A new Sheriff in town

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When John Schuerholz stepped down from General Manager duties this past off-season and assumed his new role of Team President, many Atlanta Braves fans wondered what would happen to their team. They worried about the guy that had to follow THE MAN for so many years. They shouldn’t have been so worried. Frank Wren was promoted from Braves top assistant to the role of general manager, and he quickly went about assembling a team that many experts predicted would compete not just for a division crown but also a World Series. Jayson Stark of ESPN predicted that Frank Wren’s collection of talent would win the World Series and his colleague Peter Gammons had the Braves in the Series.
Though injuries have dealt a cruel blow to Atlanta’s early chances at a division crown, the two in charge of the Braves seem to be happy with the job they have done so far, and they think they can make it through this tough patch. “We’re gonna have to play our way out of this,” said General Manager Frank Wren. Despite the recent rash of injuries, the Braves still found themselves within shouting distance of NL East leading Philadelphia, and though the Phillies swept the Braves last week, players are starting to come back from injuries. Assistant GM Bruce Manno, who has worked with Wren for quite a while believes that Wren did a good job putting this team together. “As we start to get our players back, we’ll be able to make a few other moves, obviously, to get a healthier lineup on the field. At the beginning of the season we obviously had a very, very good, competitive club, and unfortunately we’ve been hit with several key injuries that we’ve had to try to get through.” No one could have guessed that John Smoltz would be lost for the season to an arm surgery and that one of Wren’s off-season acquisitions in Tom Glavine would go onto the DL twice, his first two trips in his long career.
Another one of Wren’s moves this past off-season was dealing for Oakland outfielder Mark Kotsay, and he has recently returned to the lineup after missing some time for an injured back. His bat should help to bolster a team that Braves manager Bobby Cox thinks, “should be hitting.” Said Wren about his team’s struggles so far, “it’s not the starting pitching that’s been disappointing, it’s been the hitting.” Should the hitting come around, then perhaps the team can focus on potentially bringing in some help from outside the organization. Though Wren would not comment on any names, Manno said, “As we start to get our players back, we’ll be able to make a few other moves. If there’s an opportunity to improve the club, we’re certainly going to be open to that as we go forward.”
But how is Wren adjusting to life as a GM? This isn’t his first time as a general manager. He served as Baltimore’s GM during the 1999 campaign, even signing Albert Belle to the largest contract at the time. The team struggled, despite a high payroll and Orioles owner Peter Angelos decided to make a change. Wren took the chance to jump on with the Braves organization and serve an apprenticeship under Schuerholz. He had previously served under Dave Dombrowski with the Florida Marlins after beginning his career with the Montreal Expos. His successes with those clubs, including a World Series title in 1997 with Florida have no doubt prepared him for his current role with Atlanta. Manno has says that it is a pleasure working with Wren on a daily basis. “I’ve worked with Frank before and I’ve known him a long time. We’ve worked real well together.” Manno says that the longer you work with someone, and get to know that person is when you start to complement each other. “You know what to anticipate and we work real well that way,” says Manno.
Wren has had some tough shoes to fill and has faced some difficulties along the way in his first season in charge of the Braves’ front office, but you get the feeling Wren won’t back down from this challenge of leading the Braves. “It’s very challenging, but it’s also a long season. You just have to take it one day at a time, one step at a time. When you get your players in place, that’s an opportunity to try and move forward.”