The Heyward Conundrum

Greetings all... I've been quiet too long...

Fire. Fredi. Gonzalez.

That's been a unifying cry among bloggers/experts and educated baseball people who follow the Braves closely in recent days. To begin, I'm against firing anyone during their first season, especially when there's been no off-field transgression, etc. to hang your hat on, so obviously, I'm not in favor of canning Gonzalez, but his managerial behavior certainly leaves a lot to be desired. For instance:

• Scott Proctor is still pitching - Now, I know his presence on the roster isn't necessarily Fredi-focused (paging Frank Wren), but there is NO scenario in which Proctor should be utilized in a high-leverage situation unless there are no other pitchers left available. Done.
  
• His batting lineup prowess - Alex Gonzalez hits in the 2 hole. Alex Gonzalez hits in the 5 hole. Alex Gonzalez hits in in the 6 hole. He lets Jordan Schafer and his plummeting OBA lead-off (thankfully no longer an issue, thanks Frank!).
  
• His bullpen management - Touched upon briefly above with Proctor, but when you have 3 guys in your bullpen in the top 10 in the majors in appearances? That's an issue. Kimbrel, Venters, and EOF have been tremendous this season by any measure, but Fredi has taken the Joe Torre approach to bullpen management (see Proctor, Scott from NYY) in blowing out his good arms in needless situations. For example, Craig Kimbrel shouldn't pitch with a 3-run lead. Ever. And, because Fredi is "old-school", he pitches to the save rule. That's just one example of many.

But, now, to the point of this post (ellipsis-free by the way), and that is the presence of Jose Constanza in the lineup over Jason Heyward. I won't throw a bunch of stats at you today, because, generally, they are underwhelming for readers, but I'll say this. Jason Heyward is much, much better at baseball than Jose Constanza.

• Better defender? Check. (by leaps and bounds)
• More power? Check.
• Better OBA? Check.

I can go on for days here, but Fredi Gonzalez is going to "play the hot hand". Here's an underrated factor in this discussion. The perceived value of Constanza's blazing speed (he does have this, can't be disputed) suggests that he's a good defensive outfielder. That would be disputed by a) watching him play defense, or b) a recent scouting report by a Major league scout that asserts that Constanza is the WORST OUTFIELD DEFENDER HE'D EVER SEEN. Not a misprint, folks. Just because you're fast, doesn't mean you are good at playing outfield defense.

Anyway, the most hilarious move of the season for me was made on Sunday in the midst of the game against the Mets when Fredi Gonzalez double-switched and removed Heyward from the lineup (he was 4 for 4 in reaching base, and had homered in the game) WITH THE LEAD despite being, ya know, Jason Heyward, and left Constanza's butcher glove in the game to play right field.

I've lost the will, Fredi. I won't call for your firing like so many others have and will continue to do. But please, I beg you, please play Jason Heyward over Jose Constanza. Throw me a bone.