AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > October > 11
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Schuerholz conducts an epic run of excellence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
John Schuerholz is easier to admire than to like. He’s not exactly a walking testimonial for humility. He uses grandiloquent phrases that no man should employ in public. (On Thursday he actually said, “I can’t wait to help make this grand organization more grand.”) He’s the kind of guy you’d like to see fail just because it’d be funny.
But John Schuerholz didn’t fail. In 17 years as the Atlanta Braves’ general manager, John Schuerholz succeeded beyond all rational expectation, beyond even his wildest flights of self-assurance. The epic run of excellence would never have begun had Schuerholz not arrived from Kansas City and whipped this bumbling operation into shape.
It’s a lost footnote in this city’s sports history, but the 1991 Braves — a team coming off another last-place finish, a team that hadn’t broken .500 since 1983 — sold out their home opener. (With typical Braves’ luck, it was postponed due to rain.) The sellout didn’t happen because the Braves added a marquee player. It happened because the populace responded to a series of print ads featuring the new GM in his soon-to-be-famous suspenders, the subtext being: Amateur hour is over.
As if on cue, the team overseen by the pro’s pro soared from worst to first. It won its division that year and every year until 2005. You can argue that the young pitching assembled by Bobby Cox would eventually have found its way to the top, but it’s just as likely that without Schuerholz’s deft hires that first offseason — Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream, Rafael Belliard — that young pitching would have buckled under the weight or more and more losing.
“It was an almost instantaneous road-to-Damascus conversion,” said Terry McGuirk, who was here when Stan Kasten hired Schuerholz and is here still. “John made rapid-fire decisions: ‘You’ve got left-handed pitching, so you’re going to need somebody to catch the ball on the left side of the infield,’ and we signed Pendleton and Belliard. He said, ‘The field needs to be better,’ and [groundskeeper] Ed Mangan came here. It was staccato decision-making.”
Not all of Schuerholz’s choices came up trumps — Albie Lopez, anyone? — but his strike rate over the fullness of time was ridiculously high. “I’ve done what I’ve done most of my adult life,” he said Thursday. And then, being John Schuerholz, he couldn’t resist adding: “Sometimes well.”
The Braves took great glee in noting that early-in-the-day reports of Schuerholz’s retirement were not just premature but incorrect. He’ll stay with the team. He’ll be the president. Asked repeatedly what being president will entail, nobody could say for sure. “Terry and I will continue to flesh it out,” Schuerholz said. “I will be Terry’s No. 1 man.”
Schuerholz’s presidential term runs through 2011, which sounds sort of like a guy getting a golden parachute while still getting to pilot the company jet. If that’s indeed the case, you wonder how this move strengthens the Braves.
Frank Wren, lately the heir apparent and now the full-fledged GM, has sat at Schuerholz’s right hand for eight years and what McGuirk called “2,000 lunches.” (A thousand of those were surely taken at Goldberg’s, Schuerholz’s favorite spot.) Wren averred that he and his mentor “are amazingly alike in a lot of ways,” but they differ in this significant regard: Schuerholz built an empire; Wren arrived later and helped sustain one.
Said Schuerholz, by way of a semi-valedictory address: “To know where the organization was when I came on board and to see not just the commissioner but others in the industry call us the gold standard … I couldn’t be more proud.”
In Schuerholz’s case, pride didn’t goeth before a fall. The Braves finally stopped finishing first, but they rebuilt so seamlessly — a favorite Schuerholz word — and delayed the inevitable for so long that you began to wonder if not finishing first was inevitable after all. Yes, Cox deserves equal credit for the maintenance of the record streak, but Schuerholz was its architect.
And with the architect no longer doing his blueprints, the Braves stand diminished. Frank Wren might be the second-best baseball man alive, but the absolute best just moved upstairs. That’s the Braves’ loss, and it’s also ours.
Permalink | Comments (52) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Don’t bet on Falcons, long Harrington tenure
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
You had to know the Falcons would have some really big announcement this week because they were preparing for Monday Night Football, which is their first appearance on national television this year, unless you count Michael Vick’s plea deal, though most don’t relate the two because, like, it was hard to get a seat for Michael Vick’s plea deal and this one you can pretty much walk in off the street. Get there early and you can play quarterback. Stay late and maybe ESPN will have another Town Hall Meeting. (No! My eyes, my eyes!)
Bobby Petrino (still an Atlanta resident!) named Joey Harrington the starter for the big game against the New York Giants, saying Harrington “gives us our best chance to succeed.”
This affords Harrington job security for somewhere between one possession and four quarters, depending on his success rate and/or how long Petrino wants to look bad (generally has an over/under of seven seconds).
And then? Any takers?
Byron Leftwich: “I’m ready! I had 12 snaps this week! My arm feels great! Watch … uh … fore!!!”
Chris Redman: “Can I interest you in a homeowner’s policy? Maybe life? We’re doing some great things with …”
Chris Chandler: “Do you have an HMO? Last week I fell and …”
Bobby Hebert: “Broke a nail?”
Chris Chandler: “Diane!”
Michael Vick: “Are you still here?”
Arthur Blank: “Are you still here?”
Vick: “Hey, Mr. Owner man! Sorry, left my checkbook in my car.”
Blank: “Actually, Michael, that would be my car.”
Harrington: “Alge? Marco? Polo?”
The Falcons are 9-19 (.321) all-time on Monday nights. Also, they just lost two offensive linemen. Also, there’s everything else.
Feeling comfy? Don’t worry. It’s only cable.
Giants cover 3 1/2.
