Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker admitted he was “pissed off” after the team lost Game 4 to the Phillies in rather embarrassing fashion.
Two games in Philadelphia, no road wins and suddenly the defending World Series champions were out of the playoffs. Atlanta entered the series as the cagey veterans, but often failed to play like it.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, and Snitker isn’t immune to that plague, either. But, taking a look forward, Snitker remains intrigued and excited about this team, even if he’s frustrated with the end result in 2022.
After admitting he was “disappointed and pissed off,” Snitker went into more detail:
“I just wasn’t feeling real good, to be honest with you,” Snitker said. “I was thinking I’d much rather be getting ready to come down [to Truist Park] to play Game 5.”
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Dansby Swanson is just one of several pending Braves free agents. As much as Atlanta’s front office would love to bring everyone back, it rarely works out that way.
“He gets better every year,” Alex Anthopoulos said of Swanson. “You can look at his stats and he’s always been a good teammate, but I think he rose to new levels. I told him that as well. I’ve been impressed with him across the board. He’s as good a teammate as you’re going to find.”
That being said, Swanson’s value has increased immensely this season. Perhaps an untimely playoff defeat could motivate Dansby to return. Snitker sure hopes so.
“I’m disappointed,” Snitker said. “There’s like an emptiness there. I expected us to go a long way in this whole tournament. But I’m excited about where we’re at. I’ll be really excited to get to Spring Training to get to work again.”