Rock bottom? The Atlanta Braves might not be there yet, but they are heading for a crash and burn. What the team is going through right now is more than just a rough phase. This season commenced with high expectations, and it turned into a worst-case scenario for the team, especially with the latest defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers dropping them to 0-7. The desperation for a win has just deepened.
And now, manager Brian Snitker laid it all out and admitted, “I don’t wish this on anyone in a competitive environment.” It’s coming from seven consecutive defeats of the Braves, which marked their most disastrous beginning to the season since 2016, a year in which they lost nine times in a row.
Snitker has been in the world of baseball long enough to know that hitting slumps is just a part of the journey. But with how things look presently, the Braves really need a breakthrough. He mentioned, “What we’re going through is tough, very tough. Everyone knows it.” He continued, “The guys in there know it better than you. They feel it. It’s tough.” The pressure they are feeling right now is, of course, relentless. But how exactly did things turn this bad for the Braves?
Oct 25, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) smiles during workouts before Game 1 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Some of their players are owning up to their game. For instance, Austin Riley took the responsibility after starting the season with a slump of 3-for-27. He stated, “From a personal point of view, it’s honestly shameful what I’ve shown offensively.” Well, at least he took the accountability. He continued, “I have a lot of work to do. It’s embarrassing.” It’s great that the players realize the depth of the situation. But more than that, the Braves are in need of results at this point.
Still Snitker optimistically said, “We got into this ourselves… We just have to keep fighting and get out of this.” For now, there is a sliver of hope as the team will be back in Atlanta for their first home game against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park. The Braves know how fans have been disappointed and they are really hopeful for the next game – and playing in front of their home crowd might finally help them to achieve better results.
Have the Braves’ Championship dreams crumbled already?
A few days ago, the Atlanta Braves commenced the 2025 MLB regular season, full of hope and expectations. And now, that hope simply looks like a wishful thinking. It all started with losing to the San Diego Padres, 7-4. Sounds unfortunate, doesn’t it? Well, not more than a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, for which the credit goes to Shohei Ohtani who sealed the game with a walk-off home run.
Right now, the Braves sit at 0-7 on the season. No team in history has ever made the postseason after starting 0-7. These stats are more than enough for fans to skip directly to next year’s spring training. And yes, their batting average is bad but their .485 OPS isn’t much better. Could it get any worse? As it turns out, it can. Jurickson Profar’s 80-game suspension for PED use has just checked another box on their “falling apart” list.
Let’s not forget, losing streaks do happen. Throwback to last year: there were 17 losing streaks of 7 games or more across Major League Baseball, out of which 4 belonged to the Chicago White Sox – and they only managed to look up at the preseason this year. So when it comes down to the question: have the Braves championship dreams crumbled already – the answer is far from optimistic as things stand presently. A miracle could be the only glimmer of hope fans have left.
The post Braves Manager Admits “Very Tough” Situation as Franchise Endures Worst Slump in 9 Years appeared first on EssentiallySports.
