UPDATE: It’s done. According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves will name Fredi Gonzalez as their next manager on Thursday.
6:00 PM: There has been almost zero speculation about who will be the next Braves’ manager. Why? Because everyone agrees that it will almost certainly be former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez. Indeed, the fact that none of the Braves writers are even playing the “who are the potential candidates” games to fill column inches leads me to believe that everyone knows it’s a done deal already but that the team has been holding off until the Braves season is over and Bobby Cox got his formal good-bye. Braves writers are pretty good at keeping an information embargo.
Well, the season is over now, so all bets are off. That has David O’Brein of the AJC is saying that Gonzalez will be named the Braves’ next manager right around the World Series, either right before or right afterward.
It’s probably the best choice under the circumstances. Not that Gonzalez is the best managerial candidate full stop. Just that, given where the team is right now -- competitive, loaded with players who are Cox’s guys -- it was inevitable that the team would pick one of the many Cox proteges around the league.
Gonzalez was Bobby Cox’s third base coach for several years and Cox is quite fond of him. He’s available. When you add in the fact that unlike, say, Terry Pendelton or some others, Gonzalez has big league experience, the choice is pretty obvious.