On June 25^th, the Pittsburgh Pirates asked starting pitcher Ian Snell to accept a demotion to Triple-A ball, after his first 15 starts yielded a 5.36 ERA and 2-8 record.  They had every right to.  However, since then Snell has done nothing but dominate in the minors, pitching for the Indianapolis Indians.  In 26 1/3 innings, Snell has struck out 34 while allowing just eight walks (much better than his 52 K’s-44 BB’s during his first 15 starts), which is more than enough to warrant a promotion back to the Majors for the 27-year-old righty…but not if Snell has something to say about it.

"Yup...I'm pretty sure I never want to play here again, I just wish I knew a polite way to tell management that."

Snell told a local newspaper that he wasn’t ready to go back up, and that, quote, “The team is better off without me.”  Snell also went as far as saying he was depressed while playing for the Pirates, that he had suicidal thoughts during his tenure there.  What a surprise? He is playing in the dismal city of Pittsburgh and for the only team the city has that isn’t a winner – I’d have suicidal thoughts too.  Pirates General Manager Neal Hunnington, like the rest of his team, is baffled by this.  Hunnington responded by saying:  “It’s an odd situation.  You often worry about a player being a malcontent when they go back down and how that’s going to affect your other players around. Ian has actually fit in well down there and has gone about his business as well as can be expected.”

Apparently the Pirates are missing the bigger picture here, because I am not a GM and I have a strong feeling I know what this kid’s problem is…he knows the Pirates are bad and does not want to play for them.  He is having fun winning with the Indy Indians, and doesn’t want to go back to getting shelled in the Majors.  Snell spoke out immediately saying that isn’t what he meant.  “”Why would I say that?” Snell said, “What I’ve told a couple reporters here is that I’ve enjoyed my time here with Indianapolis. It’s a great group of guys. And I think there’s some great chemistry right now in Pittsburgh, so maybe they’re better off without me. But I never said I wanted to stay in Indianapolis or that I didn’t want to pitch for the Pirates or in the majors.”

What happened here is that someone, probably Snell’s agent, told him that he might appear as a problem-player to teams that are interested in acquiring him.  The Pirates have expressed their interest to trade him, but might have trouble unloading him because of his contract – which guarantees him $3.2 million this year, and 4.25 million next year.  So a contract that teams might not want to pick up, topped off with Snell’s stellar attitude, equals a lot more time in Triple-A…but then again, that might be what Snell really wants.

He has made a bold move here, and I almost have to give him credit.  So often in baseball, managers or GMs decide to send a guy down to the minors to “find himself” or “get it together” and they always worry about how it will turn out.  No one can guarantee that when that player goes down, he is going to come back up better than he left.  In this case, Snell struggled in the beginning of the year, so he was sent down to the minors to regroup, and when he got back on track down there and they tried to recall him, he told them “no thanks.”  Even if it doesn’t work out for Snell, or he ends up staying with the Pirates, it’s still refreshing to see the tables get turned on management…Nice work Ian.