OSG Sports has learned that Fredi Gonzalez will be the new manager of the Atlanta Braves succeeding Bobby Cox. A news conference is scheduled for Thursday to introduce Gonzalez.
At the OSG HQ, we have anticipated this. Gonzalez has close ties to Braves general manager Frank Wren. He's a close friend to Bobby Cox and was the Braves third base coach from 2003 to 2006.
One might say Gonzalez aced his managerial audition to succeed Cox in his three and a half years as the Florida Marlins manager. Despite a low payroll and working for an impossible owner, Gonzalez managed the Marlins to a 276-279 record.
It seems it's no secret in the Braves clubhouse that Gonzalez was the pick to succeed Cox.
"Fredi Gonzalez is always first in my mind that pops up, just because this organization has been run the same for so long," Braves pitcher Derek Lowe told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I can't imagine, especially since [Braves president John] Schuerholz is still here and Bobby's going to go upstairs, so you're going to have that same group of guys that have been running this organization successfully for so long, I can't see them all of a sudden saying, ‘Hey, let's go in a completely different direction than we've ever been in.'"
Those of us at the OSG HQ feel its a no brainer and Fredi Gonzalez is a great hire.
Photo Courtesy: Daniel R. Harris/Icon SMI
Here's the Gonzalez presser, thanks to our friends at MyFoxAtlanta... FOSG Ken Rodriguez takes over from here...
Bobby Cox says goodbye/Courtesy-Jamie Squire/GettyImages
Admittedly, this was hard to watch. I grew up a Braves fan and have been one my whole life. Seeing the greatest manager the team will ever have end his career is tough. It's even tougher since I got to spend 10-years covering him.
Last night, the San Francisco Giants beat the Braves 3-2, winning their National League Division Series 3-1. It was also the last time that #6, the 4th winningest manager in the history of baseball would take the field.
Even though the Braves lost, this may have been Bobby Cox's best managing job. Somehow, someway, he took a beat up an injured team, a team that nobody thought before the season would be in the playoffs and won 91 games and made it. The NLDS lineup looked like a Spring Training split squad with holes, but they competed, they made every game close and still had a chance to win.
In the end, Bobby's loyalty to his guys may have gotten the best of him. Derrick Lowe probably stayed in one batter too long. The game before, he changed pitchers when he probably shouldn't have. But he was, until the end loyal to his players. He expected them to produce, to do their jobs.
At the end of the game, the fans who stuck around gave him a standing ovation. So did his players. And so did the Giants, who stopped their celebration, to acknowledge him. Classy.
Apparently after the game, his final speech to the team was very emotional. That's not a surprise. You could still hear a little of that in his post-game press conference. But it didn't get the best of him. It never would.
There are a segment of Atlanta fans who never understood the guy. They didn't appreciate what they had. They said he underachieved with "talented" teams. And no, they won't understand what they had. To know the guy, to see him interact with his players over the years is the only way that you could. And for those fans who think they'll be better without him.....Don't be so sure, you never realize how good you had it until you don't.
Here is a good wrap up of last nights events from our friends at WAGA/MyFoxAtlanta:
Bobby at Spring Training with FOSG Eric Hager shooting video/Courtesy: Rob Carr/AP
We've been trying to figure out a good time to do this and decided that as we hit the last full week of the Major league baseball season, now is as good a time as any.
For those who want a good, national perspective, here is a nicely done article by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com RIGHT HERE
I got the opportunity to cover Bobby Cox for almost 10-years and am proud to say so. I can say without a doubt he was one of the most interesting yet honest people that I ever covered.
There are so many stories that I can tell. Stories that some may know and some may not. Sure, everyone has given perspective of how much of a players manager he is--and was. There is no questioning that nor should there be. But I think that probably the toughest thing that both he...and his players are going to have to deal with is...a new routine.
Bobby, without fail did the same things...at the same time, every year. At Spring Training, he didn't push his guys hard. His only rule. Be there on time, ready to take the field promptly at 9am. He always started the 1st full day the same way. A locker room speech. Not a long one, but always a speech. Once he finished, the team would make its way to the dugout and on cue, the field.
Mark Harmon and Me at Braves Spring Training 2006/Courtesy: Eric Hager
Shortly thereafter, he would waddle out to the field and we'd interview him. Always, always the optimist, he'd be excited by that years team, he'd say they "Should be really good". The interview would last a good 5-minutes or so and then we'd all move on.
