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Atlanta Braves: 5 keys to breaking out of bad stretch

By Michael Collins

Jul 26, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Atlanta Braves second baseman Tommy La Stella (not pictured) hat and glove in the dugout against the San Diego Padres in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Atlanta Braves second baseman Tommy La Stella (not pictured) hat and glove in the dugout against the San Diego Padres in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 24, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Elliot Johnson (30) first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) manager Fredi Gonzalez (33) and catcher Brian McCann (16) (left to right) shown on the pitchers mound against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Brewers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Elliot Johnson (30) first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) manager Fredi Gonzalez (33) and catcher Brian McCann (16) (left to right) shown on the pitchers mound against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Brewers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Don’t over-manage the club

Being a baseball manager is a balancing act on its best day, and a complete minefield on its worst. Fredi Gonzalez has been tip-toeing in the minefield for too long.

As successful as Gonzalez has been as a major league manager, he still has some struggles, and one of those is making the best lineup using the players he has. Another is unnecessarily wasting players in pinch-running or pinch-hitting situations.

Sometimes you just have to let the game come to you, and trust that the players you have out there are professionals who will get the job done. The need for a pinch-running comes about far less often than Fredi would like to probably believe, and his insistence on overworking some arms from the bullpen while yanking others after just one hitter (because the righty-lefty percentage bible says so) is infuriating at times.

Putting together the best lineup can be tricky (I certainly wouldn’t want to have that job every day), but in the end it’s not as complicated as some managers like to make it. Some guys are hitting, others aren’t…and “shuffling” the lineup probably isn’t going to solve the hitting problem. Do that in the cages and at practice. Put the guys in the game who are going to get on base.

Over-managing undermines the team, and makes players lose confidence in themselves, as well as in the manager’s ability to lead the team.

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