One week after the Braves were eliminated by the Dodgers in the division series, Braves general manager Frank Wren met with media members 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 the highest-paid Braves, Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton.
Excerpts from the interview have been divided into two parts, with the second to run Thursday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Q: After a week to process it, can you think of how things might have gone differently if you’d done this or that?
A: To me the disappointment in the way (we) finished really started with Tim Hudson's injury because he was starting to throw the ball very well. Our team was playing very well. And he was kind of an irreplaceable piece because there was not starting pitching available at the deadline that could make a significant difference. … I think the other one was when Brandon Beachy had his setbacks. We expected him to jump into the rotation and be a part of it.
Q: Were you disappointed the offense wasn’t more consistent?
A: Well I think we could count on Freddie Freeman. It was guys around him that tended to go hot and cold. We needed to be more consistent up and down the lineup, and when things clicked, we played very good baseball.
Q: If (Jason) Heyward doesn’t get hurt, do you think the offense continues to roll like it did those first weeks he hit leadoff?
A: I think so. I think Fredi's decision to move Jason to the leadoff spot was probably the No. 1 catalyst for our season, and I said this back in August. Sometimes managers get criticized for too many lineups and playing with a lineup; they don't want to play with a lineup. They're looking for something that works, something that clicks that allows the offense to roll.
Q: Were you pleased with the development Heyward made with (hitting coach Greg) Walker, and how Walker and (assistant Scott Fletcher) worked with other hitters?
A: Yeah, I think they're tireless workers, and I think they're a good combination in that Fletch is more tech-savvy with using all the tools we have in our video room, and Walk has an eye for swings and the mechanics of swings. … Jason is continuing to make progress. To me he's kind of come back a little bit full circle from when he first came up (with) his ability to get on base and understand what the pitcher was trying to do. And then I think he went through a bit of a learning process that second year, and I think over the last two years I think he's kind of coming back to being more that type hitter where he uses the whole field, draws his walks and just has an overall good game plan.
Q: You could have used an ace down the stretch, is that something you would look to add from outside?
A: Unfortunately, aces or top-of-the-rotation starting pitching is the most rare commodity, whether it's the trade market or free-agent market. And you look at this year's free-agent market, there really isn't one of those guys. Whether there's going to be one in the trade market, I don't know. But we recognize that that's an area of need.
Q: I know you don’t like to say anyone is untouchable, but is (pitching prospect) Lucas Sims an all-but-untouchable?
A: I'm not going to get into specific names. Like every organization, we have prospects that we definitely would like to hold onto. … You're always going to resist trading (them), and then there are going to come times where the deal is just too big and too important for your organization to pass on.
Q: Did you see enough of (Evan) Gattis to believe he could be an everyday catcher?
A: I think we saw that from spring training. We needed him to play left field to get his bat in the lineup, so his catching skills probably didn't progress a lot this year. I think his knowledge of the game and calling games continued to grow because he was exposed at the major league level for the first time. But we saw enough of his catching skills early in the season to know that he could handle this job.
Q. Is there anything you can say regarding the McCann free-agency situation?
A: We'll discuss it in the (organizational) meetings, and we'll have further discussions as we go through the fall because a lot of those decisions will come up very quickly. Once the World Series is over, things start happening very quickly in that timeline.
Q: Safe to say the McCann situation is a difficult one for you?
A: Oh, no question. I remember him coming to the stadium when he signed, and I remember watching him at every level of our minor league system and watching him turn into an All-Star performer. And we all know what kind of person he is.
Q: Was the Jordan Walden injury a big blow?
A: He has an unorthodox delivery and probably the one injury that would be difficult for him to bounce back quickly would be a groin injury because of the way he kind of leaps off the rubber. And that's the injury he had. So it was slow to heal, and I think it did stress our bullpen some. …. You look at bullpens in today's game, you've got to have power in the back end of that bullpen, and when you look at Walden and (David) Carpenter and (Luis) Avilan and then the potential of having (Jonny) Venters back next year, along with (Craig) Kimbrel? That's the power that you're accustomed to in quality bullpens and those guys are all back. … Depending on what happens with Alex Wood, he's another young pitcher that gets to 94, 95 (mph). I think we go into the spring more than likely with Wood being stretched out as a starter.
