A deeper look at 3 negative takes from Atlanta Braves 2019 season

In the days and week following the Atlanta Braves’ brutal exit from the playoffs, I tried to avoid social media.

If you frequent the various Atlanta Braves Facebook groups, or surf Twitter, or see what people reply to @Braves with, there are a lot of terrible takes out there, but there are also some pretty good ones.

Here, I’m going to examine three negative takes, give the groundwork for them, and try to talk about both sides of the coin in regards to each one.

“We should fire Brian Snitker”

Oh man. This take is hotter than Tickle Me Elmo and Furbies during the holiday season in their respective eras.

Brian Snitker is easily the favorite target of many angry Atlanta Braves fans.

He mismanages the bullpen is a popular one. He’s been raked over the coals for starting Keuchel and Foltynewicz twice instead of Soroka, a decision I originally supported and even stated should happen before it was announced.

Now, I wouldn’t mind playing it out with our favorite Canadian hurler starting two games.

Brian Snitker should be a hero to many. He worked and played in the organization for three decades, and worked from the bottom to the top.

Isn’t this the American Dream? You get a job at a huge organization or corporation, and on day one, you’re a grunt. On year one, you’re likely still a grunt.

You show that loyalty and you keep pounding away, taking whatever you can get to make a move towards the top.

Brian Snitker should be YOUR BOY. I mean, he’s your boy and you should have a tattoo of Snitker on your upper arm, because he’s the man.

Fredi Gonzalez carried the worst weight of the rebuild, but Brian Snitker stepped in during the 2016 season and a pretty terrible roster played to a 59-65 record.

In 2017, we weren’t quite there and we lost 90 games.

Then, we arrived early, winning a division title in 2018 and won a second division title this season.

Brian Snitker knows the players, knows the organization, and knows the game of baseball. He’s done well on paper, and as much as some fans want to dissect his managerial game, it’s hard to find a reason to fire him.

Now, what would the Atlanta Braves have done if we fired Brian Snitker? Well, the hottest of takes was to hire Joe Maddon to be our manager. That’s over, because the Angels already did that.

What’s the plan after that? Gabe Kapler?