Don't be so quick to blame Fredi for Braves' late collapse
Furman Bisher  Furman Bisher  Stand back just a moment or two
before you start piling on Fredi Gonzalez and pinning a tail on
your chosen victim for the crash of the Braves. Let's look a
little closer at some of the circumstances over which he had no
control.  Let's start with the first of September, when the
Braves checked in with a record of 81-55. Tim Hudson and even
Derek Lowe had just pitched and won. In Lowe's case, that was
significant. He never won again, and the year before some of our
poetical laureates had labeled him our "September boy."  Back up
to early August -- Aug. 6 to be exact. Our Heroes lost to the
New York Mets, 11-7, and the losing pitcher was Tommy Hanson.
That was Hanson's last decision of the season.  Move on down the
calendar to Aug. 30, the day of which the Braves lost to the
Nationals. Losing pitcher: Jair Jurrjens.  That was his last
decision of the year. He, too, never pitched again.  By the
stage of his demise, Hanson