Cox respects Gonzalez's handling of Ramirez
As Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez endured his ordeal with star shortstop Hanley Ramirez, watching closely from afar was his friend and mentor, Braves manager Bobby Cox.
Cox called his former third-base coach to lend his support in the midst of a controversy surrounding Ramirez’s benching after he loafed after a ball which he had accidentally booted in the field. Ramirez responded angrily by saying he didn’t respect Gonzalez before eventually apologizing to each of his teammates.
“He did everything absolutely perfect,” Cox said of the man who could potentially replace him after this season. “What else are you going to do? I mean you’ve got no choice. Twenty-nine other managers would have done the same thing.”
Cox has a history of handling such situations the same way. He once pulled center fielder Andruw Jones in the middle of a game for loafing. As recently as last year, he pulled shortstop Yunel Escobar in the middle of a game for showing a lack of effort on a double-play ball and also a rundown.
When asked if a lack of effort was something that drove him crazy as a manager, Cox said: “Well, it drives everybody crazy -- players, fans.”
Vazquez’s first home win
It took almost two months of the season, but former Brave Javier Vazquez picked up his first win at Yankee Stadium this season on Monday. And he did it in a four-pitch relief appearance, striking out Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox.
“Baseball is a funny game,’’ Vazquez told reporters. “What can I say, to get a win as a reliever, that’s kind of funny in one at-bat.’’
It was only the third relief appearance of his career. The ace of the Braves' staff last season, when he went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA, was only 1-4 with an 8.10 ERA in his first six starts for the Yankees, getting that win on the road.
Church in regular role
Remember Ryan Church? The right fielder who will become a trivia-question answer -- for whom did the Braves trade Jeff Francoeur? -- is finding a home in the Pirates' outfield.
"He's done a good job for us," Pirates manager John Russell told reporters. "He's come up with some big hits. He's played hard, very good for us in the outfield. The way he's been playing for us, it's hard to keep him out of there very often."
Church, whom the Braves non-tendered last winter, was in the midst of a 1-for-21 stretch and hitting .211 in 26 games when Russell said that, but he was playing better than Lastings Milledge (.246 with 14 RBIs) and Jeff Clement (.189 with seven RBIs).
