Fredi Gonzalez tipped off by flight reservation before Atlanta Braves' firing

PITTSBURGH, May 17 (UPI) -- When Fredi Gonzalez got on a flight last Friday to coach the Atlanta Braves during a 10-game road trip, he possibly worried about lost luggage or airline germs.

Little did he know he'd come back to Atlanta early and unemployed.

But that wasn't the most awkward part. Gonzalez was officially fired Tuesday morning. But he was tipped off about the possible move Monday night, when he received an email regarding altered flight itinerary, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"The Braves had already made the decision to fire him and booked his commercial flight home Tuesday, but didn't plan to tell him he'd been fired until Tuesday morning, after president of baseball operations John Hart flew to Pittsburgh to join general manager John Coppolella," O'Brien wrote.

The Braves have lost four of its last five games, including Monday's 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gonzalez's Braves were 9-28 before Tuesday night's battle with the Pirates. Gonzalez, 52, held a 434-413 record in six seasons with the Braves and 276-279 mark in four season with the Florida Marlins.

"I don't think there's a perfect time to do it," Gonzalez told the AJC. "I think you do it when they feel like the time is right, so they did it.... I will tell you this, through all this stuff my team played hard. They busted their [expletive]. They had to answer questions that they shouldn't have to answer about the manager, and per man they all handled it with class and they played their [expletive] off."