My beloved if hapless Pirates open spring training today with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp. For you soccer fans out these, pitchers and catchers are always the first to report in. From the Post-Gazette-
A new spring dawns today for the 123rd edition of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club, with pitchers and catchers required to report to Bradenton by midnight tonight. And with it will come a stated expectation -- too nebulous, too low or too optimistic, some might say -- that these Pirates will "improve" over their standard 67-win output of a year ago.
So spoke owner Bob Nutting last month, and so it was echoed down the corporate ladder.
The charge, then, for manager John Russell and his staff in the six-week camp that formally opens with a Pirate City workout tomorrow is this: Take essentially the same group that collapsed to a 17-37 finish last season -- meaning the group that was left in the aftermath of the Jason Bay/Xavier Nady trades -- and make them, somehow, better.
That, Russell is adamant, can come not only from instruction but also from natural improvement.
"We have young players, a lot of them, guys who haven't spent much time in the big leagues," Russell said. "And we have faith in them. It's a good group. And I'm excited about this season, to be honest with you."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09044/948793-63.stm
3 comments:
I'm glad someone is excited about the Bucos season.
Will there be an Episcopal Night (or afternoon) at PNC Park this year? Those are fun.
Perhaps we should get +Bob, our Assisting Bishop, a baseball glove and warm him up so he is ready to throw out the first pitch on Episcopal Night at PNC Park
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