Unfortunately, it’s true especially in relation to the Falcons and Braves organizations..

The Braves and John Schuerholz haven’t lost enough yet to see the error of their ways. Just recently, news stories had floated around in regards to Rafael Furcal returning to the Braves along with Andruw Jones.

They both thought about the idea, then thought about Schuerholz.. and said NO THANKS… And so did John Smoltz who had been critical of Schuerholz over the past couple of years..

However, in regards to Andruw and Furcal, I wonder if Gary Sheffield remarks may have floated around in their heads before coming back to the Schuerholz’s Braves..

“Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man..”

Andruw and Furcal apparently had enough of the Braves’ way of doing business.

Harvey,

It seems this very popular flawed mainstream philosophy happens is applied primarily to African-American impact players in which the media has a contempt for … We have seen it with Donovan McNabb in Philly, Vick in Atlanta, Vince Young in Tennessee, and also Tarvaris recently with the Vikings..

Will Philly do right by Donovan and give him a Pro Bowl receiver? There had been rumors of Anquan Boldin being traded there..and what would a disgruntled Larry Johnson be a nice fit in the Eagles backfield?

The Braves have never been able to recapture the magic of the 1990′s, and Schuerholz’s new formula of whitewashing the impact of African-Americans from the team started to take hold when Brian Jordan was traded to the Dodgers.

To me Chipper has never been a leader, but more of a follower. Brian Jordan was the ‘real’ leader of the Braves’ last team to make it to the World Series, and David Justice and Pendleton were the clubhouse leaders during the early and mid 1990′s. When Chipper was signed to his extension(s) and the injury-prone Mike Hampton signed his contract, Schuerholz should have been fired… Sheffield short tenure in Atlanta preceded the ‘Baby Braves’ concept or the ‘Hometown Guys’ led by Jeff Franceour, McKay McBride, Joey Devine, Kyle Davies, Brian McCann and Scott Thorman. The Baby Braves strategy failed miserably. Franceour was touted as the next Dale Murphy, but he is turning more into the next Brad Komminsk.

Sports Illustrated had wrote an article if I am not mistaken in 2005 that tabbed Franceour as the Natural… However, the Phillies’ Ryan Howard turned out to be the ‘real’ thing and ended up winning Rookie of the Year, became an All-Star and Won a World Series ring with the Phillies… while Franceour hasn’t lived up to his potential and team has failed to make the playoffs for a THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR.

Schuerholz has been under some pressure the last three to four years from Rainbow Coalition about his drafting and managing practices. Jason Heyward (who is black) is a big-time prospect (drafted in 2007) and should get a chance at spring training, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to trade Heyward for a veteran.

Believe it or not, not one homegrown African-American Braves prospect has become a regular in the Braves’ lineup since Schuerholz’s arrival in 1991…Jermaine Dye was drafted in the 17th round in June of 1993, and ascended into a top prospect, but Schuerholz quickly moved him after his 1996 debut, one year later.. Dye became a productive player and won the World Series MVP with the Ozzie Guillen’s Chicago White Sox team.

Currently in the Braves system: Brandon Jones (African-American drafted in the 24th round of the 2003 draft), 26 years, has talent , but he has been passed over and been shuffled back and forth between Triple A and the major leagues the past two years. Schuerholz rather sign 30-somethings who are deemed as ‘clubhouse or chemistry’ guys such as Scott Spezio (who had legal troubles) or Greg Norton or keep trying to use the defensively challenged, one dimensional Matt Diaz in left field. Now they are trying to push Jordan Schaffer as a viable candidate to start in 2009 who got busted with a 50 game suspension in 2008 over banned substances.

Don’t be surprised about the inner mechanics of Atlanta because if you go twenty miles in any direction from the Fox Theatre you’ll think you’re back in the late ’60′s. The town has a Black face in politics and will roll out Dr. King when it wants to tout itself as the city too busy to hate to businesses and entities outside of the South but it’s still white hands that control the money and influence. Those of us who live there for awhile find out PDQ though that the city’s more name than game.

I enjoyed my time when I lived there but there are still many unresolved racial issues there and when it comes to sports the blue jeans and t-shirt set Patrick spoke of really let loose. It’s a bait and switch when it comes to pro sports there because when the teams are doing awful invariably a young man of color is drafted who’s play on the field, diamond, or court is so exciting he draws out the minority and under 30 white ticket buyers. As the buzz grows, the bandwagon fans come out of the woodwork to be seen doing the Chop during a playoff game at Turner Field or the Dirty Bird in the Georgia Dome. The problems arise because the front office and the coaching staffs think they can refine the talented young man by converting his ‘raw’ skills into their gameplan while trading away able complimentary players or failing to put talent around him. This causes the player to hit a ceiling as the ‘flaws’ in his game are dissected and given as the reason why he cannot lead a team to win the proverbial big one. Inevitably, off the field controversy follows the player while his fanbase is shown the back of management’s hand because said base is not the clientele conducive to a safe, bland sports watching environment. Eventually, the young player becomes a veteran who’s time has passed according to the local sportswriters and it’s time to turn the page and bring in new blood. The now-veteran player is cut, waived, or traded while a new rookie, preferably one of a lighter hue or more malleable personality, is brought in to much hype and hoopla who will close the deal the now-disappeared vet never could. The rub though is that while the rook has some skills he doesn’t have the on-field charisma of the man he replaced and try as he might he can never live up to what came before because he doesn’t generate the excitement of his predecessor. The losing starts again but it is never blamed on the successor or the front office. The bandwagon fans break their ankles jumping off and the next thing you know the radio ads are touting the visiting teams more than the hometeam.

