Panic Grows for Paul Skenes, Padres Have Come Alive & Pope Mania Reaches New High for White Sox

When the 2026 season started with Paul Skenes having the roughest start of his MLB career against the New York Mets, many thought it would be just a blip on his greatness radar. Unfortunately, it might have been a precursor for things to come this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates ace, and now we’re left wondering if something is truly wrong with Skenes. On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss yet another concerning start for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner and try to figure out what’s going on with Paul Skenes. They make a comparison between him and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who has also suffered a major falloff after his great 2025 campaign, and discuss whether the World Baseball Classic can be used as an excuse. Later in the show, Jake and Jordan talk about Jackson Merrill being at the forefront of the San Diego Padres’ hot offense, which has put them right back in the mix for a potential NL Wild Card spot. They then highlight the Chicago White Sox giving out a Pope hat as part of a giveaway, Tim Anderson announcing his retirement and play a fun game surrounding the 2026 Heart and Hustle Award winners.   1:11 - The Opener: Paul Skenes’ concern grows 19:13 - Cal Raleigh’s falloff from 2026 29:53 - Around The League: Pope mania reaches new high 37:25 - Tim Anderson announces retirement 43:37 - Padres are getting hot 48:38 - Thoughts on the Phillies 54:23 - Heart and Hustle Award game Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 Spotify🖥️ YouTube📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tvAnd check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_