FOX Sports’ John Smoltz: Paul Skenes & Pirates Can Be MLB Playoff Disrupters | The Rich Eisen Show

[@contactrfp]

Thank you Smoltz for advocating for Pirates fans!

[@rizzomatt]

He caused us enough heartache. 🙂

[@emilgilels]

Amen!

[@waracle4175]

Thank smoltz for calling out pirates front office and ownership. We need to keep our talent and build on it.

[@zurlac9548]

Mark Cuban needs to buy that team

[@MichaelBrown-z1j]

Please tell this to Bob Nutting !

[@magicizaproblem]

Man im glad he said this!

[@TO13]

Preach Smoltz! Born and raised in Pittsburgh. Dying for a winner. This is our chance to capitalize, but I can’t help but be cynical with our owner…

[@truckdriver402]

Amen.

[@JudoChamp]

Worst owner in sports now that Daniel Snyder is gone....

[@perryickes8991]

I agree with Smoltz about the Pirates. They can win it All, they have a dominant pitching staff they need now to trade for some hitters make a another relief pitcher 😅

[@Neckrollios18]

Personally, I'm not a Pirates fan but I so appreciate the work that Skenes is putting in and the fact that his UCL hasn't given out yet. Very exciting player to watch!

[@stevej.1428]

Why would his UCL give out already? He's 22 and has been pitching for about a month for the Pirates. FYI: He's got 5 pitches and changes speeds all game long. What, you think he only throws 100+mph all night? In the last outing he hit 100mph with his 4-seamer only once. He's got a curve that he been going to a lot more recently that sits in the low 80's, a changeup that sits in the mid to upper 80's, and his splitter and splinker sits in the mid 90's. He's a pitcher with a big arsenal, not a 1-trick pony thrower like a lot of fans wrongly think or have been told.

[@Jwan_solo]

Y’all fans always talking about tommy john injuries etc. is the most annoying thing ever it’s worse than seeing 100 Caitlyn clark post every time im on social media.

[@Dommy_B]

you also have to actually watch him. Unlike other flamethrowers, 1. Hes UNBELIEVABLY accurate and 2. It looks like hes throwing BP its kind of disgusting that he can throw that hard with what looks like zero effort.

[@skyy256]

@@Dommy_Btotally agree !!…your spot on 👍

[@Huntrace87]

THANK YOU SMOLTZ! So nice to hear someone advocating for Pittsburgh Pirates for once! How many times have we seen this before in the past.. They draft and develop these players, than once their rookie contract is up and they refuse to accept league minimum contracts they outta there! So essentially they run as a farm system... They need to pick up a couple bats that Rooker would fit in good in the outfield! The guy from the Oakland A's would do great at 1st base and DH.

[@sikwilly45]

Paul Skenes and Jared Jones would be legitimate Cy Young candidates if they were on another team.

[@stevej.1428]

Batters have caught up with Jones recently. He's still very good, and hopefully he'll learn how to keep batters guessing going forward, but I like Keller better at this point in the season if having to choose right now which of the two I'd take to win 1 game...if Skenes wasn't available.

[@thebourg]

Skenes will be a CY finalist mark my words

[@sikwilly45]

@@thebourg He needs the bullpen to quit failing him first.

[@Bobaman5400]

Highly unlikely. Hows being on the Pirates causing them to be restrained successfully? Theyre still putting up the numbers. Other players inability to make plays doesnt effect their stats at all.

[@sikwilly45]

W's.

[@brucehamilton7702]

Could Smoltz buy the Pirates please and get rid of the deadweight in that front office that refuses to try and make the team better!!!

[@emilgilels]

Or come on board as a pitching consultant! Probably a more realistic scenario than him suddenly pooling the several billion dollars he'd need to make a 'Godfather'-like offer to get Nutting to sell. ;-)

[@christinagarner8178]

The front office has built this pitching staff,I thing you are talking nutting

[@sonsofliberty3081]

Pit needs to add bullpen, C, and another starter. 1b would be nice as well.

[@GorbombZombay]

Weird to say Rowdy’s comin along…not the king term answer but if Henry could just hit like he was drafted to do good depth at C (Grandal/Delay/Bart) I’d try and get Luis Robert or Jazz Chisholm maybe a Ryan McMahon but Rockies typically don’t sell for some odd reason but they gotta go get someone 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

[@Dommy_B]

@@GorbombZombay Luis is the absolute dream for us. Sadly Termarr would have to be the center piece to get traded for it but Man, we're missing a BIG bat in a bad way. put Lu Bob in between Reynolds and Cruz just to protect OC that trio would cause damage.

