John Schuerholz Steps Down

#2
#2
espn...
Longtime GM John Schuerholz is reportedly stepping down after 17 seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
According to various media reports, Schuerholz is handing over the reins to top assistant Frank Wren. Schuerholz took over as GM in 1990 and the team won 14 straight division titles before struggling the past two seasons.
The Braves have a major announcement scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
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#3
#3
Looks like it's a foregone conclusion that Frank Wren is getting the job.
 
#5
#5
I'm not really that shocked either. He's in his late 60s so we knew this could be coming at anytime. What is a little perplexing is that he made the Andruw Jones announcement knowing that he was going to step away a week or two later. I would have thought that he would have left that to the next guy if he knew he was going to retire.
 
#6
#6
Shocker. No doubt he was the brains behind the Braves revival in the 90s. Cox played an important part as well but I think the chemistry of the two made it successful.
 
#7
#7
The Atlanta media are now reporting that Schuerholz is not exactly quitting, but rather being promoted to team president. So I'm sure he'll still be involved in some of the decision-making. Wren will do all the day-to-day GM stuff, but I bet Schuerholz still has his fingers all over everything important.
 
#8
#8
Good. I just looked at ESPN.com and it makes it sound like he is leaving. Although in true Braves fashion, they won't comment until 3:30.
 
#9
#9
Vercingetorix said:
The Atlanta media are now reporting that Schuerholz is not exactly quitting, but rather being promoted to team president. So I'm sure he'll still be involved in some of the decision-making. Wren will do all the day-to-day GM stuff, but I bet Schuerholz still has his fingers all over everything important.
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In other words, this is just a reshuffling probably brought on by the Liberty Media sale. Supposedly, Wren was the guy negotiating the contracts anyway, so this probably won't even change the day to day operations that much.
 
#10
#10
GAVol said:
In other words, this is just a reshuffling probably brought on by the Liberty Media sale. Supposedly, Wren was the guy negotiating the contracts anyway, so this probably won't even change the day to day operations that much.
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Yep. For some reason I'm thinking about when the feudal Japanese shoguns used to abdicate in favor of their sons and "retire." They still kept all real power and ran everything important, while the sons got to deal with all the everyday hassles.

This will let Schuerholz ease out of the job at whatever pace he wants to. I've been highly critical of him in the past, but I'd much rather see this this than him just walking away.
 
#11
#11
Schuerholz looks good for late 60s. Sounds like Liberty is going to be cutting even more payroll.

It's a shame because the Braves can handle a slightly higher budget. I mean hate on the Yanks and the Boss all you want but if my owners were that tight fisted it would drive me absolutely mad.
 
#12
#12
I've heard the opposite . . . that Liberty was committed to winning and might possibly loosen the financial reins a little.
 
#13
#13
Well I'm getting my info from ESPN first take, so its probably wrong. But they just said that it was possible that he stepped down in part because of Liberty furthering the budget cuts. Now though, it looks like more information is coming out.
 
#14
#14
UTLCA said:
Well I'm getting my info from ESPN first take, so its probably wrong. But they just said that it was possible that he stepped down in part because of Liberty furthering the budget cuts. Now though, it looks like more information is coming out.
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According to the AJC he is actually stepping UP. Not the kind of thing you'd expect to see if they were planning on cutting back.
 
#16
#16
Good. The Braves need to be spending more. Getting handcuffed in the NL fiscally would mean no more division championships.
 
#19
#19
UTLCA said:
I wasn't thinking playoffs. I was thinking winning the east.
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Well, yeah. You'll notice that the Braves haven't won the division in a couple of years now.

AOL/TW froze the payroll several years ago and slashed other expenses in the organization, most notably scouting. While the payroll has not really declined much in absolute dollars, it's fallen in relative terms from being among the five highest in baseball to about the median. It's a testament to Schuerholz and Cox that the Braves were able to extend their run of division titles a few years longer with basically a patchwork team, but in the last couple of years the chickens have finally come home to roost.
 
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