In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
Practice games are still games
Over the weekend, the Pittsburgh Pirates began their Grapefruit League schedule. They opened up with two victories over the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in split squad action.
I know Spring Training games don’t count but it’s still fun getting a chance to see or listen to your baseball team playing competitive games. I always enjoy getting a chance to listen to Pirates’ spring training games as it feels kind of like a throwback. It’s not often I get to listen to full games on the radio anymore, so it’s a nice novelty.
Right Fielder, Andrew McCutchen
The biggest storyline of Spring Training so far is the first game action in right field for Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen was able to successfully catch three flyballs in the first two games. He did not magically forget how to catch just because he was in right field.
McCutchen also had two doubles in his first two games of the spring season. One a towering pull-shot and the other, an opposite field shot. Obviously, this doesn’t mean much in terms of predicting regular season success as McCutchen had a good spring last year too. In 2016, he hit .295/.392/.727/1.119 with six home runs and 10 RBIs. We all remember how the 2016 regular season went, so it’s still early but it’s nice to see the former MVP looking good early.
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Baseball talk on the Web
- Let’s hand out a few ‘Oscars’ for the best of 2017 MLB photo day
- Prospect Glasnow K’s 6 of 7 in ‘amazing’ outing
- MLB players need to get up to speed — and fast
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