It’s been six eventful months for the Braves, who won 96 games and a division title last season, then were ousted by the Dodgers to extend a franchise streak of eight consecutive playoff series losses. They announced plans in November to move to a new Cobb County ballpark in 2017, and in January and February they signed five young stars to long-term contract extensions worth $280 million. Three weeks before opening day, they lost starting pitchers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to season-ending elbow injuries on consecutive days. Then they scrambled to sign former All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana.
Whew.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution one morning late in spring training to discuss the state of the team entering the 2014 season.
Q: How long have you been up, and can you describe your spring-training morning routine?
A: What time is it, 8:30? Four-and-a-half hours. Get up at 4, meet to have coffee with a couple of guys, (strength coach) Rick Slate and (third base coach) Doug Dascenzo, at the Starbucks there on (U.S.) 192. Have coffee. Then come in here, do the lineup, go over the travel-squad list, go get a (personal) workout. Done by 6:30 with my workout, then the day starts.
Q: Are you as concerned as many fans are about some of what’s unfolded this spring, i.e. the injuries and the lack of runs?
A: When you lose your top two pitchers, obviously there's always concern. I think for the organization to do what (general manager) Frank (Wren) did, it kinds of lessens the concerns, going out and getting Santana. He was the best available pitcher out there, and we went out and got him. And knowing that you get Gavin Floyd in (late April or) May, and you've got (Mike) Minor coming at about the same time, you feel better. Injuries are going to happen, and you kind of prepare yourself for that.
Q: And the offense, it doesn’t concern you so much?
A: I don't equate how the season's going to go offensively (with spring training results). Offensively, it's tough to judge, to equate spring training to the season. I really don't.
Q: If you had to point to one thing — or at most a couple of things — what is the most important factor, in your view, to having a successful season?
A: Our pitching as a group, from 1 to 12. To be consistent like we were last year and the last couple of years because that's ultimately why we won games, our pitching. You can live with the ups and downs offensively, but I think it would be difficult to live that way with pitching. When you open that bullpen door, you want to know what you're going to get.
Q: Is it frustrating, infuriating, challenging, all of the above, losing two of your projected top four starters for the entire season midway through spring training?
A: It's worrisome. You get all those emotions in half a day, but then you've just got to move on. You hate to be insensitive, because we're not insensitive. But the season's going to start, no matter what happens. No matter who we're ready with (on the pitching staff), the season's going to start. So you've got to tell yourself to put that aside and maybe somebody else will step up. Every time you pick up the transactions, a team just lost somebody. The Tigers just lost (Bruce) Rondon to Tommy John (surgery). Arizona lost (Patrick) Corbin. Oakland. There's been, like, five of them already this spring. So you can't get too caught up in it.
Q: Are you confident the team can overcome it?
A: Yeah, I am. For a little bit there you could kind of sense, with the news of Medlen and then a couple of days later Beachy (being out for the season), you kind of saw the mood of the team go down. But the day after that we signed Santana, so the mood came back up. Because these guys, we know we've got a good club. Gerald Laird has been really helpful because the year he was with the Cardinals they lost (ace Adam Wainwright) during spring training, Tommy John surgery. And they ended up winning the World Series. It wasn't easy — I think that year they only won (90) games. … They just barely got in. And they won the World Series.
Q: It’s only spring training, but have you seen signs from B.J. Upton and/or Dan Uggla that make you think one or both of them is poised for a bounce-back season?
A: I think so. I've seen both of those guys make adjustments and have good at-bats.
Q: How difficult is it for a manager to stick with a proven veteran for month after month during a long slump as it becomes simply a bad season rather than a slump?
A: Well, what made it easier last season is that we were winning. That's the only reason that it was easier, that as a group we could kind of bear it. Because we had guys who were not having good years, but we were still winning ballgames. So you give them every opportunity to do it. I think if it was the same season and we weren't winning, it would have become a lot harder.
Q: You entered last season with a question mark at the leadoff spot, then spent much of the season trying to find an answer. Is it nice to have that taken care of this year, with Jason Heyward?
A: Yeah, it's nice. You've got to worry about another spot in the lineup, but it's nice to have him there. He gives you all those qualities you want from a leadoff hitter — on-base percentage, takes pitches, can hit a ball out of the ballpark, can hit a double, can score from first on a double. The only thing is he's (6-foot-5 and 250 pounds).
Q: With the lineup in general, do you think you’ll be able to stick with one or two variations more frequently this year than you did last year, or is that even important to you?
A: It's not important. I think people get a little too worried about the lineup. I don't think any team goes with one or two lineups. We all talk about how, yeah, we want a set lineup. But last year the set lineup (early) was Chris Johnson hitting eighth, and he almost won the batting title. So if you're hitting better, you're going to (move up) in the lineup. We're not dummies.
Q: Going back to the injuries, there didn’t seem to have been anything you could have done to prevent them except avoid overuse, which you’ve done the past couple of years with the relievers. But is it hard seeing those guys go down and wondering if there was anything you could have done to prevent it?
A: Yeah, of course, because you hate to see it, especially when you start getting two or three with Tommy John. But the stress that pitching puts on these guys' elbows — it's a stressful job pitching in the major leagues. And some people say that Medlen's (surgery) was a fail or whatever. … Medlen for two years was about the best pitcher in the National League — he won three Pitcher of the Month awards. It's a stressful job; that elbow is stressed. And I don't think we could have done anything different. I'm sure we'll investigate, but that's probably more of a medical question than a question for me."
Q: Do you expect the NL East to be a race to the wire this year, with you guys and the Nationals?
A: Yeah, I think us and the Nats, but I think everybody got better. I think the Mets made themselves better. The Marlins got better. Philadelphia is a team you've always got to respect because of the veterans and the players they have on that team. So I think it's going to be a tough season.
Q: Your first three years as Braves manager — has it been a rewarding experience? Difficult at times beyond what people might understand? Better at times?
A: Yes. All of the above. It's been great, it really has been. But I think you could ask that question to (every manager), and I think everybody would say yes. Through the course of 162 games you're going to experience all those things. And at the end you've got to say to yourself, it's a pretty good gig. It's a good organization, a good club. Yeah, you're going to lose four in a row, or win 10 in a row. You just never know when that's going to happen.
Q: Do you take criticism personally? Do you need to have thick skin in your position?
A: The thing I do, that Bobby (Cox) told me seven or eight years ago when I was starting (managing), is don't listen to the radio and don't read the newspaper. You do the job, you feel like it's whatever it takes for you to win that game and stay the course. For me, if you start reading stuff and listening to other people, it starts clouding your judgment, clouding the water. 'Oh, I shouldn't bunt because the SABR guys said you can't bunt. …' You just go with your instincts, and you've got enough research and scouting reports. You know your people better than somebody else knows your people, and you just put them in positions to be successful. And once you start listening to other people and trying to please everybody, you're not good.
Q: What’s your main goal for this team this season?
A: To keep playing. We've been in the playoffs the last two years, and now we want to get in the playoffs again, it doesn't matter how — obviously we prefer not to play that one-game playoff — but just get in. Get into the playoffs and get hot and just keep playing baseball until there's no more baseball to be played. And hopefully you're hoisting a World Series trophy at the end of the day.
