Braves’ front office takes easy way out by firing Gonzalez

If ever the term “relieved of his duties” applied in a firing, such would be the case for Fredi Gonzalez. Undoubtedly, his competitive nature led Gonzalez to wanting to withstand this abysmal season and open SunTrust Park next year still employed as the Atlanta Braves’ manager.

But that wasn’t likely to happen, so in a sense the Braves did Gonzalez a favor by firing him Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh, nearly half way through this 10-game road trip.

His job security had become a focal point of fans and media members as the losses continued to mount. As much as Gonzalez wanted to at least get through this season, he’s better off being spared this daily scrutiny, not to mention the blame for this dumpster fire that his bosses started.

Mind you, I think Gonzalez is an average manager at best. His penchant for bunting runners to third was maddening. Employing pinch-hitters or making pitching changes simply to set up favorable matchups was even more exasperating.

That said, how much did that really matter in the scheme of things? The Braves averaged 93 wins in Gonzalez’s first three years after replacing Bobby Cox making those same moves. Now, they’ve become the worst team in baseball not because Gonzalez mismanaged his bullpen or had Mallex Smith try to bunt Chase d’Arnaud from second to third with nobody out.

Their record is bad because the team is bad.

The team is bad because John Hart and John Copollela decided to take a wrecking ball to the roster and rebuild it before moving into the new ballpark.

If the goal was to build “sustainable” excellence as Hart said, then perhaps most of the moves were necessary. If they hadn’t made all of the trades they did, odds are the Braves would still be in last place and the future would be bleak. Chances are Jason Heyward would have signed elsewhere as a free agent. Given Heyward’s mysterious loss of power — he has only five extra-base hits this season, all doubles — the Braves are better off with Ender Inciarte in center field, Aaron Blair in the starting rotation and Dansby Swanson close to becoming a starting infielder in Atlanta.

But the front office has lied to the fans about trying to remain competitive throughout the rebuilding process. Consider this quote from Hart following the 2014 winter meetings:

“I made it real clear from the beginning that we’re not looking to trade anybody. We’ll certainly entertain whatever might come our way. If there is something that comes along with real value for us, we’ll certainly examine it.”

If they wanted to remain competitive, they wouldn’t have traded one of their best young players in shortstop Andrelton Simmons for pitching prospects and Erick Aybar. As it turns out, Simmons is injured. But Aybar has proved to be a complete liability in the field and at the plate.

Whether it’s because Aybar is suddenly old or just doesn’t care — his body language certainly gives that impression — is beside the point. He’s killing them every day he’s in the lineup.

Take Monday night’s loss to the Pirates. It’s logical to assume that loss — or something that happened afterward — was the final straw. After all, it’s not as if they weren’t already bad before the game.

Poor defense by Aybar and Kelly Johnson at second base contributed to the Braves falling behind 3-0 in the first inning and 5-0 by the third inning.

Was that Fredi’s fault?

Firing Gonzalez is yet another example of Hart and Copollela trying to shirk the responsibility of this awful roster they have assembled.

Brian Snitker, the interim manager, is a great guy. I got to know him back when he was the bullpen coach under Cox. Very positive and upbeat. In the end, though, changing managers is not going to make a difference.

As the losses continue to mount this season, there’s a good chance Copollela will hold another mid-season fire sale and start trading veterans for more prospects. It’s part of the plan.

The payoff may be sustainable excellence. For now, though, the product is just about unwatchable.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Braves’ front office takes easy way out by firing Gonzalez."