Grading our GMs: Dimitroff’s at the top, but where’s Wren?
The "D" also stands for "Don" and "dean of Atlanta GMs. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Two are in their offseasons. Two are approaching their midseasons, one with a monumental decision to make. Three of the four are relatively new to their positions; the other is Teflon Don Waddell. Today’s assignment: Assess and grade the general managers of Atlanta’s four major sports teams. We start at the top.
Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons
Start date: January 2008. Recap: Two winning seasons in two tries, one playoff appearance, no playoff victories. Major achievements: Hired Mike Smith, the 2008 NFL coach of the year; drafted Matt Ryan, the 2008 offensive rookie of the year; signed Michael Turner, who rushed for 1,699 yards in 2008.
Assessment: Has brought precision and professional calm to a franchise roiled by the abrupt departures of Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino; made the absolute most of his first NFL draft, landing three starters — Ryan, Sam Baker and Curtis Lofton — with his first three picks; the 2009 draft was less successful, given that top two picks Peria Jerry and William Moore were lost to injury; might have overreached in trying to change nearly half the defensive starters in one offseason; landed Tony Gonzalez for a second-round pick in a trade that essentially enabled the Falcons to post consecutive winning records for the first time in their history.
Grade: A big fat A.
Rick Sund, Hawks
Start date: June 2008. Recap: One winning season, one playoff series victory; the Hawks are leading the NBA Southeast in Year 2. Major achievements: Bolstered the 2008-2009 team with deft (and cheap) acquisitions of subs Flip Murray and Mo Evans; held the Hawks’ core together by re-signing Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia over the summer of 2009, again on the cheap, and landed the excellent Jamal Crawford to boot.
Assessment: Started rather ingloriously by seeing sixth man Josh Childress leave for Olympiakos of Greece; made up for that by landing Murray and Evans; made the correct choice upon arrival by granting coach Mike Woodson a two-year contract extension; is risking distraction and Woodson’s lingering ire by refusing to renegotiate until that contract expires after this season; took Jeff Teague with the 19th pick of the 2009 draft, and even Woodson, who’s hard on rookies, says Teague “will run this team someday”; is more a nuts-and-bolts guy than a grand visionary; knows the NBA and its workings as well as anyone, having worked in it since 1979.
Grade: B-plus for technical merit.
Frank Wren, Braves
Start date: October 2007. Recap: One winning season, no playoff appearances. Major achievements: Rebuilt the Braves’ rotation in one winter; lifted a club that had lost 90 games in his first season to 86 victories in 2009; presides over a farm system that just yielded Tommy Hanson and boasts top prospects Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman.
Assessment: Had to follow the estimable John Schuerholz; banked on aging starting pitching in 2008 and saw his team crumble due to injury; landed Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami last winter, rendering the new rotation more durable; traded Vazquez to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera and two prospects in a deal that pretty much stumped the band; signed Troy Glaus, a career third baseman coming off surgery, to be the Braves’ 2010 first baseman; guessed wrong on the composition of the Braves’ 2009 lineup but made midcourse corrections by landing Nate McLouth and dumping Jeff Francoeur and Casey Kotchman; both he and Bobby Cox dismissed a Yahoo! Sports report of friction between the two; the next day it was announced 2010 would be Cox’s final season as manager; irked John Smoltz by not offering more guaranteed money last January and Tom Glavine by cutting him last June; gives the impression of being in too big a hurry; has no ear for public relations.
Grade: A loud and busy C-plus.
Don Waddell, Thrashers
Start date: June 1998. Recap: Two winning seasons, one division championship, one playoff appearance, no playoff victories. Major achievements: Drafted Dany Heatley with the No. 2 overall pick in 2000 and Ilya Kovalchuk with the No. 1 pick in 2001; has spent more time as an Atlanta GM than the other three combined.
Assessment: Was hired to build a roster from the ground up; the Thrashers, now in their second decade, are 28th in a 30-team league in attendance and would not qualify for the playoffs if they began today; was handed a major setback when Heatley, who was driving in the crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder, demanded to be traded; managed to pry the best two-way player in Thrashers annals from Ottawa for Heatley but couldn’t persuade Marian Hossa to re-up in 2008, forcing a midseason trade to Pittsburgh; has had spotty drafts, although Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane show great promise; has had rotten luck with goaltenders, dating from Damian Rhodes to Kari Lehtonen; faces a Hossa-like dilemma with Kovalchuk, whose contract is expiring at season’s end and whom Waddell has worked hard to keep; hope for retaining Kovalchuk wanes with every day, and his loss could spell doom for hockey in Atlanta.
