The case for and against firing Brian Snitker after devastating playoff failure

Couldn't the Atlanta Braves have saved some regular-season wins for later? Despite having the best record in baseball through 162, an 100-plus-win Atlanta team could only once again muster a single postseason victory. The Braves were eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday, losing Game 4 to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1. It was the second year in a row the Braves were eliminated by Philadelphia.

The hottest offense this side of the sun went mostly cold vs. Philadelphia pitching. When the star players needed to step up, the Phillies' stars outshined Atlanta's. While Philadelphia enters the NLCS as the presumptive favorite to get past the Arizona Diamondbacks, we have to wonder what the hell went wrong? Not all of this should fall on manager Brian Snitker, but he is an easy scapegoat in this.

Snitker has been Atlanta's skipper since midway through 2016. He has won six straight NL East division titles, the 2021 NL pennant and the following World Series. At 67 years old, Snitker has spent pretty much all of his adult life in the Braves organization, dating back to his days as a player in their minor league system in 1977. While he has had his moments, this past week was a rough look for him.

With that in mind, let's discuss if the Braves have grounds to terminate Snitker's contract. They will likely stand pat and let him retire on his own accord because it is The Braves' Way, but we shall see.

Atlanta Braves' case for firing Brian Snitker after latest playoff failure

What you have to understand first and foremost with the Braves is that nothing leaks out of general manager Alex Anthopoulos' front office and this franchise never overreacts, for better or worse. On this spooky Friday the 13th morning, many people scattered across Braves Country are struggling to get past one of the latest huge, embarrassing postseason failures this team, and city, has given us.

The idea of moving on from Snitker is magnified by how good this team was during the regular season and how losing to the Phillies in four games in back-to-back NLDS is simply not acceptable. Bowing out in the NLCS to either Arizona or Los Angeles would have been much easier to stomach. Instead, the delightful Phillies and their fan base get to move on to a second-straight trip to the NLCS.

So if the Braves were to move on from Snitker, one would think they would tab someone off his staff like Walt Weiss, Ron Washington or somebody else we have not even considered. Washington and Weiss have big-league managerial experience. Atlanta may only promote from within, but you have to wonder if Snitker's message has gotten stale, or if he has lost his fastball in these big chess matches.

The fact we are even having this conversation about Snitker says everything about how bad of a series loss it truly was to Philadelphia. This is one of the greatest disappointments in team history.