all. For all the fun I make from the BS that has come from the mouth of JS, at least you knew that he had thick skin and merit in why and how he saying something even if it didn't make any sense to a casual observer or fan.

Yep, Nightengale is JS's boy. Out of all the major market reporters, if there is something concerning the Braves, I listen and believe because that guy is tapped inside the organization and has great sources.

Sorry, Rico, I just like to spin things every now and again and have a little fun. Didn't realize it bothered so many folks.
 
The lackluster PR moves over the past week are concerning. It's a weakness for Coppy that's been exposed, and one I'm sure he'll be coached to work on. I'm personally not too worked up about it, but I think the criticism is fair and it could have an impact on the morale of some casual Braves fans / consumers. My "grade" of Coppy this offseason will be almost exclusively based on how he builds the MLB and MiLB rosters. I'm still cautiously optimistic.
 
smootness said:
Agreed. My primary issue with the FO has not been the moves they've made but the way they've communicated with the fan base. They have basically not attempted any real explanation of their plan; they're just trading the faces of the franchise with mostly silence and weak justifications ('Aybar has a .276 career BA, we can win more with him!'), then becoming upset when people criticize them, or are angry and confused.

You have to at least give the fans some sense of what you're trying to do, and you also have to let them know that you understand it sucks right now. The dismissiveness and defensiveness are ridiculous. I believe Coppy is very good at analytics and determining value, but I think he's going to be pretty bad in the PR aspects of the job. You can't treat your fan base like this and expect them to stick by you.
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To be fair, while Aybar isn't world beater, he could indeed be a valuable player for next year or possibly 2 years. As Weso pointed out earlier, he was actually better than Simba as recently as 2014. And it isn't like we go from an elite defensive SS to a poor defensive SS. Aybar is still pretty slick with the glove even if he isn't anywhere close to Simbas level (few actually are).
 
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