Grade: D, but it drops if Kovalchuk exits.
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206 comments Add your comment
Sonny Clusters
January 20th, 2010
3:07 pm
Yes, losing is a habit. The Braves are no longer the team that “won” 14 division signs. They are the team that has not been to the playoffs in 4 straight seasons. They are the team that lost the last six at home and four straight to the Nationals to end the season. They are the team that didn’t finish second because they tanked when they were eliminated. Those little division signs mean nothing. This team should be built to win the pennant. That should be the goal in the clubhouse. They won’t be playing in a WS until they win another pennant. They won’t be winning a pennant as presently they do business. Change is good. When we was playing ball we would change things up if we got into a slump but we was never in a slump for four straight seasons.
Stat Man
January 20th, 2010
3:18 pm
The Thrashers have a GM? Couldn’ve fooled me.
bali
January 20th, 2010
3:30 pm
good article…….. now what would be really interesting to me would be if we graded the Atlanta Journal sports writers
Ramblin Wrecker
January 20th, 2010
3:30 pm
What I’m about to write might be controversial. I think people are being tough on Frank Wren. I don’t like some of the moves this offseason. But at least he’s making moves and trying to make the most of his payroll (limited as it apparently is). When has John Schuerholz ever won with a restricted payroll? I mean, any idiot can be GM when there is no limitation. I’m not saying he was an idiot, or that he was not a good GM. But as soon as the Braves had a cap on their salary, the Braves began to decline. Most of the home grown success the Braves enjoyed were drafted/traded for by Bobby Cox when he was GM. Glavine, Avery, Chipper, Klesko were drafted by GM Cox. Smoltz was traded for by GM Cox. Javy Lopez was signed by GM Cox. That was the basis for their run in the 1990’s. Adding Greg Maddux and Fred McGriff were key, but no-brainers.
I liked what Frank Wren did between 2008 and 2009 to the starting staff. He made a weakness a strength. Now let’s see what happens to the offense. I think the moves made show just how much the Braves think of Jason Heyward. Just like the affect Tommy Hanson had on the pitching staff, I think they hope Heyward effects the offense. Why not? Pujols was a star from day one. Why can’t the Braves have a great player?
Robert
January 20th, 2010
3:33 pm
Wren has done a decent enough job given his budgetary constraints
The only serious mistake he has made is keeping Cox
Fine Cox $1 for every mistake he makes and we could outspend the Yankees by April 15
Robert
January 20th, 2010
3:35 pm
“good article…….. now what would be really interesting to me would be if we graded the Atlanta Journal sports writers”
Best one they ever had retired recently (Bisher)
The rest basically parrott the party line.
Next AJC sportswriter to point out the fact that Bobby Cox is the single most inept on-field tactician in the history of baseball gets my vote as best
li'l Boo Radley
January 20th, 2010
3:37 pm
I agree with your parfait-laced assessmement Mr. Clusters. We was recently in the Macon County, AL Dairy Queen and all the employees was hittin’ ‘pert near 1.000 what with the Full Deal Meals being created with just-in-time efficiency. It truly is unfortunate that the Braves show no such team-like efforts, there being a much higher price on their services unlike the DQ staff which works pretty much for nothing ‘cept the free FDM they get at the end of their shift.
Nevertheless, I think the Braves infield, outfield, pitching staff and coaching staff should all work a shift at the local McDonough DQ or some such locale. I believe they would view their lot in life with much more fullness and certainly this would contribute to their team performance in 2010. I believe this could reasonably be called the ‘Cluster’s DQ Approach’.
dogsbrekky
January 20th, 2010
3:40 pm
Wren is fawesome… dude gets an A- in my book………. especially if he gets Damon !
LAC
January 20th, 2010
3:40 pm
waddell deserves a triple F, I won’t go into details, but this Idiot
has no clue as to what to do and how to run a professional franchise, it shows in the record… CAREER LOSER ! I was a STH, but I am fed up
with him and the spit, I mean spirit clowns, where is beau turner off boozing it up today ???
