SKENES = UNICORN

Here's an excerpt from my recent TribLive.com column:

What if the Pirates are still in the NL wild-card race and they shut down Paul Skenes and/or Jared Jones?

What if they start skipping starts with Skenes and/or Jones?

Fast-forward to the season's last game Sept. 29 at the New York Yankees. The Pirates make the playoffs if they win, miss the playoffs if they lose.

The Pirates lead 1-0 after seven innings. Skenes is pitching. He's dealing: Two hits allowed, 11 strikeouts. His velocity is still cracking 100 mph, his command sharp.

But Skenes has thrown 100-plus pitches, and racked up a lot of innings on the season, so the Pirates pull him.

That could happen. Any of that crazy stuff could easily occur.

Because pitch count and protecting arms has superseded trying to win. The pitcher's welfare comes first. His earning power. Player power. Agent power.

The Pirates might claim that they want to reap Skenes' benefits over the long haul.

That's a laugh. The Pirates won't have Skenes for the long haul. They know that. They're protecting his arm for whatever team ultimately gives Skenes the huge cash that the Pirates won't, and the chance to win that the Pirates can't.

To read the entire piece, click HERE.

Skenes is a unicorn. He has potential to be one of the 10 best pitchers of all time.

Skenes will ultimately get paid $40 million per season, maybe even $50 million.

He's not Mitch Keller. He's not going to take a back-loaded, mediocre contract and sell out a few years of free agency by way of achieving security.

Skenes' overwhelming talent provides all the security he needs. If Skenes' right arm fell off, he'd get it stitched back on and somebody would still give him a mega-deal.

The Pirates won't sign Skenes long-term. We know that. He'll get traded during his arbitration years.

But that's a depressing thought. Because if you can't retain the unicorn, the pitcher who will define whatever franchise he toils for, it's very clear that your franchise has a ceiling.

It's self-imposed, and it's very low.