[@BigUzi46]

@@Dommy_Bhopefully Nick Gonzales continues to hit which would allow them to move Termarr for something big

[@JudoChamp]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

[@stevej.1428]

"Can" is the key word here. This team "can" win a wildcard of playoff series or two against most teams with this starting rotation of Skenes, Keller and Jones. But you "can" also be assured this ownership and front office will not add enough to the team in anything approaching a must win attitude that will help get them anywhere near the playoffs even with this mostly weak NL and Central Division. Cherington is still in - and maybe always will be - waiver wire scrap heap mode, and refuses to commit to signing a real live player or two who some other team hasn't given up on already for good reason.

[@davidjones5547]

Seeing that the Pirates are NEVER going to win with Skenes and there is no way they will be able to keep him for more than a couple of seasons thanks to their incompetent GM, a manager who has no right managing in the majors and a cheapskate for an owner Then why not make the bold move and trade Skenes in the off season. Clearly some team would be willing to offer a nice haul for Skenes. A move like this couple possibly help the franchise over the long term. Plus, it would make Nutting a very happy man.

[@locustjohn3865]

And one "can" count on the Pirate fans not buying tickets even when the team wins.

[@davidjones5547]

@@locustjohn3865 This is so true. Pittsburgh without a doubt is a football city.

[@michaelkakaley5558]

He’s right, Bobby and Cherry need to do the opposite of what they usually do!!!

[@chuckyjamesamartin1968]

A little over a month since this interview and the Pirates just walked off the Phillies a.k.a. the best team in baseball to get over .500 for the first time since April 24

[@baxatakbaxatak2014]

Pirates aren’t any sort of threat for the playoffs until Derek Shelton, Andy Haines, and Ben Cherington are all fired.

[@sikwilly45]

Exactly! Cheapskate Bob is finally spending a little bit of money. But this GM and coaching staff have been absolutely horrible.

[@Bobaman5400]

Thats what everyone said about Hurdle. Hows it working out so far?

[@baxatakbaxatak2014]

@@Bobaman5400 Hurdle would be an improvement over Shelton.

[@sikwilly45]

Huntington and Hurdle would at least call a pitcher up from Indy for a spot start if needed. They wouldn't use up all the arms in a "bullpen" game and leave no option other than Ben Heller to come in the last game of a series. Also, Huntington and Hurdle had to do more with less. They didn't have 4 major pieces signed to long-term deals. Nutting is giving Cherrington a longer leash.

[@JudoChamp]

@@Bobaman5400 that's not what everyone was saying. Just the fair weather Pirate fans...Now Hurdle is " special assistant to the general manager" so he's hasn't been managing, is how it has worked out...

[@918guy]

Skenes should be alright he added velo by simply growing up essentially🤷‍♂️ No radical velo program or concerning mechanics. The consistency of his velo even after 100+ pitches is a very strong indicator that this is just a guy that throws hard ... Blue collar arm LoL

[@rizzomatt]

Bob Nutting sucks. BIG TIME.

[@mkwilson1394]

They could disrupt another team with playoff hopes, I suppose. But this team won't be competitive come September.

[@davidjones5547]

Jones has recently come back down to earth. As for Skenes, the Pirates are simply going to waste his talent by nor surrounding him with major league caliber players until they will be forced to trade him by the time he reaches his arbitration years.

[@thebourg]

Someone tell John to not wear a striped shirt on camera

[@VasilKronstein]

Doesnt matter if we can't hit well enough to make the playoffs 🙄

[@locustjohn3865]

Small steps. Maybe get to .500 first. And those whining about the owner? Maybe buy some tickets and they'll spend money on the team. Last time the Pirates made the playoffs, for the third straight season, they still ended only 15th in MLB in attendance. If the fans don't come out and support a team when it's winning, maybe it's time to find a city where they will.

[@blutomindpretzel1735]

not gonna happen. The bullpen ruins the team. Skenes is definitely something else but pisspoor cheap management holds the team back. And it won't change Skenes' baddie girlfriend could run the team better

[@GorbombZombay]

Holderman/Bednar even wild thing Chapman are fine it’s the piss poor offense bud

[@harryiglesias]

​@@GorbombZombayCarmen is a stud and Nicolas will soon become one...Bullpen has sucked at times but they aren't as bad as some people say...bats will get hot although some (you, Michael A) just suck

[@blutomindpretzel1735]

@@GorbombZombay yeah the hitting is lousy

[@JudoChamp]

Yes! Someone who is finally realistic!!

[@JudoChamp]

@@GorbombZombay at the beginning, yes, over the last 20 games, not so much, it has been solid, look at the splits.

[@JudoChamp]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@watching_nyc]

Nutting is an embarrassment to Pittsburgh.