Unless playoffs this season, #17 resigned, next year will be the LAST of NHL hockey here in Atlanta, Thanks waddell you ARE The Master of Disaster and thanks for doing EVERYTHING possible to destroy hockey in this city you A$$!!!!!
ugaaccountant
January 20th, 2010
3:43 pm
Dimitoff and Sund both appear to be near the top of their respective leagues in terms of competence. Very glad to have them.
Wren is hard to grade as the budget is full of loopholes that apparently render him incapable of spending as much for 2010 as he spent in 2008 and 2009. If I believe what I read about the budget, he’s doing an average job within the limits. He floats a lot of bad ideas out there and handles situations really badly from a public relations perspective, but he also has pulled several rip-off trades in a short time period. I agree that a C is about right on balance.
He gets an A+ for his “first move” with Jurrjens but an F for his handling of the Glavine/Hanson/Medlen decision. Signing Lowe was good, but paying him 15 million a year for 4 years was about 33% more money than was necessary. That’s a very crippling decision maybe a D. But getting Mclouth and Vasquez fairly cheaply in terms of prospects given up is a solid B+ type work. Can’t give him much credit on getting Laroche for Kotchman, because no GM would turn that down. So yeah, he’s just all over the board.
Delbert D.
January 20th, 2010
3:46 pm
Mucho kudos to Dimmy, coal in the stocking for the Troglodyte (Wren), and who the heck gives a rat’s behind about the rest. Just tell the Spirits to leave Woody alone to do his thing.
EEJacket
January 20th, 2010
3:47 pm
No grade for Radakovich? I’d say he’s an GM of sorts, and one that deserves the highest A you can get.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 20th, 2010
3:51 pm
Sonny Clusters is hitting the nail on the head today. Bobby Cox teams, including his Toronto teams, are always weak on the fundamentals. That can cost you ballgames, especially in post season when every thing is magnified.
Mitchell
January 20th, 2010
3:53 pm
Atlanta coaches, top to bottom:
Paul Johnson
Mike Smith
Hawks coach (sorry, don’t spend a lot of time on the Hawks’ blog)
Thrashers coach (yeah, definitely don’t know his name)
Bobby Cox
Terry Pendleton
Glenn Hubbard, Brian Snitker ( we can’t steal bases, can’t run the bases)
Yeah, I just wanted to reiterate how much I think the Braves coaches suck. It never gets old.
Mitchell
January 20th, 2010
3:56 pm
Roger McDowell is the one exception of course… and, well, Chino Cadahia. Why not?
The fact that guy can even get on a uniform without tearing it is a triumh in itself.
1eyedJack
January 20th, 2010
4:00 pm
Can Chino even swing a fungo bat?
Sonny Clusters
January 20th, 2010
4:03 pm
We was with Bobby Cox once and he was about to shake our hand and then we remembered that he picks his nose and we handed him a newspaper instead of shaking his hand and he couldn’t turn that newspaper loose to lay it down. We think we know the reason why. Having said that, he seems to be a nice man with a lot of friends. Being friends with your players, though, is not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes they may take advantage. We was thinking that if Bobby would let somebody come in and loosen up and limber up and get the Braves in shape down in Florida they might start off a lot better and have fewer injuries. Chipper should do some exercises for his thumbs, toes, groins, obliques, hamstrings, wrists, ankles, and anything else that may keep him out of the lineup. Everybody should learn how to bunt.
Sonny Clusters
January 20th, 2010
4:09 pm
There is no place for hairpieces in baseball. Somebody on the team may be wearing a hairpiece. One day that cap is going to come off and so will a lot more. The days of the mullet are pretty much gone but those were some good haircuts for ballplayers. The Braves had some of the best mullets in baseball. Some of the worst players, but some good mullets.
Peachtree Pete
January 20th, 2010
4:27 pm
I don’t even know why we have the Thrashers. To keep the transplants happy??
JabboRockefeller
January 20th, 2010
4:34 pm
Wren should have kept Vazquez. Hudson is now damaged goods; if he goes down it’s gonna get ugly. I also have a bad feeling about our first base experiment. Chipper won’t play over 100-games at third. Our bullpen has been considerably weakened. Also, look for Prado to revert to his utility-man self. I don’t see the playoffs OR a winning season.
Wren – F- If there was a G-, I’d give him that.
After watching the Falcons for 40+ years, Dimitroff gets an A++. If, for nothing else, giving the Falcons organization the look and feel of a PROFESSIONAL NFL outfit.
