what the fuck ryan o'hearn

current skenes status: immediate reaction to the pirates hitting a first inning grand slam is "oh so tonight is *really* gonna suck."

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

world cup VAR is a perfect illustration of why limited challenge based replay is better than All Robots All The Time even though on paper the second system seems like it should be better

i'm sorry if anyone feels like i'm being too glib about people insisting that skenes is fine; i'm legitimately not trying to pick on anyone or start fights. as that article points out, some of his struggles are both bad defense and normal regression from some unsustainable things from last year.

detailed look at skenes' issues; a lot of us have guessed some of these things (velo being down has a big effect, the splitter/splinker/sinker really sucks this year, his changeup is also not very good) but seeing it all in one place is very clarifying, IMO: blogs.fangraphs.com/can-paul-ske...

i forgot to answer this yesterday, the order is: 1. reynolds, .380 2. horwitz, .372 3. cruz, .357 4. o'hearn, .351 5. lowe, .348 6. gonzales, .342 7. griffin, .325 link: www.fangraphs.com/leaders/majo...

related to that skenes thought is that he very obviously is not pitching in the all-star game (the rotation lines up for him to go today and on sunday; if for some reason they skip him on sunday he sure as hell better not be pitching in the ASG on Tuesday).

this is an observation from three days ago that i am just remembering now but i was listening to the radio broadcast on saturday and they described ashcraft giving up five runs in his previous start against the phillies as "pitching well, but pitching to the score" and DUDE HE GAVE THEM A 5-0 LEAD

this TV show is obviously not real and news outlets should stop being so goddamn gullible but until then i will continue shouting DOES NOBODY REMEMBER THE LESSONS OF THE FINAL FANTASY MOVIE??!??

This might be over-stating a bit but the Pirates have to stay around .500 until Cruz and Horwitz get back around the deadline, and Skenes makes two starts before the break in these six games against good teams. If he lays two more turds in the punchbowl, he's putting the whole season at risk.

When you go to the gym you could have a forklift lift weights for you, but what would that accomplish?

"hey man, do you want to go to the game on saturday?" "sure." [looks at the calendar, counts pitchers] lol

In 2019, an MLB exec told Rawlings the league wanted its baseball to perform to what he called a ‘target leaguewide home run rate’ The next year, MLB started making and using two baseballs in at least three consecutive seasons. What could this mean for the 2026 rocket ball? issa new [eyeblack]

if i told you the pirates had seven players with 240+ PAs this year (picked because Konnor Griffin is at 247) where would you guess brandon lowe ranks in wOBA? no cheating.

fascinated that almost everyone listed as a fit for the pirates is an infielder or a left-handed reliever, i think this is more evidence for the "no one in the national media has actually watched one dang pirate game all year" argument www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

root root root for our home team a new pirate generation everybody shout "let's go bucs"

the word belgium is completely banned in all parts of the galaxy except in one part, where they don't know what it means, and in serious screenplays

The hubris tweet only it's Ben Cherington building a rotation entirely out of young pitchers

“The analytics say he’s maybe even BETTER than last year!” I shout as Skenes allows home run after home run.

Keep telling yourself he's OK, you'll be right eventually (in 2028)

Is Skenes' problem pitching out of the stretch?

The Dutch are spending their whole per diem at Dan Flashes

You think to yourself "at some point they should hold a lead accidentally" and you should not think that

lol this bullpen

really appreciate Pierce Johnson talking shit after giving up a one million foot home run

"will" sounds like it's in the future and not the now

Cursed baseball game

it can't be a pirates/reds series without the reds throwing at an important pirate player as justice for a completely imagined past slight that there is only a 40% chance is real

hey, don kelly, how many pitches do you think it's a good idea for paul skenes to throw in one inning

it seems like that was a late challenge ,but i dunno, the dude took his gear off and was halfway to first base, we know he thought the pitch was a ball

was really hoping that skenes would do to the reds what he normally does and everyone would call me and idiot for this thread, alas

Youngest players with a leadoff home run, MLB history: 9/28/58 Lou Klimchock: 18y 348d 5/1/40 Bob Kennedy: 19y 257d 9/13/51 Mickey Mantle: 19y 328d 7/16/40 Sibby Sisti: 19y 356d 6/26/26 Konnor Griffin: 20y 63d 5/26/13 Jurickson Profar: 20y 95d h/t @EliasSports

welp welcome back konnor griffin, an error and a homer in the first inning, the full experience

have they worn the black city connect hats on field before tonight or did they give skenes his own special hat

i still really think that people who are trying to tell you right now that "skenes isn't just fine, he's actually BETTER THAN EVER and it's the TEAM'S FAULT he's struggling" are missing the forest for the red savant bubbles a little bit. (1/like a million, i'm so sorry, maybe i should start a blog)

western pennsylvania highways are slowly being colonized by sheetz billboards with paul skenes making a dumb face wearing a jersey that says "SKENES" on the front and holding a hot dog with a the caption "THE BIG GLIZZY"

the pirates have won three of five bubba chandler starts/outings in june after winning two (of six) in march/april and zero in may

with 19 home runs at the halfway point, brandon lowe could make a legit run at the Pirate Forty Home Run Curse

not sure i've ever seen anyone put out a statement that says, "we as leaders recognize that we are laying people off because they fucked up" jesus christ

pirates using up all their hits and good plays in one game, tough shit for bubba tomorrow (and for me, in the stands)

ooooh it's official the group that owns the red sox operates the pirates TV network without owning the penguins, there's probably a contract there to be honored, but no one at MLB can possibly be OK with that continuing indefinitely, right?

THE PROPHECY

Greg Brown is terrifyingly close to Brennamaning right now

they are the ultimate "built in a spreadsheet" team because you can add all the lines up and make it seem like they should be good, but when you watch them play the unavoidable conclusion is, "they are kind of bad"

watching the face of a fan of a respectable franchise when you explain that literally every tuesday home game is a pup night is pretty funny, tbh

The NHL media apparatus is melting down over players in the hardest capped system using their contractual levers to concentrate talent on a few great teams while MLB tries to sell a cap as…the way to prevent that from happening.

this pirate bullpen defies belief

"i need an easy win, let me just fix this incredibly visible giant monument with a bioloigical component, i can't believe no other idiot has ever thought of this before," is a level of hubris that gets you turned into a spider for eternity