I’m not exactly sure who Paul Skenes was talking about.
Maybe Skenes doesn’t even know.
But while the young Pittsburgh Pirates ace was speaking with Alex Stumpf for a recent feature on MLB.com in advance of Thursday’s 2025 season opener in Miami, Skenes made some noteworthy comments about the state of the franchise.
“It’s our job to go out and win for the city, because this is bigger than all of us,” Skenes said. “There’s a reason why (Andrew McCutchen) keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh. There’s something about this city. We saw it last summer. We’ve seen it in the videos of the (2013) Wild Card Game. I’m tired of watching them because it was a Wild Card (game). The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys, the fact that that’s a golden era of recent Pirates baseball, that needs to change. We owe it to the city.”
It’s not clear who the “we” is in that sentence. Is he talking strictly about himself and the other players on the roster, the manager and the coaches? Or is he talking about the front office, and, most specifically, the owner?
In one sense, it doesn’t matter. Either way, Skenes is right.
Ownership does owe the city more. Given that PNC Park was built with more than $220 million in taxpayer funds — to say nothing of the inherent trust that is supposed to be bonded between any pro sports team and its home municipality — indeed, the Pirates do owe the entire region more.
If not in terms of results, it’s owed more in terms of effort and competency. It’s owed more than the club’s never-ending series of comically low payrolls every year, and the equally horrific drafting, development and mismanagement of them.
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The players owe more too. They can’t help the level of their own talent compared to other Major League rosters. But they owe more than a mid-play sunflower seed snack, a mid-slide cellphone mishap, rundowns between home plate and first base, and an “Operation Shutdown” in a pear tree.
So Skenes’ criticism is accurate whether he is talking about the players, coaches, management, or owner Bob Nutting himself.
Skenes was particularly on point regarding what he said about that Wild Card game win over the Cincinnati Reds 12 years ago. He also made similar comments to TribLive’s Kevin Gorman over the weekend.
First of all, yes, it was 12 years ago. Squeezing out one Wild Card-round victory every dozen years shouldn’t be that big of an ask. Unfortunately, this franchise hasn’t won a full playoff series since 1979, so maybe I am being a bit greedy with that statement.
That’s Skenes’ point, though, isn’t it? Begging for an occasional modicum of franchise success every decade or so shouldn’t be accepted. The bar should be higher.
Then again, since none of the teams in this town have advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2018, we might just be accustomed to how far that bar has sunk.
In any case, Skenes is right. The Pirates do owe more to the city.
Feel free to settle up any time, fellas. And try to do so before Skenes leaves town in a few years.
LISTEN: Tim Benz and Pirates beat writer Kevin Gorman talk about Paul Skenes
Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
