5-17-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter
I was going to sit here and write about how spectacular Paul Skenes was today but you don’t need me to do that.
I mean, you watched right? And so did baseball.
Thing is, you and baseball watched yesterday too when Jared Jones shoved and fought his way through 6 strong innings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a legitimate pitching rotation, anchored by Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller and we’ve only seen them go through this rotation once, so has the league.
This didn’t happen by accident, even if it did happen a bit earlier than the team imagined it could.
This team can’t afford to squander this opportunity.
Let’s backtrack just a bit, because one thing many never come to grips with when it comes to rebuilding a franchise is the single biggest reason to do it, aside of course the organization not spending money is to somehow create a situation where you have a whole bunch of your top end pitching cheap, young and under control. It’s honestly a really stupid bet most of the time, rarely do these players take off from the word go, and it’s even more rare if more than one of them is truly special.
I say that to really hammer home, the Pirates deserve their flowers for making this happened, and I mean this even if it was nothing more than dumb luck or sucking at the right time, the point is they accomplished a virtual miracle assembling this kind of arm talent and by extending and developing Mitch Keller, they’ve ensured it won’t just be entirely on the shoulders of these two.
In fact, by having even more coming, they’ve potentially insulated themselves against the inevitable event one of them goes down for a spell.
The team is hitting better, most people who weren’t wallowing knew that would be the case at some point, despite the hitting coach. Players at some point figure things out. They’ll cool off again I’m sure, and when they do, Andy Haines will at the very least prove he doesn’t help them fast enough.
Every day these pitchers are together, this team owes it to themselves and the fan base supporting them. This year, that might simply mean trying to add a significant bat or two at the deadline. Maybe it’ll mean they need a big bullpen arm. Whatever, they can’t just sit here with this rotation and do nothing.
And fans, you owe it to yourselves to stop and smell the roses a bit. I’m sorry, I know very well how MLB contracts work, I constantly tell you about team control and when extensions need put together and how long they have team control, but I’m not interested in whining about extensions or predicting the year they’ll be traded, or how expensive they’ll be in arbitration. That stuff is all in play, it’s all real, but there’s a time and place for it, and in their rookie years while they’re actively winning and setting records for your team that has just about the thinnest pitching heritage of any of the charter teams in this league, tighten your belt, put your hands up in the air, scream in joy the whole ride.
Those realities are always going to be there unless 2027 changes things drastically with this game and it’s financial system. Until then, focus on watching history, on your team. Criticize this team for not surrounding them. This offseason be even louder that first base can’t be left up to chance.
Scream from the mountaintops that it’s not enough to have a couple maybes for corner outfield.
You paid a heavy price to get here, and you don’t have to love this GM or Manager, or Owner. You don’t even have to like them. You can flat out think they need fired, but in doing so, come up for air every once in a while and at least realize they “bumbled” their way into giving you a rotation that can compete with any team in the league.
Open your eyes and realize if they do somehow squeeze their way into a wild card series and need to win 2 of 3, there’s a very good chance these are the 3 they’d throw, and honestly the other team can match up against them, but like Paul Skenes said today, “Go Ahead and Adjust, Good Luck.”
Also realize, that doesn’t just apply to this year. That’s every year they’re together and next year we could very well add in more, hell Quinn Priester could wind up cementing his spot as the season plays out.
Luck is a funny thing, and it’s usually assigned to those we don’t think can achieve without it, so I expect just about everyone to accept that as the main driver as to how this team managed to make this happen.
Cool. I’ll just be here enjoying it like a 14 year old seeing Barry Bonds swat homeruns.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a responsibility, and how it came to be doesn’t mean they can afford to let it go to waste. In fact, it’s afforded them the chance to do so immediately. They can afford to pay bats because they don’t have to pay most of their pitching.
Exactly the plan all along, just like when I took a wrong turn on a drive to the Outer Banks and missed a two hour delay in traffic, my wife didn’t even think to complain that I didn’t do it on purpose.
Some of you will probably claim Mitch Keller doesn’t belong in this talk, and you’d be wrong. You’ll read me his career stats and hang up your virtual phone thinking you totally got me, and I’ll chuckle and reply DERP. They didn’t sign Mitch to lead this staff, they didn’t sign Mitch for his career numbers, they signed Mitch for the pitcher he had become. A healthy pitcher with top end stuff and an ability to manage 200 innings a season. A steadying force that anchors the younger, sexier arms as they come up and contribute. A guy with experiences he can pass on, and here, not some free agent who’s been around.
Mitch will benefit from this too. He won’t wear the pressure of being THE guy. A poor Mitch Keller outing won’t mean it’s likely they’re going on an extended losing streak. Some weeks, Mitch will pick up the slack the kids leave on the field. It’s more about these three than most of you will admit until you’ve seen it play out for a couple seasons.
This isn’t a perfect team, it won’t be a perfect team when the season ends. But it is an improving team and it sure as hell has the foundation to be an exciting team.
They’re 21-25, 4 games under .500, 6.5 games out of first place behind the Brewers and it’s May 17 a week after Paul Skenes was added to the team. About a week since they climbed out of a historically bad month of hitting. And they’re still here. One more win in Chicago and they end this 10 game swing against the Cubs and Crew at 5-5, I’d say that’s hanging with them.
This season is going to be fun.
I understand the frustration and anger out there, and I also realize there are people that just got here to see Skenes, maybe some were here for Jones before, all I can say is it’s better than you think and one day soon you’ll look back on players who are no longer here and wonder why you spent the first 40 days of this season pretending that one stain was the one that ruined the shirt.
Don’t miss this. For your own baseball soul.
You may never see anything like it again, and I don’t just mean here.
Steel City Pirates 