Ian Snell Makes Triumphant Return To Starting Rotation

Adding on to Matthew's post, with a separate post!

So the M's did the easy thing and swapped Snell and Ryan Rowland-Smith, rather than going the AAA route and bringing up somebody else who isn't very good. This way we get to hang on to all of those awesome pitchers that we have.

Given RRS' struggles and the fact that Snell has thrown one fewer inning over RRS' last three starts than RRS has, this hardly comes as a surprise. I know a lot of people wanted to see RRS leave the rotation after his effort last night, and those people have gotten their wish. It's just important to understand that this doesn't really matter a whole lot. Remember that Snell lost his rotation spot first. He sucked too. He's not a solution. He's a change, the way Alonzo Powell was a change. He's still a #5 starter, and #5 starters tend to be unpleasant to watch.

On the plus side, what this does accomplish is put a lefty in the bullpen, which theoretically gives us a little boost in the matchup game. It's small, but it's real. Which isn't to say that RRS has the stuff of a specialist - he'll never be Mike Myers - but lefties are lefties. They're good against lefties. That should be neat, provided RRS finds himself at least a little bit in relief.

Most importantly - if it even matters, since we're 14-24 - with Erik Bedard on the road back, the fifth spot occupant is running out of time anyway. By my count, Snell's third start from now will come on June 6th, his fourth start will come on June 11th, and his fifth start will come on June 16th. I don't know if/when Bedard will return, and I don't know what's going to happen with the rest of the rotation until then, but as is, help is on the way. Nobody really likes watching Ian Snell start games any more than they like watching Ryan Rowland-Smith start games right now, but if things go okay, then soon enough we won't have to watch either.