Old school
(Early Fall Blowout: Buy three and get a copy of Marion Jones’ autobiography, “I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, You’re lying, I’ll sue, Character Assassin! OK, I did it. Forgive me? Kiss Kiss.”)
Honey Bees: Two years ago, after a week of brush fires, Tech and Chan Gailey upset then No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl. The gloating lasted about 12 seconds (a Tech record). Then came losses to Georgia and Utah. Now the Yeller Jackets are 1-3 since a 2-0 start. Tech logic says upset. But I’ve been burned too often by schizos. If I go down, I go down with dignity. Canes cover 2 1/2.
Trembling Chihuahuas: Was that Willie Martinez I saw after the game last week in Knoxville? Because all I saw was a guy looking catatonic in a folding chair, and I’m sure I heard somebody say, “Go to the light, Willie.” This week, it’s Vanderbilt. A sure thing. Hah! Even Vandy’s not candy anymore. But Georgia covers 7.
LSU at Kentucky: Rich Brooks missed his window at 5-0 to ask for another extension. The only question now is what’s left after consecutive games against South Carolina (loss), LSU and Florida. Organ-donor cards to the first 10,000 at the Mississippi State game. Tigers cover 9 1/2.
Auburn at Arkansas: Arkansas is 3-2, which isn’t so bad until you consider the wins are over Troy, North Texas and UT Chattanooga, which doesn’t bode well for Florida International in two weeks, which means what in real life exactly? Take Auburn in a straight upset (and the gift 3).
Alabama at Mississippi: Nick Saban said this week, “We won’t win any games this year [just] because we’re Alabama.” Isn’t that a fireable offense? Tide covers 6 1/2.
A Meat And Two
Game of the Week: New England and Dallas are both 5-0. Take a picture because it’s the only time they’ll ever have something in common. Best news out of Dallas this week was Terrell Owens leaving a note on his locker, reading: “Due to the magnitude of this week’s game and high volume of questions for the Original 81 about the other 81 [Randy Moss], I will be taking all questions immediately following Sunday’s game.” Problem is, everybody will be by the other 81’s locker. Pats cover 41/2.
Carolina at Arizona: The Panthers just signed Vinny Testaverde. There’s now an opening on the Sunshine Boys team for shuffleboard Saturday. Interested parties should contact Hugh McElhenny, at least until the Panthers need a running back. Cards cover 4.
New Orleans at Seattle: The NCAA has stepped up its investigation into whether Reggie Bush received $280,000 in benefits at USC. I maintain hope that he’ll be forced to reimburse those of us who took him in a Fantasy League draft. Seahawks cover 6 1/2.
ALMOST PERFECT
(work with me)
Last week: 6-5 straight up, 5-6 against the line.
Season totals: Not so hot, not so living.
Specifics: 38-25 straight up, 28-31-4 against the line.
I feel it turning: Or is that the wings I just ate?
Permalink | Comments (46) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
Define ‘young’ for us, Alge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Alge Crumpler is a really good player but a really bad analyst. His claim that Bobby Petrino cares more about developing younger players than winning was silly on its face and ludicrous on further review. First of all, what NFL coach ever puts winning second to anything? (Quoth Petrino, when asked five weeks ago if the Falcons’ many woes indeed gave him a pass on this season: “If you don’t win, you might not be here next year.”) Even more to the point …
Exactly what young players did Crumpler mean?
The Falcons’ leading rusher is Warrick Dunn, who’s 32. The leading receiver is Roddy White, who’s in his third season and who had darn well better be showing something by now. (The second-leading receiver is, ahem, Alge Crumpler. And Joe Horn, who’s 35 and who has nothing left, is still listed as a starter.)
The team’s leading scorer is Morten Andersen, who’s older than Petrino. The starting quarterback is Joey Harrington, who’s 28. The backup quarterback is Byron Leftwich, who’s 27. If not those two, who would be old enough to satisfy Crumpler — Y.A. Tittle?
Until Renardo Foster was promoted after Wayne Gandy was lost and Trey Lewis stepped in after both Rod Coleman and Jonathan Babineaux were hurt, the Falcons had precisely two rookie starters — Jamaal Anderson on defense and Justin Blalock on offense. Given that they were the team’s top picks in the April draft and also the two players gained via the Matt Schaub trade, you’d hope they’d be capable of playing right away. But two rookie linemen, or even three or four, wouldn’t seem to constitute a youth movement, would it?
(Heck, my biggest problem with Petrino is that Dunn has more than twice as many carries as Jerious Norwood, who’s 24.)
Is it possible Crumpler is miffed because he hasn’t caught as many deep balls this season, thereby damaging his Pro Bowl campaign, and that rookie tight end Martrez Milner had the audacity to catch as many passes (two) as Crumpler did against the Titans? And if that was indeed his gripe, why should we take this criticism any more seriously than we did Keyshawn Johnson’s just-give-met-the-damn-ball rants? Should Petrino be pilloried for not designing his offense around a tight end with a bad knee?
The wonder isn’t that the Falcons have won only once. The wonder is that they’ve had a realistic chance to win in the fourth quarter every week with a team that hasn’t had its best offensive player (Michael Vick) and its best defensive player (Coleman) for a snap. Crump the Grump mightn’t be able to see it, but there’s some real coaching going on. (And the offense Crumpler found so lacking in conceptual nuance had, if you’ll recall, looked rather spiffy against Carolina and Houston.)
The Carolina game was lost largely because DeAngelo Hall put himself ahead of the common good, and now Crumpler’s bizarre comments have made a bad situation worse. He told the AJC on Wednesday he regretted saying what he said, but that admission came three days too late.
His name’s Alge, but he came across as All-Me.
Permalink | Comments (37) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley, Quick Hit
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