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Patrick Connelly/Allied News sports editor
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60 Odd Miles Up 79: Smelly Snell to try to re-tool career in minors
If someone would have said back in spring training Ian Snell would still be seeking his third win in late June you would have called that person crazy.
But that’s just the situation the 27-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher was in Tuesday night.
With his career in Major League Baseball on the line and his future with the Pirates up in the air, Snell folded like one of the box seats at PNC Park.
In the third inning, Snell walked three and gave up three hits to the Cleveland Indians while throwing 50 pitches.
Snell couldn’t find the strike zone and looked lifeless on the mound before being yanked by manager John Russell.
That performance will live in Snell’s mind as he attempts to re-tool himself as a starter with Triple-A Indianapolis.
The pitcher who only a few years back had his Pirates’ contract extended in hopes he would become an anchor of the front portion of the rotation has made his own bed.
After a talk with general manager Neal Huntington this week, Snell reportedly asked for the demotion, forgoing another start this weekend in the big leagues.
Snell, who was coming off a win against Minnesota in his previous game before the breakdown, told reporters the decision was his. Huntington, however, wouldn’t admit it was Snell's and Snell’s alone.
“Who came to the conclusion first is really not important,” Huntington told reporters. “What is important is that we’re going to help Ian Snell reach his potential. It is still in there. How we reach it, we're not quite sure just yet.”
What if Snell has already reached his potential? In 116 starts since he made his 2004 debut, he’s only won 33 games.
Granted over the years he hasn’t always had strong offensive performances to back his mound work, but 33 wins is awful.
The only season in which he’s won more games than he lost came in 2006 when he finished 14-11.
Sure, there’s been several anomalies and late bloomers around the league the past decade or so, but isn’t Snell technically supposed to be in the prime of his career right now? Arms only last so long. And with actual drug testing now present in MLB, those pitchers still throwing the high heat into their 30s will be few and far between.
So what does a guy who’s seemingly all but lost what little talent he once exhibited have to work on?
“Nothing,” the pitcher said.
Uhh? What? How about maybe your accuracy, pitch placing or simple mechanics?
“You (reporters) don’t understand it and nobody’s going to understand it unless you play baseball,” the enigmatic pitcher continued. “I’m just going to go down there, get my thoughts together and do good. Whatever anybody thinks, that’s totally fine. I’m just going to get my thoughts together.”
For your sake, Ian, I hope Tinker Bell makes a detour from Neverland to deliver some happy ones.
It’s no secret all pitchers for reasons beyond explanation just lose ‘it’ after awhile. Snell looks like one of them, but I’m not sure he actually even ever had ‘it’ to begin with.
Patrick Connelly is sports editor at The Allied News and his column about Pittsburgh sports appears each Saturday. He can be reached at pconnelly@alliednews.com or 724-458-5010.
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