One week after the Braves were eliminated by the Dodgers in the division series, Braves general manager Frank Wren met with writers Monday for a question-and-answer session about matters ranging from the performance of manager Fredi Gonzalez, the future of Brian McCann, and poor seasons by Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton.
Excerpts from the interview have been divided into two parts. The first ran Wednesday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Q: Do you think the team moved forward this year?
A: I think we took a step forward. We didn't reach our ultimate goal, to win a World Series. Division championships are nice, winning 96 games is great. But if you're not still playing as one of the last couple teams getting to the World Series, it's somewhat disappointing. We had to overcome a lot of injuries. When we put together our postseason roster, we had six or seven guys that would have been on it (disabled). No organization can withstand that and have the same performance.
Q: Among top prospects you see perhaps competing for a spot, is (second baseman) Tommy La Stella in that group?
A: I think there's a small handful of guys that are going to come into spring training with a legitimate chance to show us something. I'm not going to get into specific names. I just think at this point that's counterproductive for them.
Q: When you say they have a chance to show something, is that competing for more than a backup spot?
A: I think there's guys that are going to come into big-league camp with aspirations of leaving in the lineup.
Q: After Uggla was left off the playoff roster, how do you see his future in Atlanta?
A: Nothing's really changed in that regard. I think we made a decision, who was our best 25? And he wasn't on that roster. We need him to perform better. I mean, that's plain and simple.
Q: Do you think things would have been any different if he had used the contact lenses in spring training?
A: I don't know. He started using the contacts in the middle of the season, and it seemed to get better for a short time, and then it started deteriorating and he had a tough time in August. And then we talked about going ahead and having the (laser eye) surgery, to hopefully correct it to where he had time left in September to make progress. And there really wasn't a lot of progress. … I think, hope for Dan's sake and our sake that he can make some adjustments.
Q: How is your payroll situation compared to recent years?
A: We're in good shape.
Q: With all of your arbitration-eligible (players), you have a good idea how those salaries will come out?
A: Yes, we've had projections for months and months. Every month we're adjusting because arbitration is a function of performance.
Q: Is the organizational philosophy same as it's been, prefer trades over free agency?
A: Yeah. (And) this not a good, deep free-agent market for the primary positions that we would be out there looking for.
Q: Can you say what your targeted areas are this offseason?
A: Not yet because we don't know exactly what the trade market looks like. … We could go to spring training today, and we'd have a good team that would be very competitive in the National League East. Do we want to improve it? Yes. But we're an organization that's always looking to give opportunities to our young guys, and I think we've seen over time that those young players have rewarded us. … We're always mindful, "let's make sure we don't block young talent." So we did it sometimes with a one-year deal to not block Freddie Freeman, those kinds of things.
Q: What do you think happened to B.J. (Upton)?
A: What I hope happened to B.J. and what I'm theorizing is that he fell into the same trap that so many free agents fall into, trying to do too much, trying to justify and win over a new fan base. It's a deep hole that gets deeper the harder you try. … B.J.'s very talented, he's young, he can do a lot of things on the baseball field. We've got to help him get back on track. That's plain and simple. There's a reason why there were a lot of clubs after him last winter.
Q: B.J.'s younger than Uggla and had been on a fairly level plane before the dropoff … where Uggla seems to be in a pattern of decline. Different levels of concern?
A: I don't know if it's a different level. I think there's concern, that we need those players to perform. For our lineup to be more balanced, for our lineup to have more depth.
Q: With (special assistant) Lee Elia in Tampa (Florida, where Upton lives), could that help this winter?
A: No question. And (hitting coach Larry Walker) has said from South Georgia, where he lives, it's about a four- or five-hour drive to Tampa, so there's a lot of different ways to facilitate the things we feel we need to accomplish.
Q: What did you think of the year that Fredi Gonzalez had?
A: I think Fredi managed through a lot of injuries, managed through a lot of performance ups and downs, and I think you've got to be happy when you win 96 games. I think first and foremost, you've got to get there (to the postseason).
Q: Do you have to guard against seeing what works for other teams in the postseason and then trying to build your whole team around that?
A: I think we're seeing teams that were "built for the postseason" strike out 13 times in the first six innings (Boston), and get no-hit for the first six or seven innings. So I think that's much ado about nothing. … You want to have a good, well-rounded team with depth to play in October. I felt like we were getting there in the first half. (The bench) was as good as anyone's and better than most. And we started losing guys off that bench that could make a difference. Then we started losing guys in our bullpen. Then we started losing guys in our rotation. It wasn't quite the same team at the end.
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