AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > October > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSchuerholz 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) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Comments
By clmtigr
October 11, 2007 8:32 PM | Link to this
Is using “grandiloquent” in a sentence, also a grandiloquent phrase?
By Larry
October 11, 2007 8:57 PM | Link to this
“clmtigr,”
I’d worry more about your comma splice!
By drmondo
October 11, 2007 9:00 PM | Link to this
He’ll be missed. I’ll never forget being able to razz my college buddies who were Mets fans in ‘91. They’d teased the hell out of me for 3 years and I finally got to give it back. Thank you John, for all the great memories. I hope Cox dies of old age before he retires. Anybody else like to see Leo Mazzone back?
By overrated GM
October 11, 2007 9:25 PM | Link to this
Yeah, he had his bright spots, but Jermaine Dye for Michael Tucker? How about that brilliant trade sending Justice and Grissom to Cleveland for Lofton? Brilliant.
By Jt
October 11, 2007 9:26 PM | Link to this
Hey! When you are good, you are good! One championship or not- there is no comparison to what the Braves are now to what they were. Knowing you are good (the track record speaks to him as well as to everyone else) is no crime. The final test is to choose the successor. If Frank Wren can maintain even a reasonable measure of JS’ success, then that will be the final measure of his work. Just one problem- not sure how long Wren will have the services of Bobby Cox- as much a critical part of the success as JS. We will see if TP can carry on his success. I am betting we will get the chance to see in a year or two.
By bullet36
October 11, 2007 10:05 PM | Link to this
Who is more arrogant, Schuerholz or Mark Bradley? My vote is for Bradley.
By glorydays
October 11, 2007 10:09 PM | Link to this
If JS is still around as president then what’s the loss; want he continue to do what he does best but provide it in the form of “guidance” to Wren?
By Chris
October 11, 2007 10:26 PM | Link to this
Ah, it wouldn’t be Braves’ news with old Mark Bradley to take a big, steaming, pessimistic dump all over it. Good job, Mark. When the world crashes down, you can confidently say “I told you so.”
By bruce
October 11, 2007 10:40 PM | Link to this
Mark, I have not had the impression before reading the first paragraph that you are mean, but that first paragraph is mean. You would never know the same person wrote the first paragraph and the last paragraph of this piece. Maybe a chill pill is in order?
By Roundup
October 11, 2007 10:41 PM | Link to this
Thanks, John. As president you can kick buttle and take names and you don’t have to play nice with agent’s demands anymore. Kick Wren’s fanny every once in a while just to keep him at or above the bar.
By bravesfan
October 11, 2007 10:52 PM | Link to this
Sounds like a situation where Mr. Wren may end up being a ‘puppet’ GM, with JS still running the show.
Terry Pendleton as the next Braves manager…you’ve gotta be kidding!!
By mr baseball
October 11, 2007 11:14 PM | Link to this
Mr. Bradley: Please stick to football and basketball, sports you have at least some working knowledge of. Schuerholz did an outstanding job the first 4 or 5 years he was the Braves’ GM (but not as outstanding as his lapdogs in the media believe). He has been mediocre at best since Spring Training of 1997, when he ushered in the demise of the team as a serious World Series contender by trading Grissom, Justice & Dye in the span of a few days for next to nothing.
You can always tell uninformed commentators attempting to balance Schuerholz’ trade history when they cite Albie Lopez, who was of little consequence before or after his signing. Little or no mention of the Justice-Grissom-Dye fiasco, or the Boone-Klesko trade, as awful a swap as any GM has made in modern baseball history and one that did significant damage to the team come post-season time for the next 3 years.
He repeatedly left the team with a suspect bullpen, particularly in recent seasons, with his “solution” the likes of Reitsma, Kolb and a string of third-rate lefties. He has traded just about every pitching prospect the team has developed the last 4 or 5 years, and has pretty much nothing to show for it, other than a rental season or a few months from guys like J.D. Drew & Farnsworth. Whose fault was the sad state of the back of the Brave’ rotation this season? Not Roger McDowell’s.
