MLBTR takes this David O'Brien blog post, where he talks to Braves GM Frank Wren, and lists the "hot stove highlights." While there were five bullet points to consider, there was nothing in the way of new information. This got me re-thinking about something that I had meant to post earlier in our off-season.
As great as last winter was for Braves rumors, mainly because of the more open style of Frank Wren, I submit that this winter will be the exact opposite. Wren was a much more media-friendly General Manager than his predecessor John Schuerholz. Wren was candid about many topics, including trades and free agent signings; all of which actually helped make the off-season the tumultuous roller coaster that it became.
Many of the leaks about the Jake Peavy deal came from the other coast, but Wren was certainly not shy about discussing the Braves' interest in the then-San Diego ace. The John Smoltz situation played out as an ugly public spectacle. Losing A.J. Burnett was tougher than it should have been because we publicly pronounced that he was our top pitching target. Losing Rafael Furcal was a also tougher than it should have been because the Atlanta front office was media-friendly enough to leak the news of the signing before anything had actually been signed. And then the Ken Griffey Jr. decision was hashed out in public.
Those are the lessons that our new GM has learned over the past year -- enough lessons for an entire career. I would imagine that Wren will turn back to the ways of John Schuerholz and lock the Braves front office down tighter than Langley. We will not hear a peep out of them this winter, and every signing and trade will be a complete surprise without any advance warning.
I think part of my job this winter will be to point out media bloviating and speculation-run-amok more than talking about actual rumors and leaked nuggets of information. Feel free to bookmark this post and call me on it if I'm wrong.