Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said it’s been “tough” to deal with his uncertain job status as rumors about his possible firing swirled over the past few days. But after thinking about the matter during the team’s off day Thursday, Gonzalez said he’s focused on winning games and not worrying about his standing with the front office.
“We go forward, our team is starting to play a little bit better and that’s a challenge I’m going to take,” Gonzalez said. “We are not going to go 90-10 the rest of the way, but we are going to play better and bring (up) some young players.”
Media reports during the week indicated that Braves officials have had internal discussions about firing Gonzalez. Braves general manager John Coppolella, in an interview with the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday, would not go into detail about Gonzalez's job status.
Gonzalez said earlier in the week that he told Coppolella the Braves could end the speculation about his status by giving him a vote of confidence, picking up his contract option for next season or firing him. Gonzalez clarified Friday that he told Coppolella those were his options to end the questions and didn’t mean them as an ultimatum.
“It was never my intent to draw a line in the sand,” Gonzalez said. “Shoot, I’ve got no power to draw a line in the sand.”
The Braves are in the process of rebuilding their big-league roster after making several veterans-for-prospects trades. The team set a franchise record for most losses in April and entered Friday with the club’s worst start through 27 games (7-20) since at least 1900, including a 1-12 record at Turner Field.
The Braves started the season 0-9, won four in a row, and then lost eight consecutive games. They won three of their last six games on a trip that ended with an 8-0 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.
“If instead of starting 0-9 we would have gone 3-6 or 4-5, the story doesn’t even become an issue,” Gonzalez said. “It’s an easy story. It’s an easy finger-pointing because we are 7-20. It’s easy to get picked on right now. My job is to make sure these our players are positive, they get their information to win a ballgame and they play the game the right way.”
Gonzalez, the team’s manager since the 2011 season, said he hopes to get a chance to manage those top prospects when they make it to the big leagues. Gonzalez contrasted the Astros firing manager Bo Porter (currently a Braves coach) during a rebuild to the Mets sticking with Terry Collins under the same circumstances.
“My biggest concern (is) you go through these lumps, you see these young guys come in and then you get dismissed and the (young) guys are here the next year and they are winning and you go, ‘I wish I got an opportunity to do that,’” Gonzalez said. “But this is a cruel business, and it’s part of our job. You go forward. Let’s turn it around this year. Let’s start winning ballgames, especially here at home.”
