After being eliminated from the NL wild-card race, the Braves yesterday parted ways with GM Frank Wren, the "first time in nearly a quarter of a century that the organization known for stability fired a GM or manager," according to David O'Brien of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Braves President John Schuerholz fired Wren and Assistant GM/Player Development Bruce Manno "in the morning, and a few hours later sat between longtime former manager Bobby Cox and interim GM John Hart at a news conference at Turner Field, where Schuerholz talked about a desire to get back to the 'Braves way' of doing things." Schuerholz: "We just felt like for the well being of our organization, for the well being of our major league team, that the time had come for us to change direction with our baseball operation leadership." Schuerholz also fired Wren’s brother Jeff, who was Special Assistant to the GM. Cox and Hart will "serve with Schuerholz on a transition team to hire a new GM and possibly others to lead the baseball operations department." The Braves "want a new GM in place" before MLB's GM meetings in early November. Wren was in his seventh season as GM, "after serving eight years as assistant GM to Schuerholz before the latter moved into the president’s post" following the '07 season (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/23). Schuerholz yesterday said that he had recently recommended to Braves Chair & CEO Terry McGuirk that Wren "be terminated so the overhaul could begin" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/22).
REGRETS, I'VE HAD A FEW: The JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION's O'Brien notes Wren "might be remembered most for a few regrettable contracts he handed out." Wren made several "highly successful trades, waiver claims and under-the-radar free agent signings over the years." But his "biggest-ticket moves turned out to be major, high-profile disappointments," including signing CF B.J. Upton to a five-year, $75M contract that was the "largest free-agent deal in team history," plus signing 2B Dan Uggla to a five-year, $62M contract, P Derek Lowe to a four-year, $60M deal and P Kenshin Kawakami to a three-year, $23M deal. Wren said, "I think there’s some obvious things that you wish had turned out differently. You always feel that way. You don’t have that ability to see into the future when you’re making decisions, but it wasn’t because you didn’t put every bit of effort into making the organization a winning organization" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/23). ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick wrote of Wren, "It's clear that his missteps in the free-agent realm paved the way for his demise" (ESPN.com, 9/22). ESPN's Tim Kurkjian said, "Ultimately, he was fired because of the way this team is put together. They're the most hit-or-miss team you'll see. When you give that kind of money to B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla, and they turn out that poorly, that really rains on the general manager." ESPN's Manny Acta: "Frank is a terrific baseball man. He just gambled with some guys that he really lost. You can't be on the top of the board in strikeouts and on the bottom in home runs" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN2, 9/22). Meanwhile, MLB.com's Richard Justice noted there was "criticism that the club lacked leadership during tough times and that Wren had not understood the roles former Braves like David Ross, Eric Hinske and Martin Prado had played in keeping the clubhouse going in the right direction" (MLB.com, 9/22).
LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE: In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz writes Wren was fired "not because he failed to make some nice trades, or struggled to sign good players amid budget constraints, or oversaw a minor league system that produced no talent." He had "degrees of success in all three areas." Wren is out "simply because he wasn’t good enough." His "big-picture failures outweighed his little-picture successes." Schuerholz and Cox "believed the organization they helped build had eroded -- from the on-the-field product at the major league level, to scouting and player development, to something as basic as human relationships with front-office staff." It seemed that "many people who worked for Wren really didn’t like him" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/23). Also in Atlanta, Mark Bradley wrote if Wren "hadn’t been quite so abrupt -- he’s always a man in a hurry -- in his personal dealings, he might have engendered more in-house good will." But Wren was "something of a micro-manager," which Schuerholz "hadn’t been." Any move of Wren’s that "didn’t work would be received with glee in some sectors of the organization, as if the know-it-all had just been handed another cup of comeuppance." It would be "wrong to say that Wren was widely disliked; it would not be wrong to say that he’d made few allies" (AJC.com, 9/22).
A YOUNG MAN'S GAME? MLB.com's Mark Bowman noted Hart, Schuerholz and Cox will "form the three-man committee tasked with the responsibility to find" the Braves' next GM. Hart said, "I'm not seeking the job." The committee is "compiling a list of candidates that will include" current Assistant GM John Coppolella, the "top internal candidate" (MLB.com, 9/22). The JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION's Bradley notes Coppolella, known "universally as 'Coppy,' worked seven years in the Yankees’ organization and has been here eight." Bradley: "If this were my team, I’d make Coppolella the permanent GM tomorrow. But it’s not, and I can imagine there’d be some reluctance to make a No. 1 of a 36-year-old who hasn’t been a No. 1." However, the way of MLB is that the "tried and true are making way for the young and brainy" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/23).
