Fredi is Free

by craig on Feb 9, 2007 7:11 AM EST in News and Rumors

The court trail is over. The team has a manager again.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez received no shortage of suggestions about how he could have sidestepped jury duty. Even after a 41/2-week commitment, Gonzalez doesn't regret the experience.

After his jury came to a decision on a $120 million fraud case earlier this week, Gonzalez drove to South Florida. He made it in time to participate in Thursday's golf outing.

"Everybody says, `How come you couldn't get out of it?'" Gonzalez said. "It's not that easy, people. ... You're under oath when they ask you the questions. They ask you where you work. They don't ask for your views. You have to answer your questions honestly.

"I think everybody should do it. Instead of trying to get out of it I think it's good. It's what makes this country a great country.

Fredi is a good guy and did the honorable thing. Though I still contend that when he answered the question about what he does for a living honestly - there was no stinkin' way he wasn't going to serve on that jury in an Atlanta suburb. Had he been Bobby Cox, after he finished signing autographs, he would have been dismissed with the judge's apologies.