Frank Wren Chat Transcript

That Thanatos character got 16 of his questions answered, seems a bit one-sided. These conversations with a GM are hardly ever going to be revealing. I don't think we really learned anything from this chat, but it did reinforce much of what we already thought we knew. Still, it was very gracious of Wren to spend over an hour chatting with folks.

7 months ago gondeee Comment 26 comments 0 recs |

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Just finished reading it...

…how the hell do people get their questions selected when they don’t even have the correct infomation? For example, the guy who said that KJ was a natural left fielder…are you serious?

I guess I should be one to talk.
There's nights that I can't even walk.
There's days I couldn't give a fuck.
And in between is where I'm stuck.

by Smoltz's Beard on Nov 20, 2008 8:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Chat is scary because Wren actually thinks we should add a pitcher like Burnett to build for the future. Like adding a 32 year old on a four year deal is building for the future.

by 17843 on Nov 20, 2008 8:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It really looks like whoever signs Burnett will regret it, especially if someone is crazy enough to give him 5 years guaranteed.

by VictorW on Nov 21, 2008 9:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Here's an idea!

Anyone who asked a question that didn’t get answered, post it here and everyone can oblige that person, or ridicule them for asking dumb questions. I’ll go first:

Dear Mr. Wren,
What player’s numbers do you think will be retired from the Braves era of 14 division titles? (I was trying to stay away from questions i didn’t think he’d answer, boy that worked.)

by 10-4 on Nov 20, 2008 8:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I asked him if he talked to the White Sox about Nick Swisher before he went to the Yanks.

by DMac142005 on Nov 20, 2008 9:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Swisher would have been a perfect fit

and didn’t cost much looking at what the Yankees paid. But I think Ken Williams just came out of no where with that, which is a shame. He’s a little unpredictable like that.

by VictorW on Nov 21, 2008 9:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Swisher doens’t seem that impressive to me. He’s got alot of similar numbers to Francoeur.

by 10-4 on Nov 21, 2008 11:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you obviously didn’t compare their career OBPs…

I guess I should be one to talk.
There's nights that I can't even walk.
There's days I couldn't give a fuck.
And in between is where I'm stuck.

by Smoltz's Beard on Nov 21, 2008 12:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Swisher

He’s sort of a switch-hitting, poor man’s Adam Dunn. Career splits: .244 / .354 / .451. And for what it’s worth – vs. lhp: .253 / .396 / .429; vs. rhp: .240 .338 .459. Definitely would have been better than what’s out in LF right now, but I guess it’s moot point.

by buzzdeadwax on Nov 21, 2008 1:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

lol thanatos’s had the worst questions. all of his questions were about Wrens personal life and not why hes actually there. So frank, whos your favrite ballplayer? I asked damn good questions and got none answered!

by SayHeyWerd on Nov 20, 2008 9:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

My personal favorite -

Thanatos: What is the hardest thing about being a general manager in the MLB?

Wren: The amount of time spent dealing with non-baseball issues

by BraveBronco0121 on Nov 20, 2008 10:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

This chat was pointless

I think it is cool that Frank Wren likes to interact with fans, but I came away reading knowing nothing that I didn’t know earlier. Any question about a rumor or deal, he just brushed off. He needs to start wheeling and dealing because I’m getting bored with the offseason.

by rtdavis12 on Nov 20, 2008 11:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Dec 1

Wren noted that most deals don’t go down until December because thats when arbitration cases are finally over. I too would like to see a little something but I’m content to wait. Heck, if we get Burnett, Burrell/Ludwick/Dye and Hampton/Byrd/Glavine I would give Wren an A.

by bbxxj on Nov 21, 2008 12:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You have to remember...

We are pretty well informed fans, a lot of people learned a lot today (I assume).

by someguy917 on Nov 20, 2008 11:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

We got pissed off and these questions were the result...

Me and buddy, pissed off that none of our relevant questions were being answered started asking these questions…

How would we go about starting the bringing back John Schurholz campaign?

Last year, you thought Kotsay was the answer to the Braves; how do you plan on replacing a legend this year?

Are you aware that Joey Devine went 6-2 with K/BB ratio of 49-15 and an era of 0.59?

Do you plan on giving Manny and a contract similar to the one you gave Albert Belle?

How do you respond to Mark Texieria saying that you never approached him with an opportunity to be a Brave long term (especially since it looks like we have the payroll to afford him)?

Will you sign our petition to have you fired?

That and many others. I’ve always disliked Wren but I was going to keep it friendly. However the fact that many of my relevant questions weren’t answered, I was angry. To top it off, it was this Thatanos guy asking retarded questions that nothing to do with the current state of the Braves.

by sting51684 on Nov 21, 2008 11:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That was a little much...

I am not sure that was such a great idea sting… I generally have respect for Wren as he hasn’t mishandled anything yet in my opinion.

As for my questions:

What did you seen in Tazawa that led you to offer him a contract earlier than any other GM?

Seeing as the media seemed to have unprecedented access to the Peavy negotiations, not the typical Braves Front Office MO, what do you plan to do to contain these leaks?

I think I asked a couple more questions, but I didn’t expect them to get them all answered. Those were my two primary questions.

It was a bit perplexing that this Thanatos character got some of his more superfluous questions answered.

I am glad that Wren didn’t tip his hand to the fans about his current negotiations. Wren is a professional and he acted as such. Any Braves fan should appreciate that as it continues the practices of Schuerholz in the media and to the fans.