Sund has been here a short time, but his experience has shone in some very wily moves. He gets an A for the Crawford trade (rape) alone.
Waddell gets my highest grade, AA++. Any guy who can suck so badly for so many years, and still be around, has figured-out something we’d all like to know…
willie martinez
January 20th, 2010
4:43 pm
Mark, I’d have to grade your writing a C over the past week or 10 days.
you seem very disinterested.
Ivory Latta fan in Oakhurst
January 20th, 2010
4:47 pm
Marynell Meadors, GM of the Atlanta Dream, gets an A in my book.
Biggest turnaround of an Atlanta franchise since, well, the 2008-2009 Falcons!!
smooth
January 20th, 2010
4:50 pm
Looks like a bunch of people who never played any sports in their life taking shots. Bradley grading these folks is like Mel Kiper working the draft. You guys keep on agreeing with Bradley and see if you run a couple of our teams out of town.
Brendan
January 20th, 2010
4:53 pm
It’s amazing to me … that the Snyder tragedy can even still be mentioned, as it relates to the successes or failures of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise. Dany Heatley is NOT a character guy. He whines like a Primadonna, and asked for a release from his Swiss Team, his Russian team, the Thrashers, and this past season, the Ottawa Senators. Character? Hello??
Dany Heatley has won at every level and consequently expects the world to kowtow to him. He got his “ready-made” Cup contender trade to Ottawa in 2005, but lost the 2007 Finals to Anaheim. And now, he’s finagled a trade, out of sheer selfishness, to another ‘ready-made’ Cup Contender in San Jose. I used to support the Sharks. But now, I can’t. Not with Heatley on them. And not after knowing who and what Dany Heatley is. That’s a shame, because those fans in San Jose deserve a Stanley Cup. They’ve patiently waited, enduring many bad seasons and playoff disappointments.
And guess what Heatley will do, once the Sharks are no longer contenders? With 5+years left on his deal? That’s right. He’ll request a trade out, citing that, “I’m not being properly utilized.” So, we were going to LOSE DANY HEATLEY, pretty much no MATTER WHAT. That’s the truth I believe. If Dan Snyder were alive and well, and presently retired from hockey, Dany Heatley would still be gone from the Atlanta Thrashers. That’s what he does. He abandons ship in the face of any adversity. He runs from his problems. Then he says, “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.” Niiiiiice.
Okay, Waddell gets a “D.” I can’t argue there. Character matters, even in the prospect of “can’t miss” bluechip players. Kari Lehtonen, at times in his carrer, shows up to training camp horribly out of shape. There was the “blue hair” incident. It’s important to know WHO you are drafting, not just how PROMISING their talents are. And Ilya Kovalchuk … has refused to learn how to properly backcheck or make any kind of committed effort to the defensive aspect of his game. He’s a minus eighty-something (-88) in his career. And for this, he wants to make the same or MORE than Crosby and Ovechkin?
Don Waddell has done his level best for this franchise. But his “habitus” is that of a minor league GM. He doesn’t know or can’t learn what it takes to take an NHL franchise to a level where it can compete for the Stanley Cup. He was way behind the learning curve on the “new” rules of the NHL, despite sitting on the very committee that designed them. His list of blueline selections is atricious, in the aggregate. And he has something close to no luck with goaltenders. The poor guy does what he can, with the resources he’s been given. It’s going to be tough for any GM to succeed here, with this ownership, and this business model. They simply don’t understand the dynamics of running an NHL franchise. And the proof of which is … Waddell will stay as long as they own it.
Waddell … after a DECADE’S worth of seasons, still hasn’t crafted an IDENTITY for his team. And really, isn’t that “JOB ONE” for an NHL GM? Have a strategy. Have some sort of “plan.” And draft players into that mold/strategy. Don Waddell took a bucket of paint, turned on a fan, and let the splatter hit the canvas. Then called it, “art.” And that was his “master plan.” A hodge podge of randomness, thrown together with no continuity. Our core area of “player retention” is abysmal.
Robert
January 20th, 2010
4:53 pm
Five game series have NOT been the Braves undoing.
