[vincesanity82]

John Schuerholz isn't a miracle worker. He's just the best general manager baseball has ever known.No team wins a record 14 consecutive division titles by accident. Schuerholz — and Cox — is why the Braves reeled off that many before 2006's tumble into reality.Now Schuerholz has done it again, and there's every reason to believe the Braves have an excellent chance to return to the postseason.
While other GMs were struggling to improve their teams, Schuerholz methodically pulled off the most important deal at Monday's non-waiver trade deadline.
All he did was land power-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers, one of the premier young players in the game. That done, he went out and got reliever Octavio Dotel from Kansas City.
Schuerholz says making deals like this is all about home-grown talent.
"As long as we can keep the pipeline filled with high-caliber, young talent, as a general manager I'm going to be more prepared with the assets I have to make the big deals like the ones we just made," he says. "Without that, we cannot do those deals."

He adds scouting and player development make it possible.
"Without that, we wouldn't have won 14 consecutive division championships. Or been able to trade five dynamic young players in one deal to get the most dynamic young hitter (Teixeira) available at trade time," he says.
But couldn't trading away a potential superstar like Saltalamacchia be scary?
"Sure, it's risky," he says. "We live at this time of the year on the edge. The most important thing for any organization, not just the Braves, is to more accurately evaluate its own players. We do that daily. It doesn't make it any easier to trade these great young players, but we know what the other players in our system can do and who we have behind them. That gives me a sense of assurance.
"We do all of these things to make our major league club better. If we have a chance to win, we have an obligation and responsibility to try and do it. I'm not just trading these guys away willy-nilly."

Schuerholz knows what he wants, then he gets it - USATODAY.com