Even with his job in peril, Fredi Gonzalez was hoping to hold on, even beyond the obvious reason: that no one wants to be fired.

The Braves manager saw the young talent that had been accumulated in the past 18 months, mainly in trades of veterans for prospects, and recognized what the opening of a new Cobb County stadium next year could mean for adding payroll. So two weeks ago in New York, Gonzalez told me how much he yearned to survive the bad times to benefit from what he expected to be the good so close ahead.

He didn’t make it.

Gonzalez became the first manager fired this year, getting dismissed Tuesday. Brian Snitker, a Braves employee since 1977 and their Triple-A skipper the past two-plus years, will replace Gonzalez on an interim basis. He is known as a good communicator and no-nonsense. In a coincidence, he replaced Gonzalez as Atlanta’s third base coach when Gonzalez became the Marlins manager after the 2006 campaign.

Former Padres manager Bud Black and MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa – both well regarded by Braves president of baseball operations John Hart – are seen as strong candidates for a full-time role that is viewed as desirable because of the young talent and new stadium.

Gonzalez’s job was in jeopardy after last year, but he has always had a strong backer in the man he replaced, Bobby Cox, who continues to wield influence in the organization. However, even within a rebuild this year, Atlanta wanted to show improvement going into the new stadium. Instead, the Braves were a major league-worst 9-28, which made them 34-81 since a 42-42 start last year.

It did not help Gonzalez that the Phillies, who are also rebuilding, were 22-17 in the NL East or that he was not considered a strong strategist, especially when it came to running a bullpen.

But there also was no denying he had a poor team. A.J. Pierzynski ($3 million) was the highest-paid free agent signed in an offseason when the trend to deal veterans for future assets continued with the dealing of Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons.

The acquisition last year of Hector Olivera blew up when he was put on administrative leave within the domestic abuse protocol. Thus, a club that was going to struggle for power lost more – the Braves have just 11 homers, 18 fewer than any other club. Freddie Freeman (6) is the only Brave with more than one homer.