That’s the way the business of pro sports is conducted in the ATL.

Patrick, can I get a witness?

I hope Miz would interview someone like David Justice or Ron Gant….I think they would be GREAT to interview those players and it would provide an inside perspective.

For the past couple of years, Jackie Robinson is talked about and the mainstream media ask why there are few black players….well, its not because young black kids are choosing other sports…(young black kids have always played MULTIPLE SPORTS) its general managers across baseball practicing a form of exclusion and collusion of the perceived ‘uppity’ African-American athlete.

I didn’t mention Ron Gant earlier, but Schuerholz had sent overtures that the Braves weren’t going to sign Gant (who was approaching his sixth year/free agent) to a long-term deal in 1993. Now Gant had an unfortunate motorcycle accident prior to the 1994 season (strike season) and it made it even more easier for Schuerholz to boot him out of town in favor of the over-rated Ryan Klesko (a fan favorite). Gant was an impact player and a 30-30 guy, and rebounded in Cincinnati and became Comeback Player of the Year in 1995.

Harvey, John Schuerholz attempts to restrict, whitewash and/or minimize the impact of African-Americans on MLB rosters wasn’t something that he was doing…other franchises/GMs were practicing this slow whitewashing of the African-American athlete from their rosters.

Tony LaRussa was accused of racism by Gant in an ASSOCIATED PRESS story when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals (1996-98). However, the mainstream media brushed it off.

Gant was traded to Philadelphia during the 1998 offseason and made his remarks about La Russa at the Phillies’ camp in Clearwater, Fla.

LINK: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19990224&slug=2945981

“Rickey Henderson didn’t like him, Royce Clayton didn’t like him,” Gant said. “He treated Ozzie Smith like dirt. Brian Jordan didn’t like him. I don’t know too many people who did like him.”

All of those players are black.

“If he can’t control you as a player, if you’re not a `yes’ player, he doesn’t want you,” Gant said. “If you have your own opinions, he doesn’t want you.”

There’s more… I am not making this stuff up.. A pattern exists and its validated by minority players..

Sheffield spoke about the ‘control’ issue and received a lot of negative flack from the ignorant mainstream media and tried to paint him as a crackpot or ‘Manny being Manny’ or in Gary’s case ‘Sheff being Sheff’…

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2891875

“I called it years ago. What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do — being able to control them,” he told the magazine.

“Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man.

“These are the things my race demands. So, if you’re equally good as this Latin player, guess who’s going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys.”

Some good links you put together in your posts and thanks for connecting the dots for me. The Braves under Scheurholz was the laboratory to find out the best way to erase the African-American presence in MLB and as we all can see it worked very well.

Hey, Miz, how about an interview with Justice, Gant, or Lonnie Smith about their views on why their are so few American Blacks on MLB rosters? Justice especially will let fly with his comments.

A-Rod said Atlanta was too much of a blue jeans and T-shirt town …I believe he was referring to John Rocker’s comments and it was turn-off and I think it resonated AROUND THE LEAGUE that blacks and minority free agents weren’t welcome in Atlanta…and being in the clubhouse with a proud, defiant redneck like Rocker was a NEGATIVE.

That was the year 2000. And it’s going on ten years since the Braves have NOT been to a World Series..

Bobby Cox was general manager during the 1980′s and Aaron was the Braves’ vice president and director of player development. These guys were responsible for the drafting and development of players such as David Justice, Ron Gant, Brian Hunter, Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and in Cox’s last year as GM, he drafted Chipper Jones..additionally Cox had brought in Lonnie Smith, who had a rebirth in Atlanta and instrumental in the 1991 World Series.

Schuerholz was more of a caretaker, and after he became GM in 1991, Hank Aaron’s role was greatly diminished. That was by design and a sign of things to come.

Schuerholz was not a popular guy, and I am not exaggerating. He had a poor relationship with the majority of the African-American players and all of the players that Cox/Aaron drafted and signed eventually were traded or cut before their sixth year with the Braves.

Here’s an example. Lonnie Smith had said at one time that we wanted to kill Schuerholz..

