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Sandy - Raleigh's picture

Exceptional Command:  That to me sounds like an absolutely fantastic recipe for sustained success.  That pretty much sums up the careers of Maddux and Glavine. (Of course, I think you're implying that his command was far above his normal ability, so we shouldn't expect regular repeats).
Honestly, while you and Doc can turn pitchers into Lego blocks all you want, (and I'll read every fascinating word), my opinion on Snell is simple.  He DOES have exceptional stuff.  He showed it big time in the minors -- and has had stretches in the majors where it was very much in evidence.  But, "Dominating" Snell vanishes and is replaced by his evil twin, "marshmallow Snell", far too regularly.
In truth, having seen him pitch in the NL back when he was truly on the top of his game, I can say confidently, nobody in Seattle has actually seen what Snell is CAPABLE of ... yet.  At the top of his game?  He had "stuff" not far removed from what Morrow has, (not saying same pitches, but same effectiveness with his best stuff).  At his best, Snell starts his pitches on the edges and they run away -- so when "on", he should run high O-Swing numbers.  When "on", Snell is VERY capable of making hitters look foolish -- DECEPTION is key to his success.
That said, I think Snell's big hurdle isn't physical, but mental.  I think he's a bit of a headcase, but not in the easy-to-spot manner of a Jeff Weaver.  He doesn't melt down when he gives up a hit or an error is made.  He's more like VERY young Smoltz, where he simply gets bored and his mind wanders, and he screws up, and then he's aware that he wasn't paying attention, and tries too hard to focus.  (And I should add that any psychoanalyzing of a guy I've never spoken to is obviously 150% conjecture). But, the point here is that Snell's performance behaves like MOOD SWINGS.   All pitchers have consistency issues.  But when Snell is happy and comfortable, he becomes a BEAST.  Guess what.  He ain't happy or comfortable in Seattle, (yet).  And his downside is that he may never be.
Y'know how Washburn was an utterly different guy on the mound when he no longer had to throw to Johjima?  THAT is the kind of night/day difference Snell is capable of, if he ever gets his head in the right place.  At this point, however, I think some of the underlying problem is he's likely been kibbutzed so much (because his talent IS so high), that he likely feels like he's been nibbled to death by ducks with the advice from all the coaches he's been thru.  I think his absolute dominance in AAA this year, (a period where he stated he was HAPPY), was likely due to the reality that he'd already been thru that ringer so there wasn't much for those guys to do.  They likely mostly left him alone ... and he THRIVED.
There's a point where the only useful advice for a struggling pitcher really is, "Don't think meat, just throw." 

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