For as much as I love the analysis side of things (I mean, I write a Pirate blog), my favorite part about Opening Day is that you get to toss an entire winter of agonizing anxiety about every tiny detail out the window. There is no substitute for real baseball games, and I mean that on every conceivable level.
On a more personal level, this is my first Opening Day at PNC since 2007. I missed the whole playoff run last year (actually, I did have NLCS tickets, which, yeah …), and so I’m really, really, really excited for today’s game. As I wrote last night in the preview, most Opening Days in Pittsburgh have been a weird celebration of the return of baseball that’s divorced from the reality of the Pirate season in front of it. This year isn’t like that, and that’s why I really wanted to get home for this one today.
Whatever’s going to happen in 2014 starts today. Francisco Liriano is on the mound for the Pirates. Jeff Samardzija is on the mound for the Cubs. Travis Ishikawa and Travis Snider are both in the lineup for the Pirates, which means that Clint Hurdle is committing to his platoons for better or worse. There are some good memories from 2013 to be re-lived, but more importantly, it’s time to get working on the 2014 season.
Image credit: daveynin, Flickr
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