Baseball showed refreshing approach to Paul Skenes' All-Star game start

It doesn't have to be this hard, but baseball, uh, finds a way. For a sport that has some of the most passionate fanbases, MLB loves to find new and creative ways to alienate the people who made this sport a multi-billion-dollar industry. Although I had no interest in watching the MLB All-Star Game (not my thing), I was pleasantly surprised to see how Paul Skenes was announced as the NL starting pitcher.

Usually, news of starting pitchers doesn't come out until the Monday before the All-Star game. But in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo announced that Skenes would indeed be the starting pitcher for the National League team on The Dan Patrick Show the Friday prior.

What's the difference in a few days, you may ask? Promoting young stars like Skenes is how you create new fans. You generate excitement around a glorified exhibition where all of baseball comes together days ahead of time. (For what it's worth, admittedly old school Texas Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy waited until Monday to announce that stud pitcher Corbin Burnes would be toeing the rubber first for the American League.)

Skenes' announcement was a big win for baseball. As far as All-Star Game uniforms, MLB Draft locations and picking the right person to sing the national anthem at the Home Run Derby are concerned, there's always next year. But in the future, take a note from Luvollo: Baseball can draw up even more excitement by announcing its starting pitchers on a major sports talk radio show, for instance, days ahead of time.

When the Pirates are doing something cutting edge in baseball, you have my undivided attention.

Paul Skenes' MLB All-Star start announcement was great for baseball

Pittsburgh went along with Luvollo's wishes of breaking Skenes' MLB All-Star game start announcement because the Pirates preferred that he start like he would a normal game, without having to come out of the bullpen. That may seem a little particular, but I get it. He is a rookie pitcher who starred at LSU a little more than a year ago. This is all about routine and keeping things simple.

To be honest with you, the fact that baseball hasn't been using the entire weekend window to promote its All-Star Game's starting pitchers is embarrassing and just par for the course. This is the same league that failed to realize that you want your big money-making series to be played over the weekends for the most part. They used to have the Boston Red Sox play the New York Yankees mid-week.

Again, the All-Star Game is not for me, but it used to be. I kind of grew tired of the National League losing every year, as well as the eye-gougingly painful Home Run Derby broadcast ESPN puts on. My version of hell is Chris Berman screaming "back, back, back!" ad nauseam until I would rather throw myself into the lava than hear him utter another syllable. Who knew Gollum was such a trendsetter?

Next year, let's have Skenes in a Pirates uniform instead of the latest Fanatics god awful monstrosity.