Derek Jeter is playing the first spring training game of his final year today against the Pirates at Legends Field in Tampa after missing most of last season with various injuries. Because of that, MLB.tv will be televising the game. That's the headline. This is what you as a Pirate fan need to know: Gregory Polanco is in the Pirate lineup, batting second and playing center field. That means that you should take a long lunch break with your computer or smartphone and check the kid out. The game starts at 1:05, so his first at-bat should be over by 1:10. I'm sure your boss won't mind. Jaff Decker is also in the lineup, while Tony Sanchez is DHing and Chris Stewart is catching. Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Brandon Cumpton are also scheduled to pitch, along with other guys.
The Pirates beat the Yankees in yesterday's Grapefruilt League opener; Tony Sanchez hit a three-run homer late in the game to tie the score (if you're keeping track of who Sanchez is catching; he came in in the top of the sixth inning and caught Bryan Morris, Jared Hughes, Duke Welker, Josh Kinney, and Adam Wilk, though you can tell from that link above to Biertempfel's blog that Clint Hurdle isn't wasting any time pretending like Sanchez is going to make the club. That's disappointing, but not really unexpected. Edinson Volquez pitched the second inning. Pitch counts aren't available, but from what I can recall from yesterday's radio broadcast that I was half-listening to, it seemed like he was struggling with his control a bit. I may be projecting. He walked Jacoby Ellsbury and served up what sounded like a wind-aided home run to Yangervis Solarte. Other people also pitched and hit.