LINK: http://deadspin.com/sports/baseball/lonnie-smith-wanted-to-shoot-john-schuerholz-212899.php

…. Smith blamed Schuerholz, now the Braves general manager, for blackballing him among other major league teams’ officials. Smith says Schuerholz never believed he had given up drugs in 1983, when he spent 30 days in a rehab clinic, and told other general managers Smith was a troublemaker with a dangerous history. Smith, who left Kansas City on bad terms after the ’87 season, spent much of the next year begging teams to give him a chance. When it did not happen, Smith bought a dime bag of marijuana and decided Schuerholz’s crime was a capital offense.

“If I couldn’t get back to baseball,” Smith says, “I was going to take him with me. I was going to fly out there, wait for him in the parking lot of the stadium and pop him. If I got caught, I got caught. If not, I’d come on back home.”

2. David Justice

As a Brave, he was traded during the final week of Spring Training 1997 and on ESPN, Justice stated, “I love the Braves, so when [Braves president] John Schuerholz looked me in my face and told me ‘I’d bet my house and my family that you won’t be traded’ that’s good enough confidence for me coming from a General Manager, and then out of nowhere, one week later I’m gone.”

3. Brian Jordan… Schuerholz used the kill two birds with one stone strategy in maneuvering African-Americans out of Atlanta. Just like in 1997, he had no intention of signing one-year Atlanta rental Kenny Lofton to a long-term contract despite trading Justice and Grissom , two other African-American players who weren’t seen as ‘franchise’ players by Schuerholz.

When Jordan heard about being traded for Gary Sheffield (another temporary player in Schuerholz’s eyes), this is what Brian Jordan said..

LINK: http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jan/29/sports/sp-jordan29

“It’s like he stabbed me in the back. He said, ‘We made a trade today and we got Sheffield.’ I was like, ‘Wow! Cool. Improve the team. That’s awesome.’ Then he said, ‘You were involved in the trade.’ And I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’
–Brian Jordan, Dodgers outfielder, on hearing the news from Schuerholz

“I’m still really just shocked. There’s no loyalty in business. There’s a way to do things, and a way not to do things. To find out like that? My agent didn’t even know. It’s a stab in the back but another lesson to learn. They put me on a mission.”
–Jordan

4. Andruw Jones was put on waivers in the summer of 2006 and he was mad..and said this about Schuerholz..

“I know they wouldn’t do this with Chipper or Smoltzie,” Jones said of long-time teammates Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. “But they aren’t in the situation that I’m in. They can say no to a trade.”

*****

Schuerholz should have been fired three years ago, but he continues to hang on to his job.

I don’t think even Ryan Howard would have survived in Atlanta under Schuerholz..Howard would have been traded just like Jermaine Dye (1997) was before having any impact on the major league level.

Thanks for the info about the Braves because when I watch baseball that is the team I do root for. I moved to ATL in ’94, the year after the Bravos went from worst to first and a seven-game World Series loss to the late, great Kirby Puckett and the MN Twins. Between ’94 and ’97, that team had all of the town in its hands whether male/female, Black/white, young/old but after Glavine and Justice combined to beat Cleveland in Game 6 for the only title in a fourteen season span something changed.

The something was the trade of Justice and Marquis Grissom before the start of the ’97 season during spring training for Kenny Lofton right when everything was set for a repeat series victory. Lofton didn’t want to be in ATL and losing Justice especially made the Braves a bland, bloodless team that tried to ride the Big 4 of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery/Mercker to a title. Justice gave that team a swagger because he was an outspoken Black man in the Deep South playing white America’s pastime and not afraid to live like a Hollywood celebrity with a movie-star wife all the while calling the fans out for their lack of support.

I saw how Lofton was made the scapegoat for that team not repeating that season and that manufactured reputation as a clubhouse cancer has dogged that man the rest of his career. If he does get HOF consideration believe me some hack will bring up his time in ATL as a negative against him.

Getting rid of all the homegrown African-American talent on the Braves while turning a blind eye in the media to Bobby Cox’s domestic abuse, Chipper Jones’ outside child, and of course John Rocker cooled Black Atlanta’s love affair with baseball. I stayed a fan because I really liked the pitchers along with Andruw Jones and Brian Jordan when they played there. That excitement though that was generated in the days of Gant, Justice, Pendleton, and others was gone though. Gone though because Scheurholtz was given a free hand to bring in less talented position players who were the same color as him.

The shame of it all was that the good ol’ boys down in GA/AL/MS who followed the Braves thought it was alright to get rid of those uppity Black guys because they could be replaced with grinders who would keep the production up without all the quote unquote drama. The only thing that kept up was the great pitching and the division titles while the WS became a thing of the past.

Another funny thing, Patrick, is that if you remember ATL sports at that time but it was right around the mid-90′s that all of the players with personaliy on the various sports teams were helped out of town. Justice, Prime Time, ‘Nique were traded and allowed to walk in those years. The juice was squeezed out of the pro sports landscape then leaving nothing but dried husks but every time a transcendant player has come along since then he’s usually ran out of town because he’s not corporately button-downed enough for the delicate sensibilities of the sons and daughters of the Confederacy.

Man, let me stop because I’ll be here all night with this.