Bobby Cox will enter the Hall-of-Fame as one of the greatest managers of all time. Known as the ultimate player’s manager, Cox retired with more wins than all but three other managers.
Fredi Gonzalez, the man in charge of replacing Cox, compared it to replacing legendary Alabama football coach Paul Bear Bryant. When Bryant retired, the coach that replaced him angered some fans by removing a famous tower from Alabama’s practice field.
In his first month at the helm, Gonzalez has made it clear he isn’t afraid to change things.
The changes started in spring training, where the Braves really took advantage of the extra practice fields at their Spring Training complex. Said Eddie Perez, “We did work the same way, [but] we’re doing it quicker. There’s always something for the players to do. You don’t have to wait your turn to do something.”
The team now stretches before games on the field. While it’s impossible to tell whether or not this has affected things, the Braves are hoping that players will stay healthier over the course of MLB’s 162 game marathon.
Another big change is the infield practice that the Braves now take. In the past, the team took some infield during batting practice but never focused solely on fielding. With the Braves defensive woes in the recent past, it seems focusing on fielding was long overdue.
One of the most noticeable differences thus far under Gonzalez is his style of bullpen management.
In the past couple years, Cox relied on a select few arms a large amount of the time and they always ended up among the league leaders in innings pitched and games. Last year, many dubbed rookie Jonny Venters “Everyday Jonny” because he appeared in 79 games.
Additionally, Peter Moylan appeared in 85 games, the second most of any player in the majors. The year before, Moylan was also second in appearances despite coming off surgery. That year (2009) the Braves had four relievers finish in the top 10 in appearances.
So far just a few weeks into the 2011 season, all of the Braves relievers that started the year with the club have appeared in at least six games.
While Cox is still around the team all the time (a situation which Gonzalez doesn’t mind) there are changes happing in Atlanta. Braves fans can only hope that Fredi can enjoy the same success that Cox did in his time as manager of the Braves.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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