After Schuerholz went from being a “genius” (pre-1997) to just another hit-or-miss GM, the Braves’ string of division titles was extended thanks to the trio of Maddox, Glavine & Smoltz, and the excellence of the farm system, which produced a string of outstanding position players, beginning with Chipper, Lopez, Klesko, Andruw, Furcal, etc. Thanks to players like Giles, LaRoche, Francouer, McCann, K. Johnson, etc., the Braves have been able to overcome the failures of the GM to address problems he created, but his less than stellar job performance the last few years is now evident.
When Teixeira leaves for greener pastures after next season, the ex-GM’s last big trade probably won’t look so good, but the media types like Bradley who have exalted Schuerholz over the years will never point that out. They’ll be too busy kissing his ring when they vote him into the Hall of Fame.
Schuerholz was not a bad GM, but for the last decade he has certainly not been the best in the business. Anyone who takes a look at the body of his work will come to that conclusion, but that would require a little research, which is too much to ask of today’s opinion spouters in print and on the air.
Anyone wishing to defend Schuerholz, please answer the following:
Why did the Braves go from making 4 World Series appearances in 5 years to 1 in the next dozen or so?
Why did the Braves go from winning their first 5 divisional series with a combined record of 15-2 to losing 5 times in the first round in the next 6 seasons, all to inferior opponents?
The sale of the Braves to Time-Warner is an acceptable answer. So is the nondescript efforts of our alleged Hall of Fame executive and his fellow Future H of F manager.
The Braves are a better team without him, and will be a better team when the current manager vacates the dugout for someone who actually has a grasp of in-game strategy, another topic that will never be broached in print in the ATL.
By Adirondackdave
October 11, 2007 11:16 PM | Link to this
Sure hope they keep the emphasis on the strongest possible farm system.
By jeff
October 11, 2007 11:25 PM | Link to this
At the height of the Braves success, in 1996, one of my sons was chosen as a torch bearer during the relay that preceded the Olympic games. We showed up early on a Saturday morning to participate, and lo, and behold, who was there but Mr. Scheurholtz, chosen to actually carry the torch. It was a thrill to meet him and I’ll never forget how cordial he was with both of us; he may have just won his second World Series but I thought he was down to earth and accessible. Let’s hope he’s as good at passing control of the Braves roster as he was with the Olympic torch.
By James
October 12, 2007 12:19 AM | Link to this
This myth that trading Justice and Grissom was a bad move needs to die. Grissom was never the same player after he was traded. Grissom BA for the 5 years after being traded: .262, .271, .267, .244, & .221.
Justice had some decent years, but only because being in the AL allowed him to play DH. After being traded, Justice never played over 93 games in the OF again. His body broke down. He was USELESS to a NL team.
Do the facts actually matter or do people just remember what they want to remember?
Neither Grissom or Justice was worth their salaries after we traded them. Grissom’s contract, in particular, was terrible.
The trade netted us Lofton, who at the time was the most dynamic player in baseball. He flopped for us, but it was worth the risk at that moment. Moreover, freeing up the money allowed us to re-sign Glavine and Maddux and enjoy many more productive years with them on the mound.
By Lou Vales
October 12, 2007 12:42 AM | Link to this
Since 1958—World Series Championships:
Atlanta/Milwaukee Braves One!! Chicago Cubs None Houston Astros None Cleveland Indians None Texas Rangers None San Francisco Giants None San Diego Padres None Tampa Bay Devilrays None AND!!!!!!!!!!
The Florida Marlins TWO!!!!!!!
In fact the Marlins have won as many World Series since 1920 as the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies have won COMBINED, and that is even more remarkable when one considers those 3 teams had a 72 year head start for that time frame.
Heck, Jeff Conine has more rings than JS!!
By Sonny
October 12, 2007 1:10 AM | Link to this
How about paying Hampton $45 mil to sit on his a*.