By the way, does anybody else find it disappointing that so many fans mis-spell Jurrjens name? It is NOT Jurgens. Hate to be a stickler about irrelevant stuff, but that just drives me nuts.

by Andy Braves Fan on Nov 21, 2008 11:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That Tazawa question was a good one

I asked three or four; zero answers. I have no idea who was picking questions, but they were mainly poor or total softballs. OTOH, I didn’t really expect Wren to answer the stuff we REALLY want to know. The only thing I took away was that the Peavy trade was never as close to done as the media reported.

His one-word answer (“No.”) to the question about talking to Towers recently probably said a lot about how he feels about a trade working out.

by Mekons5 on Nov 21, 2008 4:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You guys have to realize that just the fact that you’re on this website, means you’re a “hardcore” Braves fan. I mean, what did you guys expect? That he’d tell us something we didn’t know? Like we were going to ask a magical question that no other reporter has thought to ask and he’d give us a different answer? C’mon guys, let’s be real. That chat was designed for the average fan and we’re not that. It was very nice of him to do that, staged or dumbed down.

by beeniez on Nov 21, 2008 4:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Its not the fact that he wasn’t answering real questions that bothered me. Its the fact that most one guy at the beginning of the chat was asking pointless questions that had nothing to do with the Braves that really bothered me. I understand that he will not answer alot of the questions, but some of the question selection was retarded.

ps- He hasn’t done an acceptable job. Kotsay (who gets to 9 less balls then a center fielder) is not an acceptable replacement for Andruw. Relying on aging pitching staff and being surprised that most of them got injured is not acceptable.

by sting51684 on Nov 21, 2008 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hindsight is 20/20. At the time, everyone talked about how durable they are – Hudson, Glavine, and Smoltz each had consistently thrown 200 innings for multiple straight years. Age doesn’t really matter when you’re being successful, pitchers are routinely reaching well into their 40s now before they call it quits. I, for one, was certainly surprised to see Tim Hudson go down with TJ and Glavine miss most of the year after never being the DL.

Let’s say we didn’t acquire Kotsay. Do you really think Devine would still have succeeded, because it looked like he desperately needed a fresh start and a change of scenery. That, and we’d be relying on Schafer, Blanco, and Anderson for left and center field. Now it wouldn’t be so bad to rely on them, but a year ago when all three combined saw a months worth of MLB pitching – and that was Anderson in a September callup. We needed to acquire someone that wouldn’t block Schafer, and Kotsay fit. Were you expecting a Grady Sizemore to be acquired? Did he block any prospects? Was he the reason the Braves lost? Did he cost a lot? With Teixeira, Chipper, and McCann filling in the lineup, we didn’t need a big bat. It seems like a lopsided trade because Devine turned into a good reliever, but you can’t assume he would still be the same person if he wasn’t traded – he was a nervous wreck everytime he took the mound for the Braves.

At the beginning of the chat, it said it was hosted by some one else. I don’t think Wren was selecting the questions since he wouldn’t even answer some of them.

by beeniez on Nov 21, 2008 6:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that Jurrjens and Gorkys trade for Renteria was terrible. And the Ohman and Infante for the young reliever whose name escapes me that didn’t even make the Cubs was a crappy trade too. Getting Kotchman and Marek for free agent to be Teixeira was terrible too. And would you rather have had Andruw in CF last year?

by 10-4 on Nov 21, 2008 6:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

would you rather have had Andruw in CF last year?

Yes, We would’ve had the first overall draft pick this year.

by TradeAndruw on Nov 21, 2008 7:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Andruw was a GOLD GLOVER 10 TIMES

Comparing Kotsay, or almost any CF to Andruw as we all remember him was bound to lead to disappointment. Kotsay put up a very decent offense and decent defense. There was nothing wrong with that trade. As Beeniez pointed out, Devine looked like he desperately needed out of Atlanta. Good for him for finding success with the A’s.

All in all, Frank Wren has made some very successful moves, and even in tough situations like the Tex situation, he made the best of it. Kotchman has a lot of upside. I hope he finds himself in 2009.

Lets just go over your other questions:

By all accounts, the Albert Belle contract was the ordered by Angelos, Wren was the fall guy. Besides, who knew that Belle would end up with a debilitating physical ailment that would cut his career short. For the record, Wren mentioned that Manny was not in his plans.

And as for us “having the money” for Tex, would it really be wise to spend $20 million per year over 10 years like he is asking (and apparently may actually get by some reports) would have ever been wise? Even if the Braves had Tex, they need 2 pitchers and an outfielder this year. Re-acquiring Tex would have meant that the Braves would have had $20 million less to spend this off-season to fill these holes. In other words, we are probably in a better position without Tex who is nothing but a mercenary. I’m not shedding any tears at his loss.

by Andy Braves Fan on Nov 21, 2008 7:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

OT: Just looking at Belle's stats

I forgot how awesome he was, his 50-2B and 50-HR season wasn’t even one of his best. I remember him hitting a blast off Maddux in the WS. Then he went crazy and attacked some trick-or-treaters or something.

by TradeAndruw on Nov 21, 2008 9:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

albert was awsome

to bad about that hip. thats the power we need in left

by Brandonba on Nov 21, 2008 9:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well, obviously he wouldn't be available now...

He retired in 2000 at the age of 33. He would be 40 by now. His career numbers are .295/.369/.564. An OPS+ of 143. Yeah, his contract was huge for the time, but considering his career to that point it wasn’t THAT ridiculous a contract. 5/$65 by today’s standards is tiny for his career numbers. Manny Ramirez would scoff at that contract…

by Andy Braves Fan on Nov 21, 2008 10:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs