Pirates, Paul Skenes Get Caught in Steelers Drama
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are being tossed into the fire as their in-city team, the Steelers, are facing plenty of backlash for how they handled their former quarterback, Kenny Pickett's career.
Since Pickett's departure, the Steelers have been under fire for not giving their first-round pick enough support to succeed. The team held on to a poor offensive coordinator and didn't add enough to their receiving room, in some analyst's eyes.
One former NFL general manager is comparing the situation to the Pirates and how the team is dealing with the quick success of rookie pitcher Paul Skenes. Skenes started the All-Star game at just 22 years old and is heading into the back half of the season with a 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts.
During an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, former Steelers executive Doug Whaley utilized Skenes to prove his point on why the Steelers didn't do enough for their former starter.
"This is … maybe the one time you might say the Pirates’ front office really got it right and the Steelers’ front office didn’t really have a plan," Whaley said. "Everything that the Pirates did with Skenes led him to what he did last night. Now, Skenes had to actually go out there and perform. But they put the plan in place … not rushing him, making sure he was doing the right thing”. That even includes, he noted, pulling Skenes early out of a potential no-hitter.
"That fit in their plan, and they have a vision for [Skenes], compared to what the Steelers had. ‘Oh, we’ll have a competition at camp.' I don’t think that was a competition. No, ‘We’re gonna wait and throw [Pickett] in the middle of a game.’ … That just didn’t seem like a plan. That was a knee-jerk reaction. That’s what the difference is."
Skenes is helping the Pirates push toward the playoffs as the team sits .500 and 1.5 games back from the final Wild Card spot during the All-Star break. The team has plenty to continue building from, but Whaley sees the building blocks there - unlike those with the Steelers.
"I’m not saying it’s all on the Steelers. Kenny [Pickett] is culpable as well, and if Kenny was Skenes, he probably could have overcome that," Whaley added. "Talent overcomes a lot. But because he didn’t have the talent, and the lack of plan, that’s why he’s in Philly now.'
The Pirates will hope to continue setting the example in Pittsburgh, but they're hoping that leads to playoff runs and more success on the field compared to being the standard for how to treat incoming stars.
NOAH STRACKBEIN