Matt Clement talks McConnell, Skenes & Cruz

Former MLB pitcher and Butler boys’ basketball coach Matt Clement joined the show. As someone who knows plenty about WPIAL hoops, Matt talked about TJ McConnell and the presence he had in the NBA Finals. Matt brought up a player that he had going to Duquesne around the same time TJ was on his way to Arizona. Matt said TJ has become a cult hero everywhere he goes because he’s not supposed to be THIS good. Switching to baseball, Matt said there are very few players in MLB he would take over Paul Skenes. He compared Skenes to Mark Prior, who he played with in Chicago, but described him as a ‘step up’ from Prior. Matt said what Skenes is doing is unlike anything we’ve seen before because the game has not gotten faster for him like it should have. How does Matt think the Pirates can get things jumpstarted more for Oneil Cruz and is it frustrating that we are still seeing mental errors from him? Matt said they need to be patient with Cruz even if it wears off a bit with each mistake.