Cook And Poni

LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson wouldn't put it past Paul Skenes to be the Pirates version of Ohtani. The bats need to come alive and drive in runs. 

Will Paul Skenes be an all-time great? We're pumped for Skenes' debut and what he could become in Pittsburgh. Najee's agent Doug Hendrickson called out Zeise on social media for his 'little birdie' report Najee Harris wanted the Steelers to decline his fifth-year option. 

The full Joe Starkey Show from Thursday, May 9th, 2024

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Paul Skenes is here! The Pirates announced yesterday the top pitching prospect in baseball will start Saturday against the Cubs at PNC Park. We recall other notable debuts in Pittsburgh sports over the past 10 years. Air Force head coach Mike Kazlausky joined the show. Paul Skenes caught and pitched during his senior year and was a 6-foot-6 leadoff man who also closed games. Kaz thought Skenes could have been a first-round pick at catcher. He told us Skenes still wants to serve in the Air Force once his baseball career is over and cried when they had a conversation about transferring. Steelers Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis joined the show. Jerome is helping out at the Joe Moore o-line camp. Jerome was surprised, but not at the same time that Najee Harris did not have his fifth-year option picked up because of how running backs have been devalued. Jerome recalled old Steelers stories and once said he thought Najee had the chance to be better than him. A lot of it also has to

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey: Paul Skenes is one of, if not the hardest throwing starting pitcher in recent baseball history. Kaz doesn't think there's ever been a sophomore team captain at Air Force baseball, but Skenes was. He takes great pride in being the leader of the school and Skenes carried around the flag at football games and helped to defend it. 

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson joined us to discuss Paul Skenes and his MLB debut. Paul was always focused on his next start and how to continually get better. He's a unique breed. Jay knew Skenes was a star during his freshman year and wasn't at LSU at the time. He had a great meeting and visit with Skenes. "I stand by this, if he was just a hitter for us last year, he would have hit 25-30 home runs and been a First Team All-American position player." Skenes has the character of someone he's never been around. Pirates reporter John Perrotto joined the show. Jason Bay is the only Pirate to win Rookie of the Year. John thinks Paul Skenes still has time to make up ground and win the award. The lineup needs significant help. Keith Law of The Athletic joined the show. Paul Skenes has altered how he pitches a little bit and developed the splinker pitch, a splitter and sinker combo he throws 95 mph. It's been effective against righties. He's not the best pitching prospect ever, not at

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: 93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Many No. 1 overall picks at starting pitcher have not worked out. Paul Skenes debuts Saturday and is building up to be the greatest/most anticipated debut in Pirates history. Jeff thinks over 4.2 innings and will go over 75 pitches. Over/under with Jeff. Bud Dupree is talking to the Chargers but has spoken to the Steelers. Calvin Austin might want to workout harder with the number of WR4's the Steelers have signed. Pitt has unveiled its 2024 Hall of Fame class. DeJuan Blair's cousin called in as Blair has been announced as a part of the 2024 Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame class.  

DeJuan Blair's cousin called in as Blair has been announced as a part of the 2024 Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame class.  

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Many No. 1 overall picks at starting pitcher have not worked out. Paul Skenes debuts Saturday and is building up to be the greatest/most anticipated debut in Pirates history. Jeff thinks over 4.2 innings and will go over 75 pitches. Over/under with Jeff. Bud Dupree is talking to the Chargers but has spoken to the Steelers. Calvin Austin might want to workout harder with the number of WR4's the Steelers have signed. Pitt has unveiled its 2024 Hall of Fame class. 

Pirates reporter John Perrotto joined the show. Jason Bay is the only Pirate to win Rookie of the Year. John thinks Paul Skenes still has time to make up ground and win the award. The lineup needs significant help. 

Keith Law of The Athletic joined the show. Paul Skenes has altered how he pitches a little bit and developed the splinker pitch, a splitter and sinker combo he throws 95 mph. It's been effective against righties. He's not the best pitching prospect ever, not at the Strasburg and Cole level, but Skenes is one of the five best 

LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson joined us to discuss Paul Skenes and his MLB debut. Paul was always focused on his next start and how to continually get better. He's a unique breed. Jay knew Skenes was a star during his freshman year and wasn't at LSU at the time. He had a great meeting and visit with Skenes. "I stand by this, if he was just a hitter for us last year, he would have hit 25-30 home runs and been a First Team All-American position player." Skenes has the character of someone he's never been around. 

Air Force head coach Mike Kaz doesn't think there's ever been a sophomore team captain at Air Force baseball, but Skenes was. He takes great pride in being the leader of the school and Skenes carried around the flag at football games and helped to defend it. 

Paul Skenes is one of, if not the hardest throwing starting pitcher in recent baseball history.  He averages 99.9 mph on his fastball. Skenes day is Saturday. 

Steelers Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis joined the show. Jerome is helping out at the Joe Moore o-line camp. Jerome was surprised, but not at the same time that Najee Harris did not have his fifth-year option picked up because of how running backs have been devalued. Jerome recalled old Steelers stories and once said he thought Najee had the chance to be better than him. A lot of it also has to do with health and productivity of the offensive line. 

Air Force head coach Mike Kazlausky joined the show. Paul Skenes was only going to Air Force or another academy and told other teams he was not realistically going to them because he wanted to serve. He caught and pitched during his senior year and was a 6-foot-6 leadoff man who also closed games. Kaz thought Skenes could have been a first-round pick at catcher. He told us Skenes still wants to serve in the Air Force once his baseball career is over and cried when they had a conversation about transferring. 

Paul Skenes is here! The Pirates announced yesterday the top pitching prospect in baseball will start Saturday against the Cubs at PNC Park. We recall other notable debuts in Pittsburgh sports over the past 10 years. 

The full Joe Starkey Show with Joe Starkey and Paul Zeise (10-12pm) from Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey and Paul Zeise: The Fan and the Pirates have extended their partnership through the 2027 season. Poni tweeted eyeball emojis with a picture of Paul Skenes and makes us think he might be coming up. The Pirates need to add more pieces, especially bats, to be in real contention. Zeise dropped a little news that a source told him Najee Harris requested to have his fifth-year option declined because he doesn't want to play in Pittsburgh anymore. Is this why we heard a trade rumor with Najee and the Cowboys? Money is going to talk and be a big factor by how he performs this season. Jeff Patton from the Baseball Card Castle joined the show. An Anthony Edwards card is Starkey's Card of the Week, and Jeff also threw in a Paul Skenes and Jared Jones card. 

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey and Paul Zeise: The Steelers rookie jersey numbers have been revealed. We recap who received which number and the best. Jonathan Bombulie of the TRIB joined the show for hockey talk. The NHL has no interest in getting rid of questionable hits or bad intent and they look for excuses. Jacob Truba once again almost caused a significant injury and hurt himself. The Penguins lost in the draft lottery and their pick goes to San Jose. They get one if Carolina goes to the Stanley Cup Final.