He really didn't have a lot rules for the players. No boom boxes/loud music in the locker room. If you had your uniform on, make sure the team logo could be seen. Show up on time and give your best effort. If you did that, you were good. The stories about his loyalty are all true. If he liked you and respected you, he'd fight for you with his last breath.
Bobby's Spring Training places were three...either on a golf cart, under a tent in the right field bullpen or on a bench behind the batting cage. He was always in one of those three places. Without fail. The players, they did their work. They were expected to. It didn't have to be said and wasn't.
There are several other stories that stood out to me. In 2001, Bobby had bad knees, they hadn't been replaced yet. I would, weekly during that season, shoot an interview with him for a show that aired on the station that I worked for. Didn't do the interview, just shot it. But always, we'd help Bobby up on top of the dugout where we did the interview. He never complained, patiently sat there and took our help getting him up. Always...the professional.
When I worked Braves games, the 1st place we went after the game to get sound was his office. His office was just down the hall from the dressing room and had/has a big plasma TV on the wall facing his desk. On Sunday's, after the day game, he always would ask where the race was on TV. And I always would tell him, sometimes before he asked. He'd light up a cigar and then either me, or one of the writers would ask him a question or two, he'd talk about what happened and how well his guys did and we'd proceed to the locker room.
Before the games, he always was in the same place. Once BP started, he was on the end of the bench, nearest to the tunnel and would be talking to whomever sidled over to talk. Sometimes it would be a writer, sometimes Braves PR guy Brad Hanjie, sometimes it would be the Atlanta Police officer working the game from the dugout.
He'd be happy to talk to them. He would get a little more nervous if one of us TV guys came around, but would always talk...always acknowledge the reporter by name. Though he would occasionally get them confused. For a couple of years, he confused my reporter, Mark Harmon with WXIA-TV sports reporter Randy Waters. Mark and I would finish our interview and he'd say "Thanks Randy". It always got a huge laugh from me, Mark's face usually turned red...and then he would laugh too.
I can't say, like Chipper Jones, that Bobby is the only Braves manager I've ever known. I've been a fan since I was a kid. I still remember Chuck Tanner and Joe Torre (early years) and Dave Bristol. I remember the teams with Larvell Blanks and Bob Horner and Buzz Capra and Biff Pocoroba. But he was the only one that I got to cover. And the fact that he was the same guy the first time we talked as he was the last time, speaks volumes to the guy he is.
Yes, it was an honor to have covered the team that I grew up rooting for. It was a bigger honor to say that I got to interact with some of the greats in the history of baseball. The lasting memory however, will always be with Bobby Cox. He is, was and will always be remembered as "THE" manager of the Atlanta Braves.
Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox was honored by the United States Congress for 50 years in baseball on Tuesday. A cake was made in Cox's honor. Unfortunately spell check wasn't an option.
When staffers for Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson saw the error they quickly sliced into the bottom half of the cake.
Here's what Isakson spokesman Sheridan Watson said about the cake gaffe.
"The catering company had delivered the cake and we immediately realized his last name was spelled incorrectly. The only people who saw it were me, the scheduler and unfortunately some media members who had arrived early and took pictures. We immediately started cutting the cake.”
Those of us at the OSG HQ hope the cake didn't taste like the way the Braves manager's name was misspelled.
***BREAKING NEWS****...Well sort of. Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves have come to an agreement today that the 2010 season will be the soon to be Hall of Famer's last as manager of the Braves. The contract also says that Cox will stay on with the Braves as a "Special Consultant" thru the 2015 season.
The story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution HERE.
Cox is one of the last "Old-School" managers in baseball and I can tell you from experience is one of a kind. The stories that you hear about the respect and love his players have for him is true. I've seen it first hand. He really does treat each of the players as a professional and expects them to act that way. Cox will be happy to sit and tell old baseball stories in the dugout during batting practice to pretty much anyone who will listen.
It's our guess that Cox wanted to at least have a season with the next crop of "Baby Braves" on the way up. Much like in the past, their farm system is stocked with guys like Jason Heyward and Freddy Freeman plus the big club has good mix of young players with Tommy Hanson, Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar and others. Don't be surprised if there is a movement for a Bobby Cox "retirement tour", he won't have any part of it...it's not in his makeup and believe this...it's a good thing.
Here's legacy coverage from our friends at WAGA-TV/MyFoxAtlanta FOSG Buck Lanford takes the lead...
OSG Sports has learned that Fredi Gonzalez will be the new manager of the Atlanta Braves succeeding Bobby Cox. A news conference is scheduled for Thursday to introduce Gonzalez.
