Count on Brian Snitker to keep managing the Braves, as he should

And this isn’t because he’s a Braves lifer who has given his entire career to the organization — though he is. It’s because he has won a boatload of games since he became the club’s manager in 2016.

At 762-616, Snitker owns a .553 winning percentage. Among managers who’ve started their managerial careers in the 21st century and have held jobs for at least three seasons, it’s the sixth-best percentage. The Braves have reached seven consecutive postseasons and made the first six by winning the National League East.

While the first 61 games have been brutal, that’s more than enough of a track record to allow him to keep steering the ship.

The Braves are playing way below expectations, and there’s not a lot that offers the sense that anything is about to change. Regardless, think about it this way — if the Braves did make a change and needed a new manager, wouldn’t someone who had led his team to seven consecutive playoff berths seem like a logical candidate?

However you think about Snitker, mark it down. Snitker is not going anywhere.

Optimism is at a premium, but consider this:

Maybe losing in about as sadistic a manner as a Mets fan could dream up for the rival Braves — losing 11-10 after recording the first out in the top of the ninth with a 10-4 lead and no one on base — is actually something that could be the jolt the Braves need.

As farfetched or Pollyanna-ish as that might seem, there’s actually precedent.

Last season, on Aug. 11, the Braves led, 8-2, with one out and none on in the bottom of the eighth at Coors Field. They found a way to lose, 9-8. It was excruciating. It was the Braves’ first loss when leading by at least six runs in the eighth inning since a 2018 defeat. (The Braves, of course, outdid themselves Thursday. They had won 766 consecutive games when leading by at least six runs after eight innings until the debacle at Truist.)

The defeat at Coors Field was the Braves’ seventh loss in eight games. They were 61-56. It was still good for the last wild-card spot in the National League, but they were sliding. It was very easy to conclude that the Braves could not recover from such a devastating loss.

“It’s tough to swallow,” Snitker said after that game. “It’s a tough one.”

But, after that presumed “there’s no way they can come back from this” de-pantsing, the Braves took three of four in the next series at San Francisco, where, coincidentally, the Braves will play their next three games.

It was the first of seven series wins out of eight, a 17-9 stretch. Ultimately, they were 28-17 to end the season after the supposed Aug. 11 knockout punch.

The manager guiding that turnaround was, as is now, Snitker. You don’t win 55% of your games just by having a stacked lineup. Snitker has shown he can guide a team through heavy turbulence.

(He was also the manager when they got swept in the wild-card round for their third consecutive postseason series loss. But that’s a matter for another day.)

This isn’t to say that you should start saving up for World Series tickets. As dreadful as that loss to the Rockies and stretch was a year ago, those Braves at least had a winning record and were in the thick of the playoff chase.

Neither is true of this year’s team, which is 27-34 and owns the 12th-best (or fourth-worst) record in the National League. No one will be surprised if the Braves cannot turn it around. And Snitker has made his share of questionable moves and seems out of answers. It’s understandable why anyone would call for his dismissal.

But Snitker has more than earned the right to continue as the Braves manager. And beyond that, he’s still the right guy for the job.