Future for Fredi

With the firing of Fredi Gonzalez by the Florida Marlins yesterday the waters surrounding the 2011 Atlanta Braves managerial job cleared. Fredi spent four years in the Braves system earlier this decade, working at the Double-A Richmond manager in 2002 before moving to the big league third base coach job from 2003 to 2006, and became very close to Bobby Cox and several other members of the Braves coaching staff during his time in Atlanta. In fact Gonzalez still keeps his family home in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, barely 45 minutes from Turner Field.

After leaving the Braves in 2007 to take up the Florida Marlins managerial job Fredi struggled in his first year back in his hometown of Miami, going 71-91 in a somewhat transitional season for the Fish. Over the next two years Florida improved dramatically winning 84 games in 2008 and then 87 last year missing the play-offs by only 5 games, all the while Fredi was manufacturing this one the lowest payrolls in baseball. The wins the were accumulated under Gonzalez (the most by a manager in Marlins history) are a testament to his ability as a player manager, one who squeezed every ounce of potential out of his players whom he trusted wholly. Remind you of anyone?

Despite his success with such limited resources Marlins owner Jeffry Loria felt that Gonzalez’s teams had underachieved, by not being one of the twelve teams that have made the play-offs during his career with Florida. Loria is the same owner that openly schmoozed former Mets manager Bobby Valentine in the off season to potentially replace Gonzalez; it suddenly appears that Loria may actually get his wish after Marlins club president David Samson confirmed that almost the second Fredi closed the door behind him Marlins management were on the phone to Valentine to try and sell him on their franchise. Not that Loria would be getting anything much more successful with the hiring of Valentine, the ESPN analyst is a lifetime 1,117-1,072 with one World Series appearance. At the Texas Rangers, a slightly more comparable organisation than the Mets, he was an unimposing 581-605. That’s right even Bobby Valentine was under .500 at an average team with little money. The Marlins also dealt with a situation earlier this year that cast Gonzalez in a better light than any potential replacement.

When superstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez booted a live ball earlier this year before lazily wandering after it Gonzalez earned the respect of everyone in the baseball community with the way he handled a potentially explosive situation. Hanley was benched, whined like a spoilt brat and later apologised to Fredi and the rest of the Marlins organisation. The manner in which he handled the Ramirez situation highlights everything good about Fredi, his class, consistency, calm and respect. These traits are ones that many major league manners would be the better for possessing. Unsurprisingly it was his players that summed his departure up best, first baseman Gaby Sanchez felt that the team “let him down” while Chris Coughlan, the outstanding young outfielder said “He was a good man, a good manager. He believed in me. He stood for integrity. He was somebody that had your back.”

With every eulogy for his time in Miami the 46 year-old Cuban sounds more and more like his mentor back in Atlanta. The idea has already been floated that he may be brought in by the Braves as a special coach or assistant, this would be the best thing for the team to do in my opinion. This would mean that the Braves would have three of the top managerial candidates inside the organisation before Bobby has started packing his things. Whether it will be Fredi Gonzalez, Eddie Perez or Terry Pendleton there is the potential to piece together the best coaching staff in the game.