The Atlanta Braves entered Tuesday in third place in the National League East with a 57-72 record -- a disappointing mark, given this is Atlanta's first season in SunTrust Park and that this would represent a fourth consecutive losing season.
Predictably, it appears the Braves are making some changes. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Braves have shuffled their front office. Rosenthal lists six individuals who are having their titles and/or responsibilities changed, including franchise legend Roy Clark.
But those title and role changes aren't the most interesting part of Rosenthal's report. Rather, this is:
"It's a power struggle over who is running the club," one team official said. "Is John Schuerholz running the club or are John Hart and John Coppolella running it?"
Predictably, Coppolella and Hart both denied that there's a power struggle ongoing, and Rosenthal noted that Schuerholz is in regular contact with both.
Still, this is somewhat to be expected. When a team plays poorly, every disagreement is amplified as dysfunction. When a team plays well, those same disagreements are applauded as necessary diversity of thought. Think about the Baltimore Orioles. Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter have reportedly been locked in a power war for years -- you just don't tend to hear about it when the Orioles are playing well.
That doesn't mean the Braves' situation is comparable, or that everything is fine and dandy in Atlanta. Just that it's not too surprising if everyone isn't on the same page -- especially not when the team is staring down a third 90-loss effort in a row.
