The embarrassing way Fredi Gonzalez found out Braves were firing him

When the Atlanta Braves told Fredi Gonzalez on Tuesday morning that he'd been relieved of his duties as manager, it wasn't much of a surprise. He'd been on the hot seat since last year and found himself in a no-win situation this year, considering the front office had dismantled the team to accelerate a rebuild.

But there was another reason Gonzalez wasn't surprised: He had found out — inadvertently — on Monday night when he was e-mailed his airline itinerary back to Atlanta. That's according to a new report from David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is both hilarious and unfortunate.

In what may be a fire-your-coach gaffe for the ages, the Braves actually scheduled Gonzalez flight home before they fired them, and didn't realize Gonzalez would get an email update with his flight plans. The team was on the road, playing the Pittsburgh Pirates until Thursday, so Gonzalez put two and two together. Oof.

From the AJC:

Count this as one of the times automated technology doesn't make life better. Gonzalez, 52, had been with the Braves since 2011, amassing a record of 434-413. While he had to know the hammer was coming eventually — especially considering his team's MLB-worst 9-28 record through Monday — putting together the pieces of the plan through a flight schedule isn't the ideal way to end a five-year run in Atlanta.

But as Lane Kiffin might say: It's better than getting kicked off the team bus to get canned. So, uhhh, look on the bright side, Fredi. At least you had a ticket home.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz