Stage 1: Denial
We weren’t going to contend this year and the rebuild was coming. But the Atlanta Braves haven’t rebuilt since the late 1980’s, so why start now? We were at .500 84 games into the season with a good chance of grabbing the NL East over the Mets and Nationals, so why did President of Baseball OperationsJohn Hartdecide to ship all of our parts away for prospects?
The Atlanta Braves for the last 13 have had a finite ceiling as a playoff team, good enough to win the NL East and nothing more. There, I said it. LosingTom GlavineandGreg Madduxto free agency in consecutive seasons in 2003 and 2004 solidified that the Atlanta Braves did not have a Top 10 payroll anymore. WithTed Turnerselling to what is now Liberty Media, it forever changed the sentiment that the Atlanta Braves could spend like a major market ball club.
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Up until 2008, the Atlanta Braves had the biggest media market of any team in baseball thanks to TBS. When TBS went towards broadcasting all 30 teams and not just the Braves, payroll dropped even more. Atlanta had to find creative ways to field a contending team without the luxury of an eccentric billionaire or a national television audience supporting it.
Atlanta continued to build through its farm system with players likeBrian McCann,Jeff Francoeur,Tommy Hanson,Jair Jurrjens,Jason Heyward,Craig Kimbrel,Andrelton Simmons,Freddie Freeman,Julio Teheran, andAlex Wood. However, when many of these players went to or approached free agency, Team President John Schuerholz and the rest of the Atlanta Braves front office couldn’t afford to keep their best players in Atlanta in the prime of their careers. Don’t you wish the MLB had Bird Rights like the NBA does?
Many of Frank Wren’s front office decisions proved catastrophic like theDan Uggla–Omar Infantetrade with the Miami Marlins, theNate McLouth–Jeff Lockedeal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and let’s not forget about the ludicrous amount cash he gave to B.J. Upton.
With a team essentially hamstrung by a series of horrible contracts, compounded with a lousy television deal, and a barren farm system, there was no alternative but to hold out for maybe one more season before blowing this team up. The Atlanta Braves we loved the last 13 years had a finite ceiling of 95 or so wins and a perpetual first-round playoff exit. Changes needed to come, I’m afraid.
Next: Stage 2: Anger
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