Having second thoughts on Blake Snell

I was a big fan. Now . . .

As recently as a week ago I was all-in on Blake Snell.

A contract for hundreds of millions of dollars? Fine. Multiple years? Yep, Wait, even though he’ll be 32 at the start of next season? Uh-huh. Still in.

I mean, check out this video of all the outs in this year’s no-hitter. It reminds you of what it means to say a pitcher is dominating hitters.

But I’ve changed my mind.

Unless it is for a bargain of a deal, I’m ready to let him swim off in the free agent pool.

All it took was one game.

Or the lack of one game.

It wasn’t a huge deal but you probably heard Snell “declined” to pitch the last game of the season. There wasn’t even a story about fatigue from a long season or a little shoulder soreness.

He just didn’t see the point.

“We’re not playing a playoff team,” Snell told The Athletic. “This game has no meaning. I think it was just probably the best case.”

Huh. Of course, Snell’s teammates didn’t have the option of taking the day off. They were expected to get out there, for a pointless, end-of-the-year exhibition. And — by the way — to do so with a lot more professional hustle and pep than I’ll bet they felt.

Meanwhile, Snell is like, “Go get ‘em boys. I’ll be rootin’ for you.”

In short, he made a business decision.

I’m not a fan.

It certainly doesn’t sound like the Giants liked it much either.

“Sure, we would have liked him to (start on Saturday),” Giants manager Bob Melvin told The Athletic. “But he came to the decision that was best for him.”

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And I’m not the first — or the most authoritative — voice to call out Snell.

“I had a problem with him on Saturday not taking the ball,” former Giant first baseman J.T. Snow said on KNBR. “And I get it, he doesn’t want to get injured. You’re not going to get injured. Go throw. Go show the fans and appreciate the fans and throw three or four innings, and then get out of the game.”

Since he was on a roll, Snow came right out and said it . . .

“I wouldn’t sign him,” Snow told Tom Tolbert and Adam Copeland. “I would spend that money and go get a couple other pitchers that maybe could take me [into] the sixth and seventh inning.”

And there it is.

Let us step back for a moment and look at the larger picture. Call it a tale of two prospects.

When the Giants signed Snell and Matt Chapman this year, true believers insisted that it proved that, despite San Francisco’s gritty reputation, the Giants could still attract quality free agents.

It actually showed nothing like that. Snell and Chapman, represented by mega-agent Scott Boras, spent the off-season looking for a contract that would reset the baseball market. Chapman, it was reported, had already turned down a $120 million offer, so he was thinking something really huge.

No offer came.

Instead the two made the decision to sign a one-year deal with the Giants — a big market team perfect for a showcase year.

A business decision.

For Chapman, it was to prove that he could hit and make a difference with a team. He’s had some injuries and wasn’t a sure thing.

As the Giants see it, Chapman has clearly done that. He’s played jaw-dropping third base, hit for (some) power and has been the stellar clubhouse presence he’s always been. That he was voted the Willie Mac Award in his first year with the team, says something.

New President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey all but called Chapman the “face of the franchise” in a conversation with former pitcher George Kontos on MSNBC Bay Area Sports.

“I was such a huge fan of his when I played against him. Getting to watch him this whole season, [I’m] even more of a fan. He’s the type of guy you want on the field because you know he is going to bust his tail every single day. He’s going to do everything he can do to be on the field.”

And you’ll notice that they locked up Chappy before the season even ended. They made it clear he was their guy.

Snell? So far not so much

Snow’s comment about getting to the “sixth and seventh” inning speaks to the knock on Snell. He’s famous for not making it deep into games.

Weird stat. When Snell threw this year’s no-hitter, it was the first time in his career he’d pitched in the ninth inning in a game he started.

Snell was clearly aware of the sniping.

“They can’t say it anymore.” he said after his no-hitter. “You know? Complete game, shutout, no-hitter. Leave me alone. ‘He doesn’t go into the ninth. He doesn’t go into the eighth…’ Just did it. Leave me alone.”

OK fine. You did it.

But, unlike other critics, not getting to the seventh isn’t my gripe with him.

It’s quitting.

The same Athletic story that said Snell had “declined” the final start, reminded us that Snell took himself out of games when he wasn’t feeling it.

Famously, he removed himself after a 42-pitch first inning against Arizona in September.

“Forty-two pitches is too much,” Snell told reporters afterwards. “It’s a lot of risk and not a lot of reward.”

OK, and granted, nobody likes a 42-pitch first inning.

But again, the rest of the team — and particularly the pitchers — didn’t get to take the rest of the day off. Somebody has to fill those innings.

And sure, I get it. Snell has a gift. He wants to protect it. You don’t break out the Stradivarius out to play Happy Birthday.

But it is pretty clear. If you want a bulldog Logan Webb or a Mad Dog Madison Bumgarner, who will by-God take the ball and give it the extra effort for the team, Snell has an answer.

Nah.

So there’s your conundrum. You have a guy with an electric arm, a proven track record and a me-first attitude. Do you take him? Maybe it just comes with the package. Wasn’t Mozart a bit of a diva?

The answer is no. You don’t. This is where you could easily make a case for analytics over inspiration. Is it the numbers or the vibe?

I go with the second. My experience is that troubled geniuses always let you down eventually.

Let Snell go.

It’s a business decision.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Twitter and Threads: @cwnevius