Outgoing Braves President John Schuerholz on Thursday "made it clear that he still intends to be actively engaged" with the club, "particularly on the baseball operations/player personnel side of the business," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Schuerholz said that he will work with Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart and GM John Coppolella “on an advisory and consulting kind of basis.” But Schuerholz also stressed that he will "take advantage of one perk of not being team president: more time to spend with his family." Braves Chair & CEO Terry McGuirk said that the executive changes "had been in the works for a long time and reflected his and Schuerholz’s mutual desire for Schuerholz 'to be a Brave forever.'" Braves Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Derek Schiller and Exec VP/Business Operations Mike Plant, who will now split Schuerholz' responsibilities with Hart, "resisted any suggestion that their new positions have them succeeding that legend in some way." McGuirk said that the Braves’ new executive structure with three presidents over specific areas of the business "reflects the increased complexity of the team’s operations, which include the construction of a new stadium and adjacent mixed-use development in Cobb County" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/1).
