Day 50: Pirates @ Twins
Finally. I can see the end. We can all see the end.
Yes, I’m going to miss the sunshine, the seafood, my frequent runs to Smoothie King, and my zumba classes at the gym…but that’s about it. It’s been a long spring, a fact backed up by anyone involved. And working just about every day over the past 7+ weeks can wear you down. But now it’s time for the real fun to start.
A final assessment of the spring?
“I thought it was good,” manager John Russell said. “We had some good competition. We had some tough decisions, which shows we’re heading in the right direction as an organization. I think overall, the way the guys went about it and the feedback that they couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark to work, I think it was a very fun spring for them to build up to Opening Day. We’re ready to go. You could tell three to four days ago that people were ready to go.”
I’m not making the trip to Fort Myers today so that I can go home to Pittsburgh for a quick 24 hours, but expect the starters to get their one at-bat and get out of there. The last thing you want is a fluke injury on the final day of spring. The team will then fly to St. Louis tonight and hold a workout on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
I’ll join you guys on Monday from St. Louis. Hope the blog was a helpful tool to give you all the sights and sounds from Bradenton. Don’t worry, it will continue to be a fixture through the season as well.
Pirates lineup:
- Nyjer Morgan (LF)
- Freddy Sanchez (2B)
- Nate McLouth (CF)
- Ryan Doumit (C)
- Adam LaRoche (1B)
- Eric Hinske (DH)
- Brandon Moss (RF)
- Andy LaRoche (3B)
- Jack Wilson (SS)
Pitcher: Ross Ohlendorf
Thanks for the great work, Jen.
Got a chance to talk to you early in spring training, wondering if I would have gotten tired of it doing 50 days in a row.
In any event, God bless you this year. Bring home a winner!
Thank you Jen for your hard and excellent work. I think the blog is great and you’ve done a fine and diligent job with it. This is my season 67 or so with the Pirates as my favorite team. My 73rd birthday is today and I’m sad I have to miss their final spring game just up the road at the Twins, but I did see them play four games this spring. I wish you and the Pirates all the best, but I think the team is a year away from a .500 record.