Will a long time friendship work well for the Braves? John Schuerholz believes so as he had finally convinced long time pal, John Hart to accept the role of president of baseball operations.
Hart has taken a new position with the team while the Braves has no intention in looking for a new GM. He has agreed to a three year contract that will continue through the team's first season at its new stadium in Cobb County.
It was Hart, Schuerholz and former Braves manager Bobby Cox formed the GM search committee and according to Hart, he was just interested with the interim position but the team president does not take "no" for an answer.
Hart said "We met as transition team quite a number of times and when we were at the meetings invariably I'd pull out my list and I'd say 'OK, are we going to talk about the GMs?' At some point John would get up, he'd take a phone call, he'd go to the bathroom. ... I think all along I did feel and know that John clearly wanted me to take this job."
Schuerholz describes his long time friend as "a man who has demonstrated great ability in constructing winning baseball organizations, winning baseball teams, creating staffs of very capable people empowered to do great jobs in each of the organizations he has run."
He said he was asked by the owners and executives why he has not convinced Hart to take the full-time role and he was told it would be great to have Hart back in baseball.
Schuerholz he said "So I was motivated by that and came back and had my last and final conversation with my dear friend. I was able to persuade him this was the place to be and this was the organization he could have so much of an impact on in a very positive and energetic way and get us to where we want to be, and that's at the very top, the gold standard baseball organization that we have always been regarded as."
On the other hand, assistant GM John Coppolella will be Hart's ''right-hand man.''
Hart said of Coppolella "Coppy was a big part of the reason I took this job. I think you will see Coppy is a young man who is going to develop and grow."
