00:00In the first inning, it seemed like it was a runaway.
00:02But, Craig, I was driving in my car when this first game opened.
00:05Two to nothing Pirates off the bat.
00:07I'm going, oh, Skeeds is going to roll today.
00:09He's not even going to give up two runs if he goes seven or eight innings.
00:12Not the case.
00:13Two-thirds of an inning is pitched, five earned runs, one K-4 hits,
00:16two walks, and 37 pitches.
00:18But, Craig, that doesn't tell the underlying story here, does it?
00:22No, and I'm glad you brought that up because, you know, it's funny,
00:26you know, me just getting around and doing what I do in baseball.
00:28I usually talk a lot of baseball over the course of the day, Donnie,
00:31even not on the air.
00:32And, you know, people text, hey, did you see Skeeds?
00:34He got killed.
00:35Did you see Skeeds?
00:35I'm like, yes, he did not pitch well, okay?
00:38Listen, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the guy pitched well,
00:42giving up four hits, walking two, and five earned runs.
00:46But as you mentioned, Donnie, if you don't have a guy to be able to catch the ball
00:50in the outfield, then you're talking about Little League baseball once again.
00:54And when you see, you know, your kid give up ten runs, you have to say to yourself,
00:58hey, what was the reason why here?
01:01Now, I would be very bullish on Paul Skeeds moving forward here.
01:05I would.
01:06I think that he just threw so many pitches in that first inning.
01:10The Pirates were like, let's be careful here.
01:11Let's get him out of the game.
01:13I understand that there's going to be this narrative with the WBC once again
01:16going into the regular season.
01:18I don't know if this is real, fake, reality, fantasy.
01:22No clue here as to whether or not this is actually going to translate to anything.
01:26But I can tell you that for every negative, there is a positive.
01:29For every positive, there is a negative.
01:31For every player who's healthy, there is a player hurt.
01:33It is what it is with the World Baseball Classic, Donnie.
01:36It has become one of the premier events in Major League Baseball, ratings-wise,
01:41above the National Basketball Association.
01:43So what am I saying here?
01:45There's a reason why the NFL is trying to play 25 games in a season.
01:48You know why?
01:49Because they're making money and everybody's watching.
01:51Get used to it.
01:52You can cry.
01:53You can yell.
01:54You can scream.
01:54But this is the deal.
01:56The WBC is here to stay.
01:57The best players are going to play in it.
01:59And sometimes you're going to get these results.
02:02And also, it's gaining steam as well, Craig.
02:04And the thing that we always point up is like, ah, it's a chore to go to this.
02:07And maybe in the early 2000s, we didn't understand what was going to take place.
02:10Shoei Otani comes in at that iconic moment striking out Mike Trout.
02:13And then you have this WBC.
02:14And you're right, Craig.
02:15When the players want to buy in the best players, it's going to be a great event.
02:19And we'll certainly all watch that here.
02:20Let me ask you a question, though.
02:21When you saw Skiing's opening day, is there ever a thought, Craig, around Major League Baseball?
02:25And I know the pitchers get so upset.
02:27Like, this is a routine fly ball.
02:29Or this guy should have caught this.
02:30They didn't.
02:30It didn't touch a club.
02:31It's a base hit.
02:31It goes against the pitcher.
02:33Are there ever any thoughts where it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
02:35Charge that guy with an error.
02:36So I don't have a 67 ERA to start this Major League Baseball season with.
02:41Yeah, the rules are the rules, Donnie.
02:43But I think you're right, man.
02:44I do.
02:45I think you're right.
02:46It's like if you don't touch the ball, you don't get an error.
02:49But yeah, I mean, for all intents and purposes.
02:53And look, it's funny that you mentioned this, Donnie, because last opening day, the Pirates,
02:59I don't know if you remember.
02:59You probably don't remember.
03:00I remember, but the Pirates played, Donnie, in Miami.
03:03And O'Neal Cruz had the same sort of issues in center field.
03:06And then he worked it out.
03:07And he was, I mean, would you say he was much better over the course?
03:10He was better.
03:11I don't know if he would say he was much better.
03:13You also remember the guy on the Yankees.
03:16At one point, Jazz Chisholm Jr., they asked him to play center field.
03:19And it was like, eh, you know, not sure if this is going to work.
03:22Look, the Pirates are going to have to make a decision here, Donnie.
03:24And the reason why is not because of Paul Skeens.
03:26It's because the Pirates are trying to climb now.
03:29They signed players in the offseason.
03:31Their pitching is really good.
03:32And you just cannot have a liability in the outfield.
03:34So it remains to be seen.
03:36I think if you look at the advanced metrics, it'll show that Cruz is still very fast.
03:39He can still get to every ball.
03:41But very clearly, his judgment on these afternoon games, let me say that again.
03:47These afternoon games, Donnie, how many games will O'Neal Cruz be playing center field
03:52in the afternoon this season?
03:54Would you say 10, 8, 15?
03:57I don't know what it is.
03:57I think that could be a factor in this.
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