LOS ANGELES -- Brian Snitker spent nearly four decades as a coach before he got the chance to prove himself as a Major League manager. Yet, a little more than a year after getting this unexpected opportunity, he felt distraught enough to seriously contemplate walking away from the job and possibly the only organization he has ever known.
"We're all comfortably miserable in this business," Snitker said.
As the Braves prepare to open the National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Thursday night, it's incredible to think about where Snitker was from a mental perspective just more than a year ago, when his battles with Atlanta's former general manager, John Coppolella, and former president of baseball operations, John Hart, had brought Snitker to the brink of giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.