House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves hire GM Alex Anthopoulos

By Fred Owens

TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 8: R.A. Dickey #43 (L) of the Toronto Blue Jays is introduced at a press conference as he shakes hands with general manager Alex Anthopoulos at Rogers Centre on January 8, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 8: R.A. Dickey #43 (L) of the Toronto Blue Jays is introduced at a press conference as he shakes hands with general manager Alex Anthopoulos at Rogers Centre on January 8, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Now that the Atlanta Braves have the former Dodger VP of Baseball operations, maybe they can once again win on the west coast.
Now that the Atlanta Braves have the former Dodger VP of Baseball operations, maybe they can once again win on the west coast. /

That’s A Wrap

I had hoped someone would step forward and say, the Braves have a chance to break this cycle of two years of success followed by six years of failure. Instead they pined for a man who didn’t love them any longer until forced to hire somebody quickly before the GM meeting time.

I noted my dislike of Hendry on MLBTR earlier. After the hiring of AA, one commenter wrote a long reply saying AA was great in Toronto because he moved the immovable Wells contract, landed Donaldson and made the Tulo deal.

He failed to note that the team had one really good season under AA 2015 and one with mostly the same players under Shapiro in 2016 before sinking below .500 again. Neither did he mention the lack of a minor league system capable of supporting the major league team and the repeated signing of old, oft injured players.

I don’t want to be Debbie Downer here so let me be clear:  I am glad the Braves chose someone who isn’t is my peer group age wise.  I hope – desperately want – AA to succeed and make the Braves consistently competitive again.

I just laid out the way AA  worked during his last stint as GM. It was the same way his mentor did the job before him and the way Ricciardi’s mentor taught him.

Next: Great baseball talent found here

The Braves need new ideas. I fervently hope AA brings new ideas and new methods picked up while with the Dodgers that break the boom and bust cycle teams seem to follow.  I wish him luck and look forward to an interesting off-season.

Home/Braves News