John Schuerholz answered his phone Friday in Atlanta moments after speaking on “sustainability” to a group from Liberty Media, parent company of the Atlanta Braves.
While it may seem a curious time for Schuerholz to be addressing the topic, considering the free fall of the Braves, the perils in play were part of the talk being given by the Braves’ vice-chairman and former key Royals executive who helped fashion two remarkable periods in each organization — including an impossible 14 straight division titles in Atlanta.
“ ‘If you step off the beam and lose sight of your central elements, you’ll suffer and you may have to step back and restructure, refocus and reload — which is what we’re doing right now’ ” was among the points made to the group by Schuerholz, who is 75 and recently retired from the team presidency to take a reduced role.