Baseball Notebook | Schuerholz out as GM, in as Braves president

ATLANTA — John Schuerholz stepped aside Thursday after 17 years as general manager of the Atlanta Braves with only one regret.

Despite an unprecedented 14 straight division titles, the Braves won just one World Series.

With a few more rings, he figured, this would have been the perfect farewell.

"What else is there?" said Schuerholz, who will become team president and turn over the GM duties to his right-hand man, Frank Wren. "Nobody could have said anything about the Atlanta Braves and ended the sentence with the word 'but.' "

Schuerholz turned 67 last week and was admittedly worn down by the grind of more than a quarter-century as a general manager. Before coming to Atlanta, he spent nine years in the same post with Kansas City, winning another World Series title in 1985.

But he will forever be remembered for his impact on the Braves, a perennial last-place team when he took over in 1991. That very first year, Atlanta won the NL West and went all the way to the World Series. In the years that followed, the division titles kept coming with numbing regularity, until the streak finally ended with a third-place finish in 2005.

"Obviously, John has done an unbelievable job with the organization," outfielder Jeff Francoeur said.

Schuerholz remains second in command to chairman Terry McGuirk, but will step away from day-to-day personnel decisions, such as trades, free-agent signings and other roster moves.

Torre still waiting

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees put off their meetings on Joe Torre's future until next week.

The meetings are likely to start Monday night or Tuesday, and they probably will be held at the team's spring training complex in Tampa, Fla.

Torre will not be asked to attend the start of the session, when owner George Steinbrenner, his sons and top aides will discuss whether to bring the manager back for a 13th season.

Since the Yankees' season ended Monday, New York players, politicians and even opponents have urged Steinbrenner to retain Torre.

"Every organization is like a human body. It has a head that if you mess with it, it just goes down," Boston slugger David Ortiz said. "Joe Torre is the head of that organization. He's one of the best managers in baseball. You've got to have a good head to keep the body together like that."

Notes

• The No. 30 baseball jersey of former Mariners manager Mike Hargrove will be retired by Northwestern Oklahoma State, his alma mater, during its homecoming football game on Oct. 27 in Alva, Okla.

• OFs Lew Ford and Josh Rabe and DH Matthew LeCroy declined assignments by Minnesota to Class AAA and will become free agents.

• Houston claimed OF Reggie Abercrombie off waivers.

• Philadelphia declined a $5 million option on C Rod Barajas and $2.5 million option on 3B Abraham Nunez.

• Tampa Bay hired Dave Martinez as bench coach and announced that senior adviser Don Zimmer will return next year for his 50th season as a major-league player, coach or manager.