By DaNooch
October 12, 2007 2:04 AM | Link to this
Excuse me?! Did Schuerholz acquire Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery, Tommy Greene, Mark Wohlers, Javy Lopez, David Justice, Ron Gant, Kent Mercker, Vinny Castilla, Jeff Blauser, Greg Olson, Armando Reynoso, Jason Schmidt, Chipper Jones, Deion Sanders, Mark Lemke, Jeff Treadway, Lonnie Smith, Mike Stanton, Tony Tarasco, Tommy Gregg, Francisco Cabrera, Charlie Leibrandt, Brian Hunter, and last, but not least, Andruw Jones?
No? OH! He brought in Pendleton, Bream, and Belliard. That’s how the Braves won 14 straight division titles. Wow!
Once again Mark Bradley you have outdone yourself. You are completely insane.
By the way, if Bobby Cox had been allowed to spend a little money he could have signed some veterans to complement the roster the way Schuerholz did.
By Double Deuce
October 12, 2007 2:24 AM | Link to this
I don’t think the discussion should be on the merits of JS’s tenure as the GM of the Braves, I think it should be as to the reason. Unless he has just been diagnosed with some recently discovered ailment, the suddeness of his exit is puzzling. Two weeks ago he was proclaiming his optomistic view of the current crop of young Braves, his complete love of the game of baseball, and how much he looked forward to next year. Maybe I’m reading more into this than exists, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find some sort of rift between our new owners and JS, and I hope it has nothing to do with budget.
By bravesfanbob
October 12, 2007 2:34 AM | Link to this
To Mr Baseball: Need I remind you that since 2002, JS has managed to draft players like Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, and Kelly Johnson. He also talked Chipper into restructuring his contract to allow us to re-sign John Smoltz, and pulled off two of the best trades of his career in Edgar Renteria and Matt Diaz, and a pretty darn good one for Tim Hudson. With the money the Braves will save this year in Andruw’s salary, he has left Frank Wren the opportunity to sign a couple of free agents, and to possibly pull off a very nice trade that will help both sides for Renteria, due to the fact he was able to sign Yunel Escobar as an undrafted free agent. With an $80 million payroll each of he past 6 years, he still managed to win twice as many division titles as the Red Sox and the Mets combined, while spending over $1 BILLION less! Bottom line, he NEVER lost his genius. He is the best GM in the game, BAR NONE, and when the Braves return to the Division title again in 2008, there will be a lot of us still giving him the credit he deserves of continuing to build an incredibly strong brick house out of straw. Thank you JS for 17 incredible years.
By Gil in Mechanicsville
October 12, 2007 6:22 AM | Link to this
Sometimes we are quick to blame one guy for failures as well give him all the credit for success. Let’s be fair, it is the sum of the parts that make the machine. The leader is the guy that keeps everyone focused and on course and in that regard it is difficult to fault John Schuerholz.
However, having the right staff, the right players and a tremendous amount of luck are needed for continued long term success and that requires cohesion among all parties.
So Kudos to Mr. Schuerholz, truly a job well done, the right man for the job at the right time. Thanks for helping to put it all together and sustaining a winner. Please always remember you did not do it alone
By Mark Bradley
October 12, 2007 7:36 AM | Link to this
Andruw Jones: Signed in 1993 as a non-drafted free agent. John Schuerholz was the general manager in 1993. Deion Sanders: Signed as a minor-league free agent by Schuerholz on Jan. 30, 1991. Jason Schmidt: Drafted by the Braves in 1991 — Schuerholz’s first draft here. And are we holding up Armando Reynoso and Tony Tarasco and Tommy Gregg and Tommy Greene (38 big-league victories) as paradigms of excellence? And are we giving Schuerholz no credit for the farm system that produced McCann and Francoeur and Kelly Johnson? Informed criticism is one thing, but criticism without regard to fact is simply uninformed.
By Jim
October 12, 2007 7:43 AM | Link to this
If you can back it up, it ain’t braggin’. John Schuerholz can back it up, and he and Bobby Cox are the individuals that turned the Braves organization around. I reckon all you naysayer’s think you are bigger experts than all the many baseball executives (who are actually in the profession and know something about running a MLB team) that have always considered Schuerholz the best GM in the business. I think I’ll put more trust in their opinions, thank you. You are certainly entitled to your opinions though (no matter how stupid they are).
