Everything Brian Snitker said after Braves bow out of playoff prematurely

After five grueling months, the Atlanta Braves' season has finally come to an end. It couldn't have gone much worse. Relative to preseason expectations, Atlanta underperformed the most of any team in baseball. The catch? It was pretty much out of the Braves' control the whole time.

Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. both suffered season-ending injuries literal days into the campaign. Atlanta's Cy Young candidate and reigning MVP were wiped from the board in an instant. From there, the Braves battled through adverse development after adverse development, including prolonged absences for Sean Murphy, Michael Harris, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley.

If a Braves star wasn't hurt, he was underperforming. Matt Olson was not "bad" this season, but he was leagues removed from the soaring heights of last season. Before his injury. Riley was in a similar funk. Marcell Ozuna was the only position player to earn an All-Star berth for Atlanta. He actually left a slight indent on the MVP race, but too often it was Ozuna alone carrying the weight for this Braves offense.

Just last season, Atlanta ranked among the very best offenses in MLB history. For myriad reasons, most of which revolve around injuries, the Braves just couldn't achieve that same level of sustained dominance in 2024.

A 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night capped Atlanta's season of woe. Max Fried allowed eight hits and five earned runs in a fateful second inning — a rotten conclusion to his season and possibly his tenure with the Braves.

Brian Snitker was the target of a lot of fan vitriol after the game. Even shorthanded due to injuries, folks expected more of a fight on the October stage. Snit's ability to navigate matchups deserves scrutiny, and his decision to start 21-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver in Game 1 could hang over this franchise for a while.

Here's what the former World Series champ had to say after the game.

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Brian Snitker opens up after another early postseason exit for the Braves

"Fire Brian Snitker" is a common phrase on the interwebs right about now. It's an understandable, if extreme sentiment considering Snitker's unique mix of postseason failures and soaring successes. He is undeniably a great coach who has been dealt a bad hand all season, but it's hard to separate the reputation of this Atlanta team from the reality of the circumstances. The Braves were supposed to compete for a World Series this season, injuries or not.

Snitker is reaching the end of the road as a professional manager, but he does not plan to retire this winter. Sounds like Braves fans are stuck with him for at least another year.

It's hard not to sympathize with Snitker's desire to get right back in the saddle. Say what you will about this Braves team, but it takes a resillient bunch to fight through so many injuries and reach the postseason. And those injuries were a problem right down to the final buzzer, rendering Chris Sale, the presumptive NL Cy Young winner, unable to pitch in Game 1.

Stay tuned for more postgame comments from Snitker.