Atlanta Braves Morning Chop, THR, 10/16

If John Hart won’t be the Braves’ GM, who will?

MARK BRADLEY / AJC BLOG

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports that John Hart has declined the Atlanta Braves’ offer to remain their permanent-if-only-for-a-while general manager. (Hart is already the interim GM.) If this is indeed true — team president John Schuerholz told esteemed colleague David O’Brien the report is “not accurate” — it would be a mild surprise but no shock. Hart is 66, and it has been unclear whether he wants to return to baseball on a full-time basis.

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Assuming Passan’s report is accurate, we need to ask how it affects the Braves’ search. Not much, I’d suggest. Passan identifies the two leading non-Hart candidates as the two you’d figure — assistant GM John Coppolella and Kansas City GM Dayton Moore, who’s otherwise occupied at the moment.

(Passan also mentions Dan O’Dowd, who just resigned as Colorado’s GM, but O’Dowd — on the job since 1999, his Rockies managed four winning seasons — seems like someone you’d interview just to say you’ve interviewed someone. …)

Let’s not get carried away by the Royals’ sudden success. It took Moore, who left the Braves for K.C. in 2006, nine years to build a playoff team, and these Royals made it only as a wild card. Yes, they’ve looked unbeatable in the postseason — heck, they’ve BEEN unbeatable; they’re 7-0 — but they’re also an 89-win team. (Before this failed season, the Braves under Frank Wren had won no fewer than 89 games over the past four years.)

[ Editor’s note:  pay attention to that last paragraph in particular ]

Arizona Updates

Since we last checked in, “our” Peoria Javalines haven’t been doing very well.  They are now 2-5-1 (yes, there’s a tie in there) and pretty much in last place in the entire league.  In fact, they’ve lost four straight, depending on how you count that tie game.  There are constantly interesting bits around, though, including yesterday’s game that featured prospects named Boog Powell and Raul Mondesi.

But the focus here is on how our Braves’ farmhands are doing, so let’s check the stats after the first full week of play… plus a smidge:

• Pitcher Aaron Northcraft had his second appearance/start yesterday – and did pretty well despite being hung with the loss.  3 more innings (6 total) and 2 earned runs for a 3.00 ERA, giving up just 3 hits.  He has struck out 5, but – unfortunately true to form – has walked 4.  Still, these are rather encouraging results.
• Brandon Cunniff has thrown nearly 4 innings, but yielded 4 runs – 3 earned – with 6 hits and a home run in the process.  He has struck out 3 and walked just 1.  His ERA stands at 7.36.  To tell you how it’s been for Peoria, there are 4 pitchers on the staff with worse ERA’s than that… and it’s not close.
• Ryne Harper has likewise been hit a bit:  ERA of 6 in 3 innings (2 earned runs – a homer doing the damage).  He has K’d 4 and – true to his form – walked none.
• Nate Hyatt has a 3.00 ERA in three innings, 2 runs (1 earned) on a solo homer – the only hit he’s allowed thus far.  He has K’d 4 and walked 1.  Pretty solid for a Carolina league guy facing stiff competition.

For the hitters:

• Kyle Wren got it into gear yesterday, going 2 for 4 (3/10 overall).  He has a double, 2 Ks, 2 walks and scored once.  He has not yet attempted a steal.
• Daniel Castro is 5/19 (.263) with a double, RBI, scored twice, has 3 walks and 2 strikeouts… also one fielding error in 5 games.
• Edward Salcedo.  Plenty of ABs… few results:  6 games, 4/24 (.160) playing in right field (no errors at least).  He has a double, 1 score and 2 RBI, but nearly leads the team in K’s with 9 (Bubba Starling has 10).  He has walked 3 times, stolen a base and been caught once.