The Atlanta Braves relieved Frank Wren of his duties as general manager today. The team is in the midst of another September collapse, is currently 29th in the Majors in runs scored on the year, and has left many in the media questioning whether the team has quit. When a proud organization like the Braves’ goes through something like this, someone must take the fall. In today’s game, that means that either the manager or general manager. With Fredi Gonzalez “absolutely” having the support of famed ex-manager Bobby Cox, it became obvious that Wren’s time would soon end. Today, it did.
I don’t have a huge problem with Wren being fired. I’m just not sure that it will accomplish much more than give a new scapegoat for fans to ballast. This is a team with limited resources thanks to a payroll that was right around the middle of the pack in recent years and an ownership group that treats the team like an investment. However, expectations are high for the organization accustomed to playoff baseball and regular season dominance. Apparently, Wren didn’t deliver enough.
On the surface, there’s not much more to say than that bad Dan Uggla and BJ Upton contracts handicapped the Braves’ roster construction and ultimately cost Wren his job. However, at today’s press conference team president John Shuerholz, the man whom Wren replaced and who likely had the final call for his dismissal, said that it was a “cumulative thing” that lead to Wren’s dismissal; that it wasn’t just about a bad contract or deal that turned up lame. This is a good thing as that’s the way these decisions should be made.
But Shuerholz also spoke of returning to a Braves way. When asked to define the Braves way, Shuerholz said the below like he’s said it 1000 times before.
It’s a special way of identifying young players who you want to become part of your organization with great comfort and expectation that when they put on a Braves uniform, they’ll be taught well, instructed well. Their makeup and their character will allow them to into winning championship-caliber players. They’ll fill the pipeline of this organization with highly-capable, high character, young winning men who help you win many many championships on the Major League level, year after year after year.
Mr. Shuerholz’ definition of “Braves way” sounds like an ideal organization that can sustain success for years and remain in contention despite a limited payroll. The big issue here is that Frank Wren has been executing the “Braves way” since he took reigns of the team.
This Braves team is filled with young talent at the Major League level. Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, and Alex Wood are all home-grown talents under the age of 25. If you include Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, and Craig Kimbrel in that group, of the Braves 8 best players, 7 were drafter and developed by the Braves and all are 27 or younger.
The Braves have been superb at developing young talent and filling the pipeline of the organization to set the table for success. It is in the complimentary pieces of roster construction where Wren struggled. He missed in free agency. It happens. But wholesale overhaul of this organization is not necessary. Under Wren’s supervision, they have drafted and developed very capable major league players. Not everybody needs to lose his or her job.
Wren put together a talented team that disappointed in recent seasons thanks to a lack of clutch hitting and/or injuries. Maximizing the potential of a talented team is the job of the manager and I think that Fredi Gonzalez has fallen short in this, his one task.
There appear to be a number of qualified candidates around to become the new GM and Dave Hart appears to be willing to take on some sort of advisory role to a green candidate. I just wouldn’t expect things to be drastically different as the Braves return to the Braves way that they’ve been doing anyway.
-Sean Morash
Stat of the Day: Since 2010, the Braves have the second most wins in the National League and third most in the Majors.
