Virtually everyone on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster has caught flak this season amid the team's brutal 14-29 start to the year — except for Paul Skenes, their best and most popular player. Until Wednesday, that is, when Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh media member whom virtually the entire city cannot stand, somehow found a way to throw Skenes right into the fire.
"Paul Skenes isn’t falling apart. But he’s not a phenom so far this season. He isn’t dominating," Madden wrote in his latest column. "But he’s supposed to be Bob Gibson. This season, he’s more like vintage Steve Blass."
For reference, through his first nine starts, Skenes has a 2.63 ERA over 54.2 innings of work. He has struck out nearly a batter an inning while displaying above-average command and allowing just four home runs thus far (three of which came in one rough inning). This is the guy you're complaining about because he isn't pitching like Bob Gibson? I mean, what are we doing here?
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Somehow, one Pittsburgh media member is turning on Paul Skenes
Has Skenes been as dominant as he was as a rookie? Definitely not. Did anyone seriously expect him to repeat that, though? Skenes put up one of the best rookie years ever. He was an NL Cy Young finalist despite making just 23 starts and not coming close to qualifying for the ERA title. He was on another planet last season; the league was going to adjust. With that being said, while he hasn't been historically great, has he not been outstanding?
I mean, Skenes ranks seventh in the NL in ERA, third in innings pitched and tied for 10th in strikeouts. He might not be the Cy Young frontrunner right now, but it's only mid-May, and he wouldn't be far outside of the conversation if the season ended today. Suddenly, a guy pitching like a star and not a transcendent Hall of Famer as a 22-year-old is a terrible thing?
"The Pirates are 3-6 in games started by Skenes," Madden continued. "That’s mostly due to lack of run support. But the Pirates need to win a lot more than that when Skenes pitches."
If Skenes threw nine no-hit innings and the Pirates lost that game in extra innings, would you put that on Skenes too? He's allowed three runs or fewer in all but one of his starts this season. He's allowed two runs or fewer in all but two of his outings. He's allowed one or no runs in four of his starts — nearly half of the time he's taken the mound. He has gone at least six innings in two-thirds of those outings. Somehow, it's his fault that the Pirates don't score when he pitches? It's his fault that the bullpen lets games get away late? It's not as if Skenes can hit for himself like another historically unlucky ace, Jacob deGrom, could have back in the day. What is he supposed to do differently?
"Look at Monday vs. the New York Mets, Skenes’ most recent start. He allowed six hits and one run in six innings. He walked three and struck out six. He had to pitch his way out of jams in the first, second and sixth innings."
So we're criticizing Skenes for allowing one run in six innings in a game in which he did not have his best stuff on the road against a 28-15 New York Mets team that could easily have three MVP candidates by the end of the season? He's at fault because he had to work his way through trouble a couple of times? By the way, when he exited, the game was knotted at one. It's somehow his fault that the team lost when the bullpen allowed three runs in three innings and the Pirates couldn't do anything offensively?
This Pirates team has tons of problems. Their rotation, outside of Skenes and Andrew Heaney, hasn't been quite as good as expected. Their bullpen is an utter mess. Their lineup hasn't scored more than four runs in their last 19 games, and has done so once in Skenes' nine starts, and somehow, you're going to act as if he is remotely a problem?
Instead of focusing on the superstar pitcher who is pitching like one, why not focus on Bryan Reynolds being a sub-.200 hitter a month and a half into the season? Why not focus on David Bednar's fall from his former glory? I promise you, Skenes pitching like an All-Star and not one of the greatest pitchers ever in the first quarter of this season is not why the Pirates are where they are. Skenes is fine, and will almost certainly be in the Cy Young discussion by season's end. He does not deserve any ridicule when his teammates are playing the way they are.