i am a huge Braves fan. I don't understand why any team owner would not do everything possible to be competitive. Why own a team if not to be a contender. I miss Ted Turner's days as an owner.
Most teams (not all) DO do everything possible to win. The problem is there's a big difference in what's possible for teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc., and teams like the Braves. Unlike other pro sports, MLB has no salary cap, and teams are free to spend as much as they can afford on payroll. This isn't as big a problem as it used to be- the rise of moneyball and sabermetrics has drastically evened the field for the little guys (as the Royals proved last year). But one big difference still remains: the big market teams can afford to miss on a big contract. For teams like the Braves, a bad contract is crippling. TWO bad contracts (like Dan Uggla and BJ Upton) will set them back years. They really had no choice but to blow the whole thing up and start over, starting with the guy responsible for those contracts, Frank Wren. The next couple years are going to be bad, but they should emerge from this ordeal leaner, cheaper, and better.