Going up against a team who is in the same zip code talent wise with a manager who is completely inept has been the Braves undoing
Robert
January 20th, 2010
4:56 pm
“Being friends with your players, though, is not necessarily a good thing”
It might get Cox into the Hall of Fame. Either that or his .225 career batting average. Certainly wont be what he did with some of the best teams of the century
JabboRockefeller
January 20th, 2010
5:01 pm
Totally agree with you Robert.
JabboRockefeller
January 20th, 2010
5:21 pm
Bobby is a GREAT “players’” manager. Bobby is also GREAT at keeping a team on an even keel. Therein lies the problem. The Braves enter playoff series on that vaunted “even keel.” (wonderful during a loooong regular season; during a short series, not so much) Just so happens, the opponent shows-up PUMPED through the roof. We’re dead before the first pitch…
Bobby couldn’t fire-up a parolee in a hoe house.
MitchC
January 20th, 2010
5:43 pm
Mark, I just saw the first baseball preseason magazine out today. (I forget exactly which one it was). That publication has the Phillies picked for first, and the Braves for second.
Essentially swapping Wagner for Soriano and Gonzalez might come back to bite the Braves, and I would much rather have had Laroche as opposed to Troy Glaus.
My feeling: If the Braves don’t somehow win the wild card in Bobby’s last season, Wren should be fired. We will have new blood in the manager’s office in 2011, and a fifth straight season out of the playoffs, should be enough for us to say goodbye to Wren also.
Skeezix
January 20th, 2010
6:01 pm
Mark: You get an A from me. But regarding Waddell—The Thrashers are to professional hockey what the Washington Generals are to the Globe Trotters. They are so bad no one even pays attention. The Thrashers are so bad Wren should send Waddell a thank you card cause it makes Frank look good in comparison. But the real question is—will Atlanta, Ga., home of Bobby Jones, the Braves and nuts about high school, college and pro football, ever be a hockey town?
Mark Bradley
January 20th, 2010
6:18 pm
I might have let Waddell off a bit lightly, Skeezix. What can I say? He’s the Teflon Don.
Mark Bradley
January 20th, 2010
6:20 pm
I decided to rate pros against pros and leave the amateurs out of this discussion. But I rate D-Rad very highly, EEJacket.
hiramsaint
January 20th, 2010
6:32 pm
Y A W N !
willie martinez
January 20th, 2010
6:42 pm
Mark, are you bored with this whole blogging routine?
willie martinez
January 20th, 2010
6:46 pm
and you put WREN in the pros?
Mark Bradley
January 20th, 2010
6:57 pm
No, sir. Not bored at all.
P. Bull Terrier
January 20th, 2010
7:08 pm
Wren is like a Fantasy Baseball player given the chance to manage a real, live team. I give him credit for activity and creativity, but he also needs to realize that he’s dealing with real people’s lives and public opinion. A big part of the Braves success over the years has been the perception that they are a class organization that takes care of their players the right way. As a result, players who are on the team want to stay here and players who are looking for a team want to come here. If Wren doesn’t develop a little tact and some people skills, Atlanta will become one of those teams players want to aviod.
Putting the player relations aspect aside, Wren has done about as much with the team as ownership will allow. He’s taken some gambles, but with the payroll limitations that’s about the only way to build a championship team on a mid-level budget. If the gambles pay off this season and Glaus is the power hitting 1st baseman Wren envisions, C. Jones stays healthy and returns to form, McClouth plays like an All-Star, Hudson is as good as he was before he was hurt, Lowe pitches like he has most of career, Wagner still has closer stuff, Saito is as good as he once was, either Schafer or Heyward is ready to contribute at the Major League level, some of the new players acquired for depth work out, and the rest of the line-up matches last season’s performance, this Braves team is among the favorites to win the World Series. Sure that’s a lot of “ifs”, but I’ll give Wren credit for giving us hope.
I’ll overlook Wren’s poor PR skills for the moment, hope he improves his people skills, and give him a “B+” for patching together a line-up with some potential while operating on a limited budget.
Dimitroff’s grade is an “A+” if Jerry and Moore come back from injury and become solid starters next season.
Unless I’m missing something, letting Woodson’s contract situation linger until the off season could knock Sund down to a “C-” if the Hawks can’t afford a coach who just took his team deep into the playoffs.
If Waddell can’t re-sign Kovalchuck, he and the rest of the organization might as well pack up and leave because hocky is over in Atlanta. In that case, his score is a big fat “zero”.
Sonny Perdue
January 20th, 2010
7:17 pm
I knew Sonny Clusters, and you sir are no Sonny Clusters.
