What the Snell?

I have not had a chance yet to comment on the whole Ian Snell three ring circus as of yet and I figured now is as good a time as any to do so. What has gone on recently is almost akin to Derek "Operation Shutdown" Bell, in the bizarre nature of it.

First the press was buzzing when Virgil Vasquez had a short start at Indy, which coincided with yet another Snell start in Pittsburgh. Everyone thought a move was going to happen, then Snell declares that he decided to send himself down to AAA. I am sure that had to be a first.

The reasoning for the now apparent General Manager Snell for his demotion, he wanted to be somewhere where there was not all this negativity. It was something we just wouldn't understand.

So Snell goes to Indy, strikes out 17 hitters, throws about 70% of his pitches for strikes and says afterword that he really enjoyed pitching there. Congratulated his catcher, coach, and the 'electric fans' of Indianapolis.

Just when one thinks that this soap opera can not turn one more, Neal Huntington candidly admits that the Snell contract was a mistake and that they hope to salvage some value from it. Sounds more like he is talking about a totaled car than a ballplayer there.

What can we find from this tangled story line. One is that Snell is probably not going to ever pitch in Pittsburgh, at least for the Pirates, again. The comments Huntington made seemed a lot stronger than challenging a player, and quite frankly it seems as though Snell wants no challenges anyway. He seems comfortable in what he is.

Two, Snell is, if anything, very eccentric. He was characterized as so by many of the writers in trying to explain his behavior. Nothing wrong with being a little different, it is just when being different ends up being a hindrance to others, then it is a problem. Teams and fans will put up with eccentricities, see Manny Ramirez. Starting pitchers that can't get guys out with a very 'eccentric' way of things are not going to be kept around.

Simply put it is probably good that Snell has made his feelings known right now. It is better now than say, two years from now, when the team might be contending, for this to all happen. This new management has put the entire organization on a different track and if you don't like the way this train is moving, it is best to get off now. It is best for Ian, the Pirates, and the fans.