Did all of his trades and signings work out positively?…..of course not. But a hell of a lot more of them did than didn’t and he kept the Braves consistently competitive for many years —- and you can’t say that for many other MLB teams.
By Keith S.
October 12, 2007 8:47 AM | Link to this
I don’t know if John Schuerholz is arrogant or not. I’ve never met him. I can tell you about Mark Bradley, though. Years ago, I did some stringer work for the AJC, and I can tell you first-hand that Mark Bradley is the smuggest, most arrogant jerk you’d ever want to meet.
By John
October 12, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this
JS is in class by himself. More wins since he came to Atlanta than any team in the M=majors. His best ability may have been getting the media to drink the “farm system kool aid.” Gammons, Olney, O’brien, et al…Article would be printed about how great the Braves farm system is, these great names would be floated, and then they would be traded for major league talent. JS often knew who to keep and who to move. Thomas, Cruz, & Meyer for Hudson. Hudson is a frontline major league starter for 3 players yet to make any impact on the major leagues. Andy Marte for all the hype, is yet to do anything in the Majors with 3 different shots of extended playing time. JS got Renteria. How many of the great Braves kids has he traded, that have really turned out to be great? Not too many. Also he knew when to let the major league talent go. How many players have left their best years on the field in Atlanta. Neagle, Drew, Millwood, Glavine, Maddux, Jared Wright, Paul Byrd, Johnny Estrada. The list goes on. Many of those were budget decisions, but when you work within the framework of a budget you have to make sound value decisions. JS more often than not has done that. The Red Sox have a 143 million dollar payroll. This includes yearly salries of 14 million for JD Drew, 9 million for Julio Lugo, 8 million for Matt Clement, 4 million for Joel Pinero. What do you think JS could do with 60 million more a year in payroll to work with? He got the Red Sox to pay a third of Renteria’s remaining contract. They had Hampton for free when he was actually able to pitch, because the cash starved Marlins actually paid him to play for a division rival. Since then insurance has paid for his missed seasons. Please give this talented baseball executive the credit he deserves, I challenge anyone to find a better run for GM, particularly when you account for what he has consistently done without 150-200 million dollar payroll.
By teddybulldawg
October 12, 2007 8:54 AM | Link to this
Mark,
Did you happen to read the article published in the op-ed section of the AJC yesterday by Dink NeSmith?
I thought that it was in very poor taste. It particularly irritated me as a Georgia fan that another Georgia fan who “has sat on the 50 yard line for 35 years as a season ticket holder” used his clout as a publisher to complain to Richt.
I think you’d be the perfect counterpoint person to call him out.
Regards,
Ted Kohn
By dadgum
October 12, 2007 9:00 AM | Link to this
Change is gonna come….if nothing else that is certain. JS did the right thing for the Braves’ future. He knew it and was smart enough to hand it over to Wren. Cox will do the same next year. Funny but I blogged many DOB blogs ago that it was entirely possible both would ride out on the same horse this year. Change, oh it will definitely come. Right Andruw?
By Kelley
October 12, 2007 9:27 AM | Link to this
In my opinion, the Braves success points to two people and to two people alone: John S. and Bobby Cox.
I know that he will still be in the organization, but I am saddened that it is in a different capacity and agree that it is our loss.
I, too, feel that the Braves organization is the “gold standard” of how to run a professional organization.
You watch an interview with any Braves player, and they know exactly what to say. They are so immerssed in the “Braves Way”. It’s amazing to me how well run that entire organization is.
It used to kill me to see Mike Vick in a press conference (way before all the controversy) with his hat on sideways; Bobby and JS would never allow that. People gripe about the “business” atmosphere of the Braves, but I love it. I would rather my team know how to conduct themselves like professionals than see a bunch of over paid athletes with a lot of “passion” who put themselves before the team, dress with no sense of professionalism, and dance and act a fool each time they make a play (when really all they are doing is their job that they are paid to do).
JS and Bobby are to credit for the Braves’ success. I shudder to think that Bobby will soon retire into the sunset; that will be a sad, sad day.
