Snell to Triple-A; Virgil Vasquez on his way to Pittsburgh
UPDATE 4 pm: It's official. Ian Snell has been optioned to Triple-A Indy. Snell claims he asked to be sent down in order to get away from the negativity he feels in Pittsburgh.
"I just felt like it was the best decision for me and for this team," Snell said. "That's just what I felt. I went with my gut, and I feel like I need to work on some stuff and I need to do it here. Too much negativity and I don't want to be a negative person. I need to be a positive person if I'm going to be here. I felt like I was going to be negative, so why not? I don't want to ruin this team. I left it up to myself. I wasn't going to allow them to say what they want. I told them I want to go down. That's best for this team."
When asked what he needs to work on, Snell replied: "Nothing. You don't understand it and nobody's going to understand it unless you play baseball. 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."
GM Neal Huntington addressed the situation, confirming that he and Snell met last night to discuss what the best course of action would be. It was after that meeting that management's stance on the situation shifted
"We had talked about a lot of things over the last four or five days as a front office and as a coaching staff trying to figure out what would be the best thing for us to help Ian reach his potential," Huntington said. "We talked in depth last night. We talked in depth the night before. I had a conversation with Ian last night at which time he said he thought it might be the best thing for him to go out. Who came to the conclusion first is really not important. What is important is that we're going to help Ian Snell reach his potential because it is still in there. We see glimpses of it. That's why he's remained in the big league. It is still in there. How we reach it, we're not quite sure just yet. But I know we're going to work hard."
Virgil Vasquez will take the open spot in the rotation.
***
2:55 p.m.: Virgil Vasquez is on his way to Pittsburgh, a source confirmed, and has been told that he will pitch either Friday or Sunday. If Charlie Morton (strained left hamstring) is unable to go on Friday, Vasquez would step in.
Otherwise, it looks like Vasquez will throw in place of Snell on Sunday. The team has not confirmed it yet, but it appears almost certain that Snell is going to be optioned to Triple-A Indy before his next start. Less than 12 hours ago a baseball source confirmed that management was still unsure whether to send Snell to the mound on Sunday, which was a change in management's stance from earlier on Wednesday.
Snell does have one option left, so he can be sent down without any problem.
If Morton can't pitch on Friday, there's always the chance that he could take Snell's spot on Sunday. Otherwise, the Pirates would have to find another starter (Jeff Karstens, Tom Gorzelanny or Daniel McCutchen would be the choices) to jump in.
FINALLY WHAT TOOK SO LONG
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This is my first entry in the blog. Let me start by saying that we Pirate fans are fortunate to have Ms. Langosch as our MLB reporter. At least we have one winner after 17 years.
Second, Snell is history. I cannot see this regime allowing a malcontent to be part of the rebuilding, even with the money he is paid. Sure, this is a "game" and mental issues are part of it, but the cold fact is that it is a professional job - all of these guys are paid huge sums of money. There is too much gorgonzola (RIP, Myron) being spread around about "feelings" and "thoughts".
Throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball, and shut up.
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hallelujah!
It would be better if Snell was out of the Pirates organization altogether.
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Ian has the physical ability to pitch in the majors, but between the ears is where he needs a lot of work. I am not sure how he expects people to react when he goes out there every 5 days and lays an egg? I wish him well, but do not expect to see him in a buc uniform any time soon, maybe never.
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Also a newby. First Pirates game in 1947, age 8. Glad to see Snell move. Hope he can get it together at Indianapolis. Don't expect McCutchen call up - he's not on the 40 man roster and even with a move to the 60 day DL, it would eventually mean another roster cut.
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i dont blame ian snell one bit.how can a pitcher pitch with ease when he knows that the bats backing him up are not that great.if a pitcher has to think about every pitch being perfect and knowing he could lose every game on one mistake. how many games do you think snell would have pitched differently had he had bays bat backing him up.boy i glad the pirates dumped jason bay when they did this season,hes really showing hes over the hill.even the best pitchers get bombed now and then but they know night in and night out the bats on their team could put up runs at anytime.ask the pirate pitchers how much faith they have in their hitters,putting up numbers every night.
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