URL: http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/pbc/archive/2009/06/25/… " The Pirates today optioned starter Ian Snell to Class AAA Indianapolis. A corresponding move will be announced before the game tomorrow. Snell is 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA, each figure the worst on the staff. UPDATE: Snell just said that the decision to go to Indianapolis was his, that he approached management late last night with the idea. (Which explains why he was waiting outside John Russell's office after the game, as documented in this morning's Notebook.) His explanation basically came down to this: He sought a more positive environment: "Too much negativity. I want to be a positive person if I'm going to be here. I felt like I was going to be negative if I was going to be here, and I didn't want to ruin this team." He was asked to explain who actually made the call that he would go down: "I wasn't going to allow them to say what they want. I told them I wanted to go down. It's best for the team." I asked why he would do this, when three of his past four starts were quality starts. "There's a lot. I don't want to point fingers and make excuses. I just made a better decision for myself, my career and my life." I asked what he needs to do: "Nothing. You guys don't understand it unless you played baseball. You don't understand it, and the people at home don't understand it. I'm just going down there, get my thoughts together and do well.""

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