Skenes on fans booing at opener: 'We gotta play better'
In the eyes of PaulSkenes, execution is key. He focuses on that on an individual basis every time he steps foot on the mound and acknowledges the importance of it regarding the Pirates collectively attempting to overcome their 2-6 start to the season.
“I think pretty much everything has room to improve. We can play a lot better," Skenes said this afternoon. "Today is an opportunity to do that, tomorrow is an opportunity to do that. Just gotta go out there and execute.”
Maintaining a positive mindset through the ups and the downs is important, too. It's not easy to do that when the results aren't contributing to additions to the win column, but there's no benefit to sulking in disappointment, especially early in the year.
"We all know how to play baseball. We've all played on teams that were winning before, and it was a lot of fun to be here last year in parts over the summer," Skenes said. "We know how to do it, we just got to get back to doing it, get back to executing at a high level and consistently. It's pretty simple."
In discussing the team's start to the year, Skenes also touched on the boos that rained down during Friday's disheartening loss to the Yankees in the home opener. He understands the frustration, but he also exudes confidence in the group as a whole.
"They want to win. We want to win. Obviously we're not doing enough right now to win. You can put that on whoever's shoulders, but we just got to get back to execution," Skenes said. "They're not in the building behind closed doors seeing what's going on. I think a lot of the time they don't get the full-scope of things, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad ways. But at the end of the day we just gotta play better."
Skenes said he sees things behind closed doors that gives him hope about the Pirates' future. It begins and ends, though, with the players on the field. In order to win, they're the ones that need to produce.
"We gotta keep doing things right. Mr. Nutting and Shelty aren't the ones playing. We're the ones playing," Skenes said. "If we're 8-0 through however many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We gotta play better."
Here's Skenes' full media availability:
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
2:47 pm - 04.05.2025North ShoreSkenes on fans booing at opener: 'We gotta play better'
In the eyes of Paul Skenes, execution is key. He focuses on that on an individual basis every time he steps foot on the mound and acknowledges the importance of it regarding the Pirates collectively attempting to overcome their 2-6 start to the season.
“I think pretty much everything has room to improve. We can play a lot better," Skenes said this afternoon. "Today is an opportunity to do that, tomorrow is an opportunity to do that. Just gotta go out there and execute.”
Maintaining a positive mindset through the ups and the downs is important, too. It's not easy to do that when the results aren't contributing to additions to the win column, but there's no benefit to sulking in disappointment, especially early in the year.
"We all know how to play baseball. We've all played on teams that were winning before, and it was a lot of fun to be here last year in parts over the summer," Skenes said. "We know how to do it, we just got to get back to doing it, get back to executing at a high level and consistently. It's pretty simple."
In discussing the team's start to the year, Skenes also touched on the boos that rained down during Friday's disheartening loss to the Yankees in the home opener. He understands the frustration, but he also exudes confidence in the group as a whole.
"They want to win. We want to win. Obviously we're not doing enough right now to win. You can put that on whoever's shoulders, but we just got to get back to execution," Skenes said. "They're not in the building behind closed doors seeing what's going on. I think a lot of the time they don't get the full-scope of things, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad ways. But at the end of the day we just gotta play better."
Skenes said he sees things behind closed doors that gives him hope about the Pirates' future. It begins and ends, though, with the players on the field. In order to win, they're the ones that need to produce.
"We gotta keep doing things right. Mr. Nutting and Shelty aren't the ones playing. We're the ones playing," Skenes said. "If we're 8-0 through however many games we've played right now, the fans aren't booing. We gotta play better."
Here's Skenes' full media availability:
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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