Baseball begins today

Today is February 28. That means it’s the final day of the month, but it also means something more for us avid baseball fans: The game we love is back. The Pittsburgh Pirates face off with the Baltimore Orioles to kickoff the Spring Training schedule, culminating in an April 1 Opening Day game in Chicago against the Cubs.

Spring is always an interesting time in baseball. We get to see players who’ve made changes to their approach in the offseason; we get a chance to see young, up-and-coming players; and, most importantly, we get a chance to see baseball played again.

As we know, we won’t see much of the established major leaguers, so a team’s record is no indication of how they’ll perform during the regular season, but it’s a fun, light atmosphere, nonetheless.

Tomorrow’s starting pitchers are indicated on MLB.com, including Chad Kuhl for the Pirates, while Thomas Eshelman will get the start for the Orioles. There haven’t been any lineups released, but we should expect to see a lineup that at least somewhat resembles what the lineups will look like come April. That lineup won’t stay intact for long, of course, and the primaries will ultimately yield their time to the reserves.

Today’s game takes place at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, the second home of the Orioles. It’ll be a 1:05 first pitch, as is fairly standard for Spring Training games. You can listen to the game on KDKA, but the game isn’t slated to be televised.

The Pirates won’t have a game in Bradenton at LECOM Park until March 2 when the Bucs take on the Detroit Tigers. That game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet, as well as available for listening purposes on KDKA.

There’s not much else to report right now, except for this: It’s time for baseball.