Bill James Is Getting Crushed For What He Said About Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes made his heavily anticipated MLB debut on Saturday. Most baseball fans were eager to see last year's No. 1 pick on the mound.

Not Bill James, apparently.

One of the founding fathers of baseball sabermetrics posted a curmudgeonly message following Skenes' first start for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"Let me know if Skenes turns out to be anything special," James wrote on social media. "I don't have enough brain cells left to worry about prospects who are supposed to be really good."

When asked if he was pumped about Stephen Strasburg's debut, James said, "Nah." His 14-strikeout arrival against the Pirates wasn't enough to excite James 14 years ago since it wasn't a no-hitter.

Many observers think James' mindset is a sad way to follow sports.

"Might as well just stop watching baseball if you can’t get excited about a guy like Skenes," a fan told James.

"Old Man Yells At Cloud," a fan wrote. Plenty of others also responded with a photo or GIF of Abe Simpson shaking his fist at the sky.

"What do you get out of being contrarian about everything," a fan asked.

"When I asked Bob Feller about a rookie Stephen Strasburg, he said, 'Call me when he wins his 100th game.' When Strasburg won his 100th game, Feller was dead," MLB's Anthony Castrovince recalled. "Just appreciate fun/interesting things as they happen, I think is the point." 

"Man, I'm not looking forward to the day I stop being excited about baseball," a fan said. "Seems like a miserable way to live. Sorry it's happened to you, Bill."

Skenes reached 100 mph on 17 of his pitches Saturday. Although the 21-year-old allowed three runs in four innings, he also displayed significant upside with seven strikeouts. 

He'll ultimately need better results to meet the lofty hype, but it's unclear what Skenes would have to accomplish to impress James.