[QUOTE="TaCoDuDe"][QUOTE="Ring_of_fire"] Truth be told, the bullpen thing.....hasn't been very different then under Cox. Cox used to like a certain guy, and put them out there frequently. Though, I understand.....I would rather see Venters than Proctor......I sincerely hope they get rid of Proctor when Moylan and/or Medlen come back.......the only time I want to see Proctor is when the Braves are either up 5, or down 5..... Not making any excuses for him, but Braves pen is a bit...beat up...2 big arms in Moylan and Medlen are out till August (At the earliest), and EOF has a sore back. Linebrink has been mediocre, Sherril has been decent for what he is, and Gaerrin is still young, though I hope he gets more innings, and produces. Maybe he can pick up some slack for Venters in the eighth until Moylan gets back. I can''t really defend him with his lineups, but I at least like how he tries something new if something doesn't seem to work. I would like to see Gonzalez out of the #2 hole for good.....But that should be fixed with Prado coming back shortly..... While Fredi may not be the best manager in the bigs, he is far from the worst, or "horrendous". The Braves have the 4th best record in the majors, 2nd best in the NL, I don't believe the Braves are winning despite Fredi....Ring_of_fire
I absolutely think they've been winning in spite of him. Have you seen how he constructs a lineup? He routinely bats Alez Gonzalez second. You know, the same guy with the .265 OBP. He regularly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic lineup principles. And thats before I get into the bullpen "managerment".
So, just because he for some reason bats Gonzalez #2, he's a "horrible manager"? Please. Breakdown of a recent lineup: 1. Jordan Schafer CF: Basically the only two players that fit this role are him and Nate McLouth, with Prado out (Who, btw, is not a true leadoff hitter) 2. Alex Gonzalez SS: Who I do agree that shouldn't be #2. If Fredi keeps him at #2, when Prado gets back, I'll be wondering if he's sane. 3. Brian McCann C: The Braves best hitter, overall. 4. Chipper Jones 3B: Still has some at bats in him, and Fredi is not going to disrespect him from moving him farther down in the lineup 5. Freddie Freeman 1B: Dude's been extremely hot recently, showing middle of the order potential in a year or two. 6. Dan Uggla 2B: Uggla has been struggling all year, but still hitting home runs. Ideally, he'd be 4th or 5th to protect Chipper and/or McCann. He's been getting better, but still has his problem 7. Jason Heyward RF: Another player who's been slumping. Sophmore slump+injury. A lot of people (Too many) want him to be the #2 hitter, due to his eye, and OBP potential. If the Braves want him to become the #3 hitter after Jones retires, batting him 6th would be a lot better than #2. Plus, with being in the 6 hole, uses his power better. 8. Nate McLouth LF-He struggled in the 2 spot, and doesn't have the speed, nor power to be in another position in the lineup. Plus, he;s done decently in the 8th hole, why change move him? The lineup isn't horrible. The only "problem" is that Gonzalez is #2, which should be done when Prado gets back. Here would be my lineup fro when Prado returns: 1. Schafer CF 2. Prado 3B (Jones is on the DL at the moment) 3. McCann C 4. Uggla 2B (Still is hitting for power.....Might respond well to being 4) 5. Freeman 1B 6. Heyward RF 7. Gonzalez SS 8. McLouth LF The Braves are not winning in spite of him. 10 of the last 12 games, Braves offense, with similar lineups as the one he's put out, have scored 4 or more runs in the game. That isn't a bad number. If anything, the Braves are winning despite injuries to key players, and other players struggling. He's not the best manager, but he's far from the worst.....The Braves winning does not exempt Fredi from horrible decisions. At the two most important positions in the lineup, 1 and 2, he has two hitters with sub .300 OBP's. McLouth should be leading off, and Heyward or Chipper should be hitting second. And batting Heyward 6th to "prepare him to hit third" is ridiculous. You want your best hitters getting the most at-bats, and bad year or not, Heyward is one of our best hitters. Batting Schafer and Gonzalez 1-2 is a pretty egregious mistake at the top of a lineup. Does Fredi not understand OBP? The ideal lineup at this point would be:
McClouth
Heyward
Chipper (honestly, Chipper and Heyward should be flipped, but we all know that won't happen)
McCann
Freeman
Uggla
Gonzalez
Schafer
But the real problem with Fredi this year has been bullpen management. Because he stupidly sticks to strictly defined roles in the bullpen, weaker relievers are being routinely used in high leverage situations (Proctor). Jonny Venters (and O'Flaherty and Kimbrel) arm is being torn off thanks to him being used when we have 4 run leads because Fredi won't pitch him unless it's tied or we have a lead in the 7th or later. Bringing in Proctor, hardly a major league caliber pitcher, into extra innings before Kimbrel because "you can't pitch the closer unless it's a save situation". He's only recently figured out that Sherrill should only be used againt right handed hitters.
The Braves win in spite of him on an almost daily basis.
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