Nothing has gone right so far for the Atlanta Braves.
Alex Anthopoulos deserves a share of the blame for the black holes in left field and shortstop, along with a piss poor bullpen. The players deserve a portion of the blame too. Practically everyone, some more than others, is underperforming relative to their contracts or expectations, outside of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Drake Baldwin.
In crunch time, this Braves team is horrible, offensively and on the mound. They’ve played in the most one-run games in baseball, with a terrible bullpen and terrible situational lineup. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Hell, even Brian Snitker deserves some criticism, but it’s certainly not as much as some Braves fans believe. He’s a manager. There’s not much he can do when his GM has given him an awful relief core and a lineup with two automatic outs at shortstop and left field as well as two vastly underperforming core members in Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies.
Simply put, the Braves’ roster is flawed. There’s no margin for error with this club, and firing Brian Snitker isn’t going to galvanize them like so many believe. A pair of insiders essentially threw cold water on the idea.
“I know fans don’t want to hear this. They’re screaming their heads off for his head, for Anthopoulos’ head,” Ken Rosenthal on Foul Territory said. “But I just don’t expect they’re going to make a change unless for some reason he decides to step down, and I don’t expect Brian Snitker to quit on a season.”
As I’ve said, Brian Snitker isn’t responsible for the underperforming Braves, which Rosenthal highlighted.
“There are other things going on with this team, performance-wise, that simply have to change, and they’re not on him,” he said. “I’m sorry. It’s not on him that Michael Harris has a .580 OPS or Ozzie Albies has a .650 OPS. That’s not him… It’s his job to get the best out of that group, but I don’t know if you can pin this entirely on Brian Snitker.”
Braves fans are frustrated, and they believe firing Snitker will provide a spark. But it’s not going to happen, as Bob Nightengale reported the same as Rosenthal.
“Despite Atlanta’s frustrating season in which they’re in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 2017, manager Brian Snitker’s job appears to be safe for the remainder of the season. He has led Atlanta to seven consecutive postseasons and a World Series championship. Snitker’s contract expires after this year when he’s expected to retire as manager and then move into a special assistant role.”
Poor luck in one-run games, a flawed roster and dreadful performances from key players have all contributed to Atlanta’s disappointing season. Yes, Snitker is a part of that, but he’s far from the biggest culprit.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
