MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly pushed Paul Skenes’ next start, which was to have been Sunday, to this afternoon when the Bucs close their three-game series with the Detroit Tigers.
“Ultimately, it was Donny’s decision, but we had talked about it,” Skenes said. “And like I said after the last start, I’ll have his back on whatever that is. I don’t necessarily disagree with the decision either.”
The move was made, according to Kelly, to give Skenes, and the rest of the rotation, some extra rest – nothing more, nothing less, other than extra rest, which isn’t uncommon at this stage of a Major League season.
However, this has been anything but a common season for Skenes, based on the very high bar he set in his first two MLB seasons.
The season hasn’t been a straight line for the Pirates either, as in late July they found themselves squarely in the postseason race, holding the final National League wild-card spot.
Today, they find themselves 6.5 games back with a 62-66 record, and, barring a miraculous turnaround, pretty much out of the race with three teams between them and the final wild-card.
As for Skenes, the 24-year-old ace out of LSU, after taking baseball by storm by pitching to ERAs of 1.96 and 1.97 his first two years, and winning Rookie of the Year and the NL Cy Young, he has pitched to a career-high 3.88 ERA this season
Despite a disastrous Opening Day, Skenes pitched to a 1.98 ERA through his first nine starts. In his last 16 starts that ERA has been at 5.00, with the Bucs going 3-13, at one point losing nine Skenes starts in a row.
If this were anyone but Paul Skenes, the numbers would still look pretty solid at this stage of the season, but based on the Paul Skenes we marveled over the previous two seasons, the numbers are troubling, as his walks and home runs are up, and his innings and fastball velocity are down.
Skenes said the dip in velocity has been intentional in an effort to pace himself over the grind of the long MLB season, which is smart, particularly in this day and age of “when, not if” a pitcher is going to have Tommy John surgery.
Still, his command hasn’t been good and he’s allowing more base runners and hard-hit balls than he ever has before.
Kelly has been doing his best to downplay it all, saying there are no injury concerns, but, naturally, concerns and theories abound in Pittsburgh, as they should with such a generational talent.
The first theory is the World Baseball Classic messed up Skenes’ offseason preparation for the season, as it can do to players who take part in the WBC, pitchers and position players alike. The current seasons of Cal Raleigh and Gunnar Henderson, just to name two, could certainly fall under this category.
Skenes, Raleigh and Henderson were ready to pitch and play full-tilt for the March event, and did, while taking part in only a portion of their teams’ spring trainings. Of course, the same can be said for the many players who took part in the WBC, yet are still having outstanding seasons.
You also hear some baseball people saying Skenes’ mechanics are out of sync, and that he has gained weight, which has changed his delivery.
Then there are those who believe, despite what Kelly says, that Skenes has an injury the team isn’t aware of. As they have been in Baltimore, injuries have been a hot-button topic in Pittsburgh, as rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin has had two long-term injury absences, starter Mitch Keller, who never found his form this year, has been shut down for the season and outfielder Oneill Cruz, who homered in his return last night, missed over two months with a fractured hand.
Of course, just as the Orioles do in Baltimore, the Pirates play some of the worst team defense you’ll never want to see. Then again, that seems to be the case all across MLB, as the game has trended into an analytics board game rather than defense and fundamentals.
Sad, really.
What was beginning to blossom into a season of such hope in Pittsburgh has taken the familiar detour toward just another frustrating summer under the ownership of Bob Nutting and his general manager Ben Cherington.
Most importantly, it is teetering into another lost season in the Paul Skenes window of opportunity, which is something they’re familiar with in Baltimore, as well. Where have you gone, Adley Rutschman? Oh, that’s right, to Boston for more prospects.
The biggest thing Pirates fans can hope for is that Skenes doesn’t have an injury that no one is aware of, particularly to his pitching arm, because time is running short.
There is not likely to be a full season of baseball next year, if at all, with the lockout being pretty much a sure thing. Not only that, Paul Skenes becomes a free agent in 2030.
All eyes will be on PNC Park this afternoon.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began. covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at mikeburke934@gmail.com. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT