The Pittsburgh Pirates are struggling yet again to kick off this MLB season, going 2-6 through the opening slate of games. As expected, Paul Skenes has been immaculate, allowing only two earned runs through his first two starts of the year. But the rest of the team has struggled to pick up the slack, and the lack of offense that doomed Pittsburgh more often than not in 2024 has reared its ugly head a few times already in 2025.
The Pirates opened this year with a seven-game road trip and dropped five of those contests. It didn't make for a very warm homecoming on Friday for the organization's home opener at PNC Park (which the Pirates also lost) as fans chanted for owner Bob Nutting to "sell the team." Speaking on the situation on Saturday ahead of Pittsburgh's matchup with the New York Yankees, Skenes delivered a strong message to those fans about who's really at fault for the poor start.
"Mr. Nutting and (manager Derek Shelton) aren't the ones playing," Skenes said, per ESPN. "We're the ones playing. If we were 8-0 through however many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We've got to play better."
The Pirates have finished with a record above .500 exactly once since their last playoff season in 2015 and are generally consistent residents of the NL Central basement. The frustration of the fans has been boiling over for quite some time, regardless of the right party to blame. But Skenes wants everyone to remember it's still early days, and there's plenty of time to prove to the fanbase this season can be different.
"It's a long season," the reigning NL Rookie of the Year said. "I want to believe that it all evens out. But we aren't getting these games back. We will go on a stretch where we will go ... 7-2 or wherever we are right now in an opposite way."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Skenes Sent Strong Message to Pirates Fans After 'Sell The Team' Chants.