Since 1991, the Atlanta Braves have only had three losing campaigns as they’ve been one of the more consistent Major League Baseball franchises. Over that stretch the Braves have gone to the postseason 17 times and they claimed a World Series Championship in 1995. But all of that Braves success will be a very mute point in 2015. Former Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers general manager John Hart took over last October as the Braves president of baseball operations and it is an understatement to say that he has cleaned house in Atlanta. Hart spent the off-season wheeling and dealing as he sent outfielder Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres and outfielder Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Upton trade and the Heyward trade were only a pair of moves that Hart made along with another big move this past Sunday when he traded relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. to the Padres. The only recognizable name left for the Braves is their first baseman Freddie Freeman as the club is in full-time rebuilding mode.
Under current manager Fredi Gonzalez, the Braves have only had one losing season, but they have faltered down the stretch. In 2011, the Braves lost their final five games of the season and they missed out on the postseason by one game. In 2012, the Braves won 94 games, but they could not escape the Cards in the NL Wild Card Game. And after winning 96 games in 2013, the Braves were no match for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Divisional Series. Last season at the end of August, the Braves were 72-65 and right in the mix for a wild card berth. But Atlanta would go 7-18 over the final month of the season to finish the year with a losing record.
John Hart
Late in the 2014 MLB season, Frank Wren was fired as Braves general manager and replaced by Hart on an interim basis. After the season the Braves did offer Hart the opportunity to become their new general manager, but he instead opted for a chance at his current position with the club. And the majority of the players that have been traded by Hart since he joined the Braves didn’t fit his style of player which has ultimately made them expendable.
The Braves are currently going for the full face lift. After failing to come to an agreement with Fulton County, the Braves are set to bid farewell to Turner Field in 2017 with an eye on nearby Cobb County which is in the suburbs of Atlanta. The move more than likely will alienate the Braves from their current urban fan base and they’ll have to develop a rapport with new fans and to me the whole concept is mind boggling.
Freddie Freeman
Led by Freeman, Justin Upton, Kimbrel, and Heyward, the Braves had talent in place that could contend for the World Series: they only needed to add a few pieces. Surprisingly the Braves decided to retain Gonzalez as their skipper in spite of the fact that the team has consistently faltered down the stretch under him as it looks like they’ve been a squad that has simply tuned him out. But instead of parting with Gonzalez, the Braves have decided to blow everything up which tends to drive fans away. If the Braves are going for the empty stadium concept in 2015, then they are well on their way to achieving it because the fans there will more than ever have to use their game programs to identify the team. The Braves have a long history in Atlanta as they’ve called it home since 1966. Baseball fans in Atlanta have seen the best of times and worst of times with their club. In 1969, the Braves would become the first winners of the newly created National League West. The 1970’s would see a postseason drought for the Braves, but who could forget Henry Aaron and his quest to surpass Babe Ruth as Major League Baseball’s all-time home run king which he attained in 1974? And when the Braves had that worst-to-first turnaround in 1991, the fans turned out in droves to the now defunct Fulton-County Stadium with the famed tomahawk chop to support their favorite club as they rode that momentum for five World Series appearances in the 1990’s.
And just like there really wasn’t any worthwhile reason for the Braves to move to Cobb County other than the fact that they want to make their team more exclusive, there really wasn’t a reason for them to have the current fire sale that they’re in the midst of having as the fans down in Dixie better buckle up and long and hot summer as Atlanta will more than likely be looking up at the rest of the pack in the National League East.
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