Mark Madden: Pirates' winning streak just fool's gold

The Pirates’ six-game winning streak has the citizens wetting their pants with glee.

Don Kelly’s winning percentage as manager (.520) gets projected over a 162-game season, and that puts the Pirates in the playoff hunt, and wait ‘til Jared Jones gets back, and ‘til Bubba Chandler and Konnor Griffin get to Pittsburgh, and this one time, at band camp …

That’s a microcosm of why Bob Nutting’s scam will work in perpetuity.

All it takes is six games to make the marks foam at the mouth.

If the Pirates’ window to make the postseason parallels Paul Skenes’ tenure — and it’s hard to figure that it doesn’t — then that window has one more year. Because when Skenes gets awarded $30 million (or more) in 2027, his first year of arbitration, he gets traded immediately.

This space mentions that a lot, and will continue doing so. Because no other space does.

So, you got one more season with Skenes.

If Nutting wouldn’t spend to get Skenes proper help this season, why would he do so in 2026?

Nutting has no passion for winning. Just for profit.

Skenes and Griffin might never play on the same Pirates team, unless it’s for a couple months at the end of next season. Skenes and Chandler haven’t yet.

The Pirates’ more talented components are discussed individually and optimistically. How and when they fit together isn’t.

I understand the lionizing of Kelly.

Shelton went 12-26 this season before getting fired. Kelly is 26-24. Those numbers don’t lie.

But I’m not sure what some of the other numbers are saying.

The Pirates have shown significant improvement in ERA and fielding percentage since Kelly took the reins. The offense has been red-hot: 43 runs scored during the six-game win streak.

How can any of that be directly traced to Kelly?

It’s likely an extended dose of the adrenaline that accompanies every managerial change, perhaps goosed by a popular clubhouse figure taking over.

It’s said that Kelly demands more accountability.

But aside from Oneil Cruz getting benched for two whole innings after loafing, any increased accountability isn’t readily evident.

As for the improved hitting, maybe it’s because Tommy Pham got new contact lenses. (What took him so long?)

The Pirates are still 12 games under .500, dead last in the National League Central, 7½ games out of fourth place in the division and nine games out of a wild-card spot.

This season is headed where it was always going to go.

Would the Pirates be better if Kelly had managed all year?

Probably. But let’s see if the Pirates can maintain their pace under Kelly before lamenting what might have been.

Even if they do, it won’t be enough to get a playoff spot. And there would be no guarantee that Kelly’s upgrade carries over to next season.

But enthusiasm currently abounds, grist for the mill provided by the usual suspects.

Nearly 90,000 people came through PNC Park’s turnstiles for the Pirates’ three-game sweep of the New York Mets. Ka-ching!

That’s Nutting’s passion.

That, and conning you.