Pirates pitching coach’s defense of Paul Skenes sends the wrong message to frustrated fans

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy isn't wrong that Paul Skenes set an almost impossibly high standard for himself during his first two major league seasons. But his latest comments about the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner's disappointing 2026 campaign seem to miss the point entirely.

In a recent interview with Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com, Murphy suggested that Skenes' early dominance has distorted the perception of his third season.

"Paul spoiled people a little bit for the first two seasons," Murphy said, describing his 2026 campaign as "really, really good."

There's certainly some truth to the first part of that assessment. Skenes posted a combined 1.96 ERA across his first two seasons, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and the Cy Young Award in 2025. Sustaining that level of dominance indefinitely would be an extraordinary accomplishment.

But there's a significant difference between acknowledging that Skenes was still an effective pitcher in 2026 and implying that fans were somehow spoiled for expecting more from him. And frankly, the latter sends the wrong message.

Pirates fans aren't "spoiled" for recognizing Paul Skenes' regression

Skenes finished 2026 with a 10-11 record, a 3.82 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP across 174 1/3 innings. Those numbers would constitute a successful season for plenty of major league starters, and recording 200 strikeouts for the second consecutive year is no small accomplishment.

But Skenes isn't just another major league starter. He's the centerpiece of Pittsburgh's rotation and arguably the most important player in the organization's pursuit of sustained contention. More importantly, his regression wasn't simply a matter of falling short of historically dominant numbers.

Skenes' ERA nearly doubled from 1.97 in 2025 to 3.82 in 2026. His average four-seam fastball velocity dropped from 98.1 mph to 96.8 mph, while his walk rate climbed to a career-high 2.53 per nine innings.

Those aren't imaginary problems manufactured by an entitled fan base. They're measurable changes in his effectiveness, and they deserve to be taken seriously.

Even Skenes himself has been willing to acknowledge that something wasn't right. In September, he discussed how participating in the World Baseball Classic may have disrupted his usual spring preparation and contributed to the mechanical inconsistencies and declining velocity that plagued him throughout the season.

In other words, Skenes has already identified legitimate concerns about his performance and expressed a determination to correct them. Why, then, should fans be made to feel unreasonable for recognizing those same concerns?

To Murphy's credit, his comments weren't entirely dismissive. He expressed confidence in Skenes' ability to rebound and acknowledged elsewhere in the interview that he needed to help pitchers make adjustments more quickly. He also took personal responsibility for some of the pitching staff's shortcomings.

But his characterization of Skenes' season still feels unnecessarily defensive, particularly considering the larger context.

The Pirates finished 82-80 in 2026, securing their first winning season since 2018 but falling short of the postseason. Their starting rotation, once considered the foundation of a potential contender, saw its collective ERA increase from 3.71 in 2025 to 4.23.

Skenes wasn't solely responsible for that decline, of course. But his struggles were a significant part of a disappointing year for a group expected to be Pittsburgh's greatest competitive advantage.

The Pirates should be embracing higher expectations, not questioning them

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Murphy's comments is the implication that expecting excellence from Skenes is somehow unfair.

Nobody should reasonably demand that Skenes maintain a sub-2.00 ERA throughout his career, and one disappointing season doesn't erase the extraordinary talent that made him one of baseball's brightest young stars.

But the Pirates have spent years asking their fans to believe in the organization's long-term vision. Now that Pittsburgh finally has a generational talent capable of anchoring a contender, those fans have every right to expect the organization to maximize his potential. That means recognizing setbacks rather than minimizing them.

Murphy is absolutely right to defend his ace. His confidence in Skenes' ability to return to form is encouraging, and there's little reason to believe that one difficult season has fundamentally changed the right-hander's long-term outlook. But defending a player shouldn't require downplaying legitimate concerns about his performance.

The Pirates don't necessarily need Skenes to be historically dominant every time he takes the mound. They do, however, need him to be considerably better than he was in 2026 if the club hopes to take another meaningful step forward.

After years of losing baseball, Pirates fans shouldn't have to apologize for holding their franchise cornerstone — or the organization responsible for his development — to a higher standard.

That's not being "spoiled." It's expecting accountability from a team that finally has something worth expecting more from.

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