BRAVES NOT WASTING TIME: FREDI GONZALEZ WILL BE NEW MANAGER BY THURSDAY

Photo courtesy of AJC.com

Only a day after the Braves were eliminated from the playoffs in which we watched Bobby Cox wave his final goodbye to the Atlanta home crowd after 25 seasons as "The Skipper" news broke yesterday that Fredi Gonzalez would be named his replacement starting tomorrow.

Fredi Gonzalez has been hired as the Braves' new manager and will be introduced at a news conference Thursday, two people familiar with the negotiations confirmed.

This comes as no surprise. Ever since Bobby Cox announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2010 season Gonzalez has been the rumored frontrunner. Gonzalez's dismissal from the Marlins in June only fueled the flames of change. Fredi seems to be the perfect choice to replace Bobby. He was the third base coach under Bobby from 2003-2006 after managing the Braves AAA club in Richmond. He got to experience the Atlanta clubhouse and the way things are run in the organization and has a pretty firm understanding of the culture. He also has the experience of coaching a MLB team in the Florida Marlins for 3 seasons before being fired. He was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year in 2008 after leading the Marlins to a winning record despite having baseball's lowest payroll. Fredi also has the support of veterans in the Braves clubhouse such as Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, and Brian McCann.

Personally I think Fredi is a great choice to replace Bobby. The most logical choice too. The Braves still have a lot of pieces in the clubhouse coming back next season that are ready to compete for a division title. Fredi knows how to run a team and doesn't take shit from his players (example: benching Hanley Ramirez for not hustling) but still has the respect from the team as a whole. The Braves will have Huddy, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, and Jair Jurrjens all in the rotation and if they can add some pieces to the lineup (Carl Crawford would be perfect, so would Jayson Werth) and get back a healthy Chipper Jones and Martin Prado along with the development of budding stars Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman there is no reason why the Braves shouldn't compete for at least a Wild Card in 2011.