Something has to change with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs were a sleeper NL Wild Card pick by some pundits prior to the start of the regular season, but through 35 games, the Pirates sit at 12-23, good for last place in the NL Central. There is plenty of blame to go around for Pittsburgh's failings, and it all starts with owner Bob Nutting and the front office, presided over by Ben Cherington. Derek Shelton has also been lacking in some departments. One player who should not have the finger pointed at them, however, is starting pitcher Paul Skenes.
Skenes has a 2.74 ERA through seven starts. The Pirates haven't used Skenes starts wisely, as their top-heavy lineup has struggled mightily. Shelton's team fails in the field, and can't make routine plays a winning franchise would have no problem with. Yet, when asked about the biggest reason for the Pirates brutal start to the season, Shelton didn't reference any of those things.
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Pirates need to fire Derek Shelton. Enough is enough
Uh, what? Yes, the Pirates pitching has lacked depth behind Skenes, but they are not the biggest issue with the team. This hasn't stopped Skenes, the leader he is at just 23 years old, from standing up for his manager and the front office. Following Pittsburgh's 2-7 start in April, Skenes blamed himself and the players, rather than those in charge.
"Mr. Nutting and Shelty aren't the ones playing," Skenes said at the time. "We're the ones playing. If we were 8-0 through however many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We've got to play better."
You see, when Shelton's job status is in question, Skenes is the first player to fall on the sword. Yet, when Shelton is facing a reasonable ask from the media as to why this team has made little progress more than a half-decade into their rebuild, the adult in the room instead pointed the finger at Skenes and the pitching staff.
Again, don't get me wrong – the Pirates bullpen in particular has been atrocious, but Shelton isn't good at his job. Neither is Cherington, for that matter, who put together a flawed roster with the little resources he was provided from Nutting.
The Pirates are a mess, but they risk alienating one of the only bright spots in Pittsburgh.