People who complain about Bobby or JS in Atlanta don’t have a clue. Any other town would give anything to have had those two running the show.
By jon
October 12, 2007 9:33 AM | Link to this
One down One to go!
By chris
October 12, 2007 9:57 AM | Link to this
Let’s not forget to give that token tip of the hot to Bobby Cox’s short stint as GM where he managed to line up the young pitchers that powered the Braves in the early 90’s.
By dan
October 12, 2007 10:14 AM | Link to this
I don’t know if he should take all the glory for the 14 division title’s. I do rememeber the 70’s and 80’s things weren’t to good in Atlanta. The Brave’s have come along way. They are one of the best in baseball. Thank’s John for your good work and yet more to come.
By Choppy
October 12, 2007 10:29 AM | Link to this
I think a lot of fans fall into the trap of only evaluating a GM on the trades or free agent signings he makes. While that’s the most readily available grading critieria, it is not the only criteria. Schuerholz changed the culture of the whole Braves organization, not just the 25 guys who sit in the dugout. It was a philosophy from top to bottom, major leagues to minor leagues to scouting, etc. That in addition to his deft moves with the major league personnel is what a made him and the Braves a success. Bobby Cox often only gets credit for his success from the dugout. But he sowed the seeds of success as GM himself that later bloomed under the stewardship of Schuerholz’s organizational overhaul. Smoltz, Glavine, Avery, and Chipper Jones were all trades and draftings that happened under Bobby Cox the GM. Then the genius strokes of adding Pendleton, Belliard, Bream, Nixon early on and later the Maddux, McGriff, Galarraga, etc. moves added to the foundation that Cox had laid is what made the Braves what they were and still are.
By Choppy
October 12, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this
Oh and I almost forgot that the last decision Bobby Cox made as GM was the best one this organization ever made…..he hired himself as manager.
By GE
October 12, 2007 10:50 AM | Link to this
The key to all the Braves 14 year sucess was Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, Avery,Schmidt,Justice, Gant, Nixon,Sanders,McGriff, Bream, the Jones Boys,Pendleton, Cox. If John had not traded away so much young pitching talent to get one year wonders like Drew, Sheffield, Lofton and soon to be Texira, we would not be in the current mess. We might also have more World Series banners Hopefully, they will not give up Escobar and some of the others to get some old arms for the pitching staff. No need to worry about the “feel good guys”(Francouer, McCann) as they are for the locals. I personally think that John got lucky in that he had Bobby Cox , good talent scouts, and a very good people in the minor League system. If he hired all these people, then he deserves the credit.
By Kenneth Simpson
October 12, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this
JS was in my opinion GM. He made too many bad trades and not many good ones. Trading 3 good pitchers to rent JD Drew for one year was a bum and I feel the trade for Tex will be the same. He will leave at the end of next season.The Lofton trade was a bum and one not mentined much is the Adam LaRoche trade for a washed up hurt pitcher. JS didn’t trade for many good pitchers and the best trade he made was Fred McGriff trade. I have mixed feelings about Andrew Jones. I think the braves made a hasty decision in saying they are not going to try to sign him unless they knew something we don’t know like him wanting 20 Million a year for several years. He made get that but I don’t think so. Again I think JS was only a fair GM because of the bad trades he made in renting players for one year and depleting th farm for washed up players and renting players. Jermaine Dye for Michael Tucker. Anyone remember that bum trade?
By Brian
October 12, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this
You’d like to see him fail because it would be funny? Are you drunk or did Moore right this for you?
By Jimmy Etheridge
October 12, 2007 11:58 AM | Link to this
Get your facts straight. They won their divison from 1991 until 2006, not 2005.
By don
October 12, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this
Empire? Well, the empire is crumbling and has been doing so since the choke in the 1996 WS. It has gradually picked up momentum with the first round debacles in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. The tempo has increased with the failures in 2006 and 2007.
I think the “empire builder” has gotten the message. Too bad most of the rest of you lemmings are still approaching the edge of the cliff.
Too bad that JS will merely continue do his “work” through his gopher. Wren.
By Ripme
October 12, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this
To the Nut who said, Lofton flopped in Atlanta and etc. Lawton was hurt the year he was a Brave but ab 493-164 hits-5 hrs- 27 sb and 333 avg., not bad for a flop. Since Atlanta he has more play-offs than Cox. He may get WS ring this year with Indians.
By I was there
October 12, 2007 1:06 PM | Link to this
Choppy, Bobby didn’t hire himself as Mgr.Ted put him back in the dugout.That’s a fact.
By Ripme
October 12, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this
Sorry about Lawton ITS Lofton. (sp)
By Burt
October 12, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this
OK, so JS ends his long run as the Braves GM, and the reaction about his “departure” is mixed. So it is for any head in a highly visible position. There’s a lot of luck involved in MLB or any other professional sport. Just ask George Steinbrenner, who spent $215 million this year on a roster that will watch the World Series from their homes.
Quibble about the dozens upon dozens of trades and non-trades he made during his tenure here, but what JS really did for the Braves is change the organization’s culture and character. Yes, after the antics of Ted Turner the organization needed a guiding hand, a mature somebody who would tell staff, coaches, players and all others at every level how to conduct themselves as members of the Atlanta Braves. Win or lose, that’s his legacy in ATL.
My only criticism is that his buttoned-down, all-business approach suppressed emotion and excitement on the field. When’s the last time we saw the entire bullpen or the Braves bench turning their hats inside out as rally caps? That’s not showing a lack of professionalism. That’s not disrespectful to the game. What it is is endearing to the fans. It shows that they are human, that it’s still just a game that allows a certain amount of goofiness and other expressions of competitive desire.
So I wish JS well in his move toward retirement. But more than anything, I wish the Braves will find a way to express their passion for the game of baseball on the field while maintaining the professionalism that is the envy of MLB.
By Shamus Thacker
October 12, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this
If not for John Schuerholz, there’d be no Atlanta Braves. By the end of the 1980’s, I’d get home after a Braves game, fire up the VCR, and hear every cuss word in my repertoire during the telecast. There was NOBODY THERE at times! There was crabgrass, (uncut for DAYS), in the outfield, and Monster Truck/Motocross ruts on the infield. After a late game, there was a slight chance you wouldn’t be robbed. The outfield lighting was like a barnyard rodeo, and the concessions would make a goat yap. It took a real fan to attend Braves games back then! What better way to prove loyalty to a -40/500 team, than to punish yourself by attending their games!!
Any-damn-way, the Braves were on their way out back then. Without the acquisition of JS, they’da been gone in 5-years…
By Ralph
October 12, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this
Mr. Schuerholz, may have been told to tell Bobby Cox to step down, and he didn’t want to do it, so he decided to step down. Knowing that if, middle way through the next season, and Cox’s record, has more loses, then games won, he will be ask to step down. John Schuerhotz has being the GM, for a very long time, while doing a lot of good things, for the Braves organization. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for Ted Turner open wallet capability, Schuerholz, and Cox would have being just another average general manager and manager. The proof has been in the last three years, the team have not played like champions. The Braves old owners care little as to what happen to the team, and it was obvious, just look at their recorder. When a Organizations purchase a sports team, just for taxes purposes, it’s the same, as a death sentence, for that team, of becoming any type of a competitive team. These type of company should have to pay their full share of taxes. The Braves have became a joke, being purchase by one loser after another. Let’s hope that this new owner, won’t turn it’s back on the team. But the odds are they will.
By Ken Stallings
October 12, 2007 2:54 PM | Link to this
“He’s the kind of guy you’d like to see fail just because it’d be funny.”
Jesus, Bradley!
What a pathetic thing to write about someone! You sought to write a column about John Schuerholz. But it seems clear your words speak more about yourself than the intended subject.
That one quote reveals you to be a petty individual. I feel sorry for you.
By BIG DADDY
October 12, 2007 4:15 PM | Link to this
I simply don’t understand negative people. And I don’t like them either.
By Daryl
October 12, 2007 5:04 PM | Link to this
I hate white people like that bigot JS who traded away all the black players and never signed any good one to replace them. That is why the Braves never won more World Series. Out of 14 straight division titles, they should have won the World Series at least seven times. But not being open-minded enough to embrace some of the better player in baseball, JS allowed his opinionation to define his team and organization, and thus determined the destiny of the Braves. It’s a sad day to see that the Braves will continue in this same direction and philosophy. Get use to the facts being stated.
By Ralph
October 12, 2007 5:17 PM | Link to this
No one knows, the real reason why John Schuerholz, is step down, no one will ever know. The MAIN FACT, that the Brave’s Organization became a winning organization was due mainly to, again, Ted Turner packet book, and don’t denying it. Give the man some credit. Putting a winning team on the field and winning games, was up to, John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox, and they did a great job. But, with the type of backing, and open package book ability, the Braves purchase, a winning teams. Don’t try to read between the lines, there is nothing there. any average person can look up in any baseball record book. While the Braves were loosing games this year, the same people, who have become so supportive, where most likely the ones, who were screaming at the top of their voice, “why don’t they rid of those two bums”, and heaven knows what else, was said. Now that Mr. Schuerholz is leaving, these hypocrite, or fakes, have, become mellow and are his biggest supporter. Talk about sorry, negative or petty people.
By James
October 12, 2007 5:34 PM | Link to this
Regarding Kenny Lofton:
(1) His numbers were way below what he had been doing in Cleveland. Sure, that is partly because of injuries, but regardless of the cause, the Braves still not get the production that they thought they were getting.
(2) Lofton was HORRIBLE in the postseason. One of the reasons we got Lofton was to get us over the hump in the postseason by using his speed and hitting ability to help the Braves manufacture more runs. Lofton had a total of 3 hits in the Division Series and League Championship Series combined.
(3) Lofton was a problem in the clubhouse and no one was sad to see him leave. An example: after the Braves were eliminated, Lofton made the comment that the Braves problem was that they spent all of their money on pitching instead of hitting. The idiocy of this comment is that the Braves went out and got Lofton precisely to be the offensive engine at the top of the line-up. For Lofton to make that comment after he was so awful in the playoffs reveals an amazing lack of self-awareness.
So, yes, I have no problem saying Lofton flopped while with the Braves.
By DogInGatorland
October 12, 2007 5:51 PM | Link to this
I have been a Braves fan since I was old enough to remember (Tony Cloninger, Felix Milan, et al) and after all of those disturbing, losing years, albeit with a few teases here and there, I am truly sorry to lose John Schuerholz. Rare is the time when an executive is the most important member of a sports organization (Red Auerbach comes to mind) and while this won’t devastate the team this is a hole that will not be easily filled. And Mr. Bradley, it’s not arrogance if you can back it up. Godspeed, Mr. Schuerholz.
By TossinBP
October 12, 2007 6:11 PM | Link to this
Wren’s gonna do a great job. change is usually good. Give terry the reigns after the 2008 season, bring back leo and kick Mcdowell’s a* to the curb. He sucked. He did nothing. I felt sorry for smoltz having to coach all those young guys and dominate on the hill at the same time.
Forget all the bad trades schurholtz made, the man made the postseason damn near every year he was at the head of the atlanta braves, AND he had more positive moves than negative so because everyone has a few hiccups makes them bad at their job? that being said, john schurholtz is a hall of famer so all you ney-sayers can sit on it. too bad i can’t say the same for his 27 year old kid stuck in rookie ball.
By Choppinmama
October 12, 2007 7:59 PM | Link to this
Ken Stallings, RE: your 2:54 to Bradley
Exactly!!! I’ve had many a conversation with Braves critics, and not even one of then have said about JS, that “he’s the kind of guy you’d like to see fail just because it’d be funny.”
So Bradley, what negative, pessemistic, glass-half-empy folks have you been hanging out with actually think like this?? As Ken alluded to back at 2:54, this can’t actually be the way YOU think?
People that take pleasure from others’ failures need a little empathy therapy and a big dose of Don’t worry, be happy !!