Story back dated from October 2018
Coming to you this week from sunny Southern California where I am spending the entire week out in the city of angels. I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to comment on how excited I am with the new two-year deal with a third year option that Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker signed last week. Check back with me this time next year to see if I have the same thought process. But as of right now this is a great move for both Snitker and the Braves organization. Snitker is a lifelong Brave with 20+ years spent with the Braves in the minor leagues, as a third base coach for the big league club, and last as an interim manager in 2016 as then manager Fredi Gonzales was fired. Last year Snitker signed a one year deal as full manager and has just signed the extension that could possibly be for the next three years.
And it shows that the Braves players love Snitker as manager from comments from Braves catchers Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki and 1B Freddie Freeman all in favor of Snitker coming back as the leader in the Braves clubhouse. Snitker holds a 221-227 record as Braves manager for the big league club. Snitker was groomed by former Braves manager and Hall of Famer Bobby Cox. Snitker has Cox‘s demeanor and to me coaches just like Cox did when he was running this team. Snitker sticks up for his players and was the first out of the dugout when LF Ronald Acuna, Jr was hit by a pitch while trying to make it 8 straight games with a homer. Snitker might look like a calm man, and he probably is. But get under his skin and it’s on.
The only concern I have is Snitker repairing what‘s wrong with the Braves pitching staff. He has done a great job with the starting eight and utility players, now he needs to work on the pitching staff and he started on that by not bringing back pitching coach Chuck Hernandez. Hernandez didn’t have command of the pitchers and it showed by all the walks both starters and relievers gave up, as well as the pitchers not being able to hold a lead. My vote for pitching coach would be three guys, all former Braves pitchers and Hall of Famers as well; John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux. Out of those three the most likely to do it would be Tom Glavine because he is the one still closest to the team as he works with the Braves and the teams radio and tv broadcasts. Maddux seems like the quiet type and hasn’t worked with anything in the bigs since his retirement. And Smoltz works as a broadcaster for Major League Baseball and is currently broadcaster for the National League playoffs this season. The Braves organization might want more of a seasoned pitching coach where as Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddux have never been coaches before. Time will only tell what pitching coach GM Alex Anthopoulos hires, but it might be sooner than later so he can go ahead and get to work on the pitching staff.
A little bit more good news is Snitker is bringing back all coaches on the Braves team on a two year deal as well, of course, not Hernandez the pitching coach. Until next time from sunny Southern California…
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