Braves Must Change Direction After Dismal Season
By Fred Owens
As the Braves plod towards the end a dismal season word about discontent within the organization is beginning to leak out. The disarray we see on the field reflects the equally turbulent times under the reign of Frank Wren. Now it’s up to John Schuerholz, John Hart and Terry McGuirk to decide how the problems are addressed after the season finally, mercifully ends.
Braves decline a long time coming
After watching the 2009 – 2010 seasons unfold I said that felt Bobby Cox retired not because he was ready to go but because he felt he no longer had the ear of the general manager. I based my observations on the way team personnel needs were addressed and trades that were made that looked like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic instead of patching the holes in a sinking ship.
That Bobby got the Braves to the post season playoff at all is a testament to his managerial skill and the broad shoulders of Chipper Jones and Brian McCann. This week we learned that while Cox’s name hasn’t surfaced, there have been ongoing internal issues with key staff.
According to Mark Bowman such issues began to leak out last fall when the Phillies were about to poach Roger McDowell away from the Braves and JS had to directly intervene to keep him. About that time and largely unnoticed by most fans one of the premier pitching coaches in the game left the Braves. Dave Wallace a long time friend of Cox left joined the Orioles because he was tired of butting heads with AGM Bruce Manno. Wallace is a cancer survivor who was settled in and reportedly happy coaching kids but Manno made his job too uncomfortable for him to stay. Then former Schuerholz aide and confident Dick Balderson retired without warning. Bowman implied this was just the tip of the iceberg.
"“. . . as the past few years have progressed, players, coaches, scouts and front-office employees have complained that the organization has lost the harmonious family feel that it possessed under the direction of Schuerholz . . . and Bobby Cox. . .”"
That confluence of events convinced Schuerholz that he needed new eyes and he called on John Hart to join as an advisor. The Braves however are a conservative organization and sudden changes are not in their nature so team carried on watching and evaluating as the season moved along. What they saw was of course a team continuing to circle the drain. All of this upheaval isn’t unheard of in a Wren administration.
On October 23, 1998 he was given a three-year, $1.35 million contract to be the Orioles GM. On October 7, 1999 he was fired. According to the Washington Post things did not run smoothly in the Oriole’s front office.
"“In a statement released tonight, Orioles Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Foss said Wren’s firing came as the result of a meeting held Tuesday at Foss’s request, in which Wren was confronted with “a season-long series of incidents involving a variety of personnel matters, both with front-office staff and players. . .As a result of failing to resolve these issues, it was determined that Mr. Wren’s employment could not longer be continued, Foss is quoted as saying in the release.”"
"(Owner Peter) Angelos said in the release, “Regrettably, I must concur with the recommendation to terminate Mr. Wren’s services and feel that the Orioles were left with no alternative.”"
The Post story goes on to say that “Wren and Angelos differed over several issues in their one year together, most notably the status of Miller, whom Wren sought to dismiss one month into the season.” Wren also famously told the team charter to take off without Cal Ripken Jr.even though Ripken had called ahead to say he’d been caught in traffic and would be delayed by about 10 minutes. They were headed to California and the flight was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. That decision obviously enraged Wren’s bosses.
"“The Orioles management cannot and will not abide having a general manager operate in such an unreasonable, authoritarian manner and treat anyone in this way, especially someone such as Cal who has done so much for the Orioles and for baseball.”"
That was not a happy workplace.
The roster belongs to Wren
To call this a dismal season is a bit of an understatement. After starting 17-8 in April they’ve had only one month over 500 since; 15-16 in June. They’ve been shut out 14 times this season, a particularly egregious attack of a pitching staff that’s continued to be one of the leagues best. When the team is behind after four innings they lose. This is noticeable in the walk off wins we cheered so much in the past. This year they’ve had four walk off wins, last year they had 11. I won’t go on I know that you know how awful the offense has been.
Changes could not be made at the deadline because the contract of an unproductive B.J. Upton and the the emergency signing of Ervin Santana ate up all of the breathing room. Yes the roster is Wren’s but Fredi Gonzalez is the man – at least theoretically – managing.
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Nice guy but well over his head
Let’s be clear, the players like Fredi. I met him and I like him. But neither I nor the players believe he has an answer to the plight and I’d suggest he’s made things worse.
David O’Brien who is normally all positive and upbeat about the Braves and their leadership. said two days ago what many of us have said all year; the team lacks fire in it’s belly and leadership in the clubhouse. He opines that it’s not in Gonzalez personality to be, “. . . the kind of fiery presence who has shown a desire or proclivity to fill that particular brand of leadership.” Pardon me but his job is to figure how to provide the leadership when it’s needed. If he can’t be fiery he needs to do something else. Lots of soft spoken managers have done it.
O’Brien goes on to say that the team misses the retired Chipper Jones and “. . .the presence of guys like Prado, and Brian McCann (particularly before his injuries and contract matters in the last two years he was here) and Tim Hudson and Eric Hinske. “Glue guys” or leaders. . .”
"‘. . . Those were all guys who oozed desire and a bitter taste for defeat, and didn’t respond to adversity by breaking something . . .but rather by letting others know this (stuff) wasn’t good enough. . . It’s intangible stuff. The kind of stuff that’s hard to quantify. The kind of stuff that people who don’t spend any time in a clubhouse tend to downplay or dismiss altogether, but people who are around a team for 7 ½-9 months know to be crucial. The kind of stuff this team lacks.”"
Wren is responsible for the lack of veterans that as O’Brien wrote were always spread around a Bobby Cox clubhouse. He traded Martin Prado because he wouldn’t take a low ball contract offer and did the same to Hudson prior to this season. Just two of many bad personnel decisions. Even so it was/is for now Gonzalez job to make it happen and he didn’t. O’Brien put it like this.
"The personnel that Gonzalez and Greg Walker have been given is certainly lacking. Have they made the most of what they’ve had to work with? No. But every flaw in the roster construction has also been exposed this year."
Gonzalez lineups, bullpen use and choice of substitutes makes most people scratch their heads. Reported to be a sabermetrically oriented manager he ignores splits and match ups daily. Worst of all he has no idea how to stop the slide, the team knows it and they play like it. I won’t beat on Gonzalez anymore, I think he’s gone but Bowman and O’Brien indicate they think he might survive.
That’s A Wrap
The picture that’s now becoming public is one of a man who might well be a fine number two guy but isn’t cut out to be the man in charge. I’ve worked for them and had them work for me. You have probably done so as well. They can take direction and carry out plans but choosing the direction and creating the plans is not something they excel at.
Wren worked for two of the finest GM’s around; JS and Dave Dombrowski. He seems to have modeled himself as a combination of the two, able to make great deals under the radar and find hidden talent in fading stars. Unfortunately for the Braves he isn’t really that guy. Sure he’s made good trades, but he’s also made some real clunkers too.
In the end however he misspent money the Braves couldn’t afford to lose and produced rosters that have never won a post season series. He’s too personally invested in this roster to make the changes needed. Add Compounding that is the way he drove quality people away from the organization. He’s just got too much baggage to stay. Somebody will hire him. With luck it will be the Phillies or the Nationals.