One of the nasty little side-effects of the Information Age is that a day that used to feel magical — the day pitchers and catchers report — is now one of the biggest anti-climaxes on the calendar. If you follow the Pirates’ Twitter account or look at their website, you know that many of the Pirates have been in Bradenton and working out for a few days now: today is simply the day that most of them have to be there, if they aren’t already. Basically, today is a tease: baseball is coming, but it’s definitely not here yet.
What I will note today is that it’s been awfully fun watching the Pirates show up in Bradenton as a team with expectations. I’m projecting here, of course, but this looks to me like a group of guys that can’t wait for the season to start, knowing that this is the best shape that a Pittsburgh Pirate team has been in in spring training in 20+ years.
Anyway, I’m awfully skeptical of the claim that baseball “begins” today. But it is almost here, and there’s a lot to look forward to in 2015.
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
