Bucs' Snell gets confidence boost

By Rob Biertempfel
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, April 18, 2007


ST. LOUIS - Manager Jim Tracy crept onto the top step of the Pirates dugout Monday night and warily eyed pitcher Ian Snell.

The St. Louis Cardinals had already cashed in a run in the seventh inning and had the bases loaded with one out. The Pirates had scored three runs but then had gone back into their usual coma at the plate.

"We had to make those runs stand up," Tracy said. "To do that, your pitching has to be equal to the task."

Bases juiced, ballpark buzzing, sellout crowd on its feet. Was it time to take Snell out of the game?

Tracy put his foot on the top step ... and paused there. To that point, Snell had allowed just three hits, all singles. He'd only thrown about 90 pitches, so he had some gas left in his tank.

And the right-hander was throwing some nasty stuff. Snell had struck out six Cardinals, including slugger Albert Pujols.

Tracy stayed put.

It was a risky choice, to be sure, but worthwhile for the self-assurance it would instill in Snell.

"To take the game away from him would've been wrong," Tracy said. "It's his game, at that point."

Snell glanced in the dugout and realized Tracy had made his decision.

"It meant a lot to me," Snell said. "It shows he has confidence in me, to leave me out there in a tough situation to get out of it."

Snell focused on the task at hand and got pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker to foul out on an 0-2 pitch.

Now, Snell's pitch count was up to 95, and he was feeling it. David Eckstein, a pesky, spray hitter and the 2006 World Series MVP, fouled off Snell's first offering.

"That whole time, I was just praying, 'God, give me some energy from somewhere,' " Snell said. "And, sure enough, I got the curveball over and Eckstein grounded out."

Inning over. By limiting the damage in the inning to one run, Snell had given the Pirates enough wiggle room to escape with a 3-2 victory.

"The job he did ... was huge," Tracy said.

A year ago, things might have turned out differently. Early last season, Snell folded at times in tough situations. That changed as he gained experience.

Snell has had some hard luck against the Cardinals, going 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA against them last year. In early September, he surrendered three tape-measure homers to Pujols in a 6-3 loss.

"The tough times were back in the day," Snell said. "It's a matter of a little more tape study, learning their swings and watching how they react to certain pitches. I try to change with every at-bat, throw a different pitch at different times."

From his perch in the dugout, Tracy has noticed the change in Snell's approach. He sees Snell's pitches darting in and out, up and down, playing mind games with batters.

"He passed the test," Tracy said. "That's the next major step in the development of a guy who has a chance to become very special."

Snell's surging fortitude is obvious, too.

"I went out there very confident, thinking that nobody was going to stop me," Snell said. "Nobody was going to beat me.

"I was able to bear down in situations. Yeah, I gave up one run and I walked a couple people, but you're not going to be spectacular every day. I did enough for my team to win the game."