Sage of Bluesland
January 20th, 2010
7:22 pm
(I wonder if this post will get deleted by our esteemed and buffoonish writer?)
If the equally buffoonish Pete Babcock of the Hawks were still here, then the toolish Bradley would have given him a “solid B”, I predict…despite running the franchise completely into the ground.
Thus, the “D” given to the egregiously inept Waddell isn’t a surprise–not by a longshot.
I just wish Mark would tell us all what he sold out for. It must not have been much–based on the nerve I apparently touch with my observations…
The truth will set you–and us–free, Mark. Go ahead and show some courage…for once…
Ken Stallings
January 20th, 2010
7:30 pm
Give Frank Wren a salary cap (as in the NFL) and I think his grade increases substantially. The issue with the Braves isn’t Wren. In fact, I suspect without him things would likely be much worse. His performance revamping the rotation last season was brilliant. Everything worked and was validated.
His issues this off season are due entirely to Liberty’s constrained payroll. Even the jaded among us presumed the pursestrings would be loosened slightly given Cox’s pending retirement. No such luck!
We have actually been reduced to a $90 million payroll with the same hard inflexibility. If Wren spent another dollar, Liberty would fire him!
All I blame Wren for is rank dishonesty in not telling the whole truth. Then again, that would get him fired also. So, I cannot blame him too much.
willie martinez
January 20th, 2010
7:40 pm
I dont know. your enjoyment of the give and take seems to have abated recently.
Greg
January 20th, 2010
7:46 pm
There you said it yourself Mark, you give thomas dimitroff a big fat A, proving a GM can get an A grade without making the playoffs, so why are you always giving Frank Wren crap for not making the playoffs, when prior to this season the falcons had not even had back to back winning seasons? Bottom line is after this season anyone doubting frank wren will pleasently surprised.
frank james
January 20th, 2010
8:18 pm
Do you really think it is fair to judge Wren with the others? You have to compare his teams with 14 straight Division Champiohships. Look at the Falcons and Hawks, what do you have them to compare with, not much. I think Wren has done a good job. I like the additions he has made this year and I think he has put together a good pitching staff. Just like the media, trying to start all this negative crap before the season starts. Give the man a chance.
LAC
January 20th, 2010
8:33 pm
GREAT comment Pete !!!!!!!!!!
Alan
January 20th, 2010
9:32 pm
Mark, I’m surprised that no one (until now) has commented on the deftness (that’s a word, right?) of the second-last line of your assessment of Frank Wren: “He gives the impression of being in too big a hurry.” That was so evident last off-season with so many almost-trades and almost-signings and missteps — Peavy, Burnett, Furcal — followed by obvious panicking and overpaying for Derek Lowe. On the other hand, though, he messed up a year ago by denying any interest in a reasonably priced Bobby Abreu and then scrambling to try to sign Junior Griffey and ultimately “settling” for Garret Anderson at the 11th hour. I still can’t understand why Wren was in such a rush this off-season to trade Javier Vazquez, but the most curious move this offseason was rushing to sign Troy Glaus to replace Adam LaRoche without any apparent effort to re-sign LaRoche, who ended up signing with Arizona for not much more than last season’s salary. The Braves probably are better (on paper) now than they were in January of 2009, but there’s no way they’re better now than they were in September of 2009 — not without Vazquez and LaRoche on the roster.
Joe
January 20th, 2010
9:48 pm
Man,it saddens me to see how little respect the Hawks get from people. If it isn’t between the hedges people don’t care
Alan
January 20th, 2010
10:01 pm
Mark, the prime example of Frank Wren’s “being in too big a hurry”: Rushing to sign a new closer (Billy Wagner) before the “old” closer (Rafael Soriano — actually 8 years younger than the new guy) decided to accept a just-made arbitration offer. And, as it turns out, their salaries for 2010 are nearly identical.
Bill
January 20th, 2010
10:08 pm
Good job Mark. Right on the money. Wren C- clock still running on him.
Mark Bradley
January 20th, 2010
10:23 pm
I’m more than a little surprised at the apparent disdain for basketball — not just the Hawks, mind you — in Atlanta. Have been for almost 26 years.
Mark Bradley
January 20th, 2010
10:26 pm
Thanks, Alan. I’m seldom seen as “deft.” Often “daft,” though.