Kuester joins Lamar volleyball staff

Published 4:06 pm Tuesday, May 17, 2016

ATLANTA (AP) — No matter the modest expectations from outside the team, Atlanta Braves management didn’t expect a rebuilding year to produce the worst record in the majors.

So with the team bottoming out, the Braves Tuesday fired manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Atlanta is in the midst of a dismal start that failed to meet even the lowered expectations of a rebuilding year, so Gonzalez felt the brunt of the disappointment and was sent packing in his sixth season.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The Braves, who play at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, have lost two straight and eight of 10. They have baseball’s worst record at 9-28 and already are 13 ½ games out of first place in the NL East.

Brian Snitker, who has been manager of the Braves’ Triple-A Gwinnett team, will move up as interim manager. Snitker was Atlanta’s third-base coach from 2006 to 2013, also following Gonzalez in that role when Gonzalez was named manager of the Marlins.

Snitker also had two stints with Atlanta as the bullpen coach in 1985 and from 1988 to 1990.

The Braves also fired bench coach Carlos Tosca. Gwinnett pitching coach Marty Reed has joined the club as bullpen coach. Terry Pendleton will move from first base coach to bench coach and Eddie Perez will move from bullpen coach to first base coach.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

email author More by I.C.