The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the worst teams in baseball, again. This shouldn't come as too big of a surprise because the Pirates' front office refuses to spend the money it would take to put a competitive team on the field. As a result, Pittsburgh opted to fire its sitting manager, Derek Shelton, following a 12-26 start to the season. This was an expected decision, and it shouldn't come as a shock to anybody.
Following this decision, Pirates ace Paul Skenes had a message for the front office, team, and city. In classic Skenes fashion, he kept it short and simple.
"If nothing else, we're going to grow. We better grow. If we don't grow, it's a completely lost season," Skenes said.
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Paul Skenes needs to buckle up for another wasted season
Skenes typically sets his expectations sky high, both for himself and the team. While dealing with himself, these expectations can make perfect sense. I mean, Skenes has done generational stuff with about one year of service time under his belt. He's dominated nearly every time out, started in the All-Star Game, won NL Rookie of the Year, and competed for a Cy Young award. I would set my expectations pretty high if I were him, too.
But it's hard to watch him set the expectations so high for the team when the front office seemingly couldn't care any less about winning baseball games. Skenes is a generational player with the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the league for a long time and he wants to win.
That's not something the Pirates are built to do. Skenes suggests if they don't grow from the firing of Shelton, it's going to be a wasted season in Pittsburgh. If I'm being honest, it's going to be a wasted season for just about everybody in Pittsburgh besides Skenes whether he likes it or not.
This team isn't built to win and that's not Skenes fault. It's not the fault of any of the players and the bulk of the blame shouldn't be put on Shelton, either. It's on the front office and ownership. I think Skenes should buckle up for a wasted season, because I don't foresee anything changing in Pittsburgh in the near future.