In the biggest MLB story of the day, it appears that John Schuerholz will be stepping down as the General Manager of the Atlanta Braves. See the story here. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution (the preeminent source on Vick news, by the way), they report that Schuerholz will be moving to team president, allowing long time assistant Frank Wren to take over the GM reigns.
Either way, it looks like Schuerholz's tenure as GM of the team of the South is through. What then is his legacy? I would argue that he ranks at the very top of list for modern athletic GMs.
From a Moneyball perspective, the goal of the GM is to put a team in position to make the playoffs, and hope that you win the playoffs with a dissproportionate frequency. As Billy Beane stated, he built teams for the regular season so that the talent and numbers he'd acquire would win over a large 162 game sample. When thrown into a 5 game or 7 game (at most!) crapshoot of a playoff series, anything can happen. Thus, you cannot blame Schuerholz one bit for his team's playoff shortcomings (1 title in 14 postseason appearances).
That's why, I'd argue the accomplishment of Schuerholz is incredible. His teams reached the playoffs in 14 straight seasons. That's unfathomable in this era of MLB parity. His teams acheived a cumulative record of 1,594-1,092. He successfully transitioned from two distinct eras of Braves teams and players. Some may argue that what the Marlins have done is more remarkable - having two fantastic championship seasons interspersed with abject futility. Not me. I would say that to stay that good for that long is much, much more impressive.
Thoughts on the Schuerholz era? Is there a better GM in baseball?
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Billy Beane is my GM God.
That said, Schuerholz is an excellent GM. Their internal scouting has always been second to none. They draft well every year. And Schuerholz has always gone out a the deadline and gotten the pieces to put the Braves into the playoffs. Those three things are my personal 1,2,3 on the 'What Makes a Great GM' list.
Chicken or Egg questions:
Has he made Bobby Cox one of the best managers of all time, or has Bobby made John one of the best GMs?
Did Schuerholz recognize Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz on skill, or did the Braves get extremely lucky in terms of pitching prospects fulfilling potential?
I'd say Schuerholz had a good combo of skill and luck.
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