Today is the official second start of Spring Training, Spring Training 2.0, or Spring Training II: The Return of Spring Training. Players have been at PNC Park for the last two days, a few of them longer while doing rehab work. Today’s the first day of full workouts. We are about three weeks away from the start of the regular season, give or take 1-2 days. The schedule should be released soon. A news source from St Louis said that the Pirates will open up the season in St Louis, but nothing is official yet.
I’m not sure if we will hear any real news today, but if something worthy of an article comes up, I’ll probably start a discussion thread. Our daily articles (see below) usually go up at 9, 10/10:30 and 12 PM, but they could get pushed back a little later if some news comes up. The special Memorabilia article will go up later in the day after we see how today plays out.
The workouts now are a little different than a normal Spring Training day. The early Spring Training days before games start could end around noon most times, but these ST 2.0 days will carry on well into the late afternoon. They are training in smaller groups, so only a certain amount of players will be out at one time. They will do their full workouts, then the next group will take their place on the field. That means a longer day for the team, though not for individual players.
The other big difference with regular Spring Training is the games. Teams are allowed to schedule up to three exhibition games with other opponents. Those are likely to happen right before the season, if they happen at all. Otherwise the only game action will be sim games and possibly some intrasquad contests once everyone is in game shape. That probably means that there won’t be much news to report, but we will see.
**We will have at least five articles today, including the one you’re currently reading. If any news comes up, we will have more. The other scheduled articles for today are as follows:
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History – Birthdays today include Moises Alou and Edinson Volquez
Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates – A pitcher who spent eight years with the Pirates and served three years in the military during WWII
1979 Season Recap – John Candelaria takes on the St Louis Cardinals.
Pittsburgh Pirates Memorabilia – A Roberto Clemente piece that I think most people here will really enjoy.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
SONG OF THE DAY
DAILY QUIZ
RANDOM STUFF OF THE DAY
Video of Luis Heredia from nine years ago
