This is a Mistake
I won’t spend too much time discussing this, but here goes.
Quite simply I think this is a huge mistake.
Fredi Gonzalez is not Bobby Cox. Just because he has worked with Bobby Cox does not mean he will be as effective as Bobby Cox. He won’t.
The thing that made Bobby so great was his ability to get the most from his players. They always played hard, they never quit, they never said a single bad thing about him. A lot of this is a result of Bobby’s players-first management style, but also a result of Bobby’s personality. Fredi and Bobby do not have identical personalities, and Fredi will not be able to command the same type of respect from his players. He won’t be able to get as much out of them as Bobby did.
And then there’s the strategy thing. Let me just say, by the end of year one we will all wish Bobby were managing the games, where he only ordered one stupid bunt or only batted one player with a crappy on-base percentage at the top of the order or only used one too many relievers each night. Don’t expect the in-game managerial blunders to go away, this decision only exacerbates the issue.
Expect less of the things that made us love Bobby and more of the things that made us infuriated with him. That’s essentially what they’ve opted for, a version of Bobby with less of his good qualities and an exaggerated propensity for over-management.
Rather than finding the best man for the job, the organization has taken the easy way out. “He’s been a part of a successful Bobby Cox staff? Sure, we’ll hire him! That makes it simple, no thinking involved.”
Like I said, I don’t want to spend too much time discussing this. I’m not going to crucify him before he begins the job, and I’ll try to keep an open mind about this whole thing, but I do sincerely believe this is a gigantic mistake that the organization will severely regret.
