Still, sources both inside and outside the Braves described dysfunction within baseball operations fostered by Coppolella’s leadership style and tactics, but also due to lack of oversight by Hart to what was a young, inexperienced GM. Sources say Hart was not only hands off, but also absent often, returning to Orlando to play golf regularly when the team was on the road – a period of time when those running baseball operations often use free time to either visit affiliates or mentor their underlings.
Thus, Hart is widely seen as either aware of what Coppolella was up to or having created the environment that allowed Coppolella to operate nefariously without proper oversight from his direct boss – Hart.
Hart told me he has played fewer than 10 rounds of golf this year and “I don’t think that (regular absences) is an accurate portrayal. You look at what we have done in the trade front and all the things that are part and parcel in that. International was directed by Gordon Blakeley and that is what it is. I didn’t go down to look at players, what president would go down?”