DETROIT — The delay of opening day didn't impact the strategy of Clint Hurdle or his players. It did little to temper their excitement, either. The first of 162 games offers a clean slate after six weeks of spring training and months of speculation.
When Adam Frazier steps to the plate against the Tigers' Jordan Zimmermann here at 1:10 p.m., the Pirates can begin to write their own destiny. That, Josh Harrison said, is a welcome reprieve after a tumultuous offseason and a spring that required the remaining veterans to help young players become acclimated to the major leagues.
"Coming into spring, all of us being collective and knowing what we’re working towards, we all have to be on the same page," Harrison explained to me Friday morning at Comerica Park. "I think we’re all at that point. These guys put in six weeks of work. Outside of that, offseason work. Today is the day. Let’s go."
The Pirates' plans for their starting rotation remained intact after the postponement of opening day. Ivan Nova will pitch his first career opening day with Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl to handle the final two games of the series. Then, Jameson Taillon will take the mound for the home opener at PNC Park on Monday. Joe Musgrove, the right-handed pitcher acquired from the Astros for Gerrit Cole, is here with the team for opening day festivities, but he will fly back to Florida to throw 100 pitches in a minor-league game on Saturday at Pirate City. Musgrove is scheduled to pitch sometime during the Pirates' four-game series against the Reds next week.
The eight-man bullpen wasn't affected by the postponement, either. Hurdle insisted that he will utilize that group the same way he would have if the game was played as originally scheduled. The team had a light workout Thursday, and the players and staff attended the Pistons' game at Little Caesars Arena.
Regardless of the delay, both Hurdle and players are embracing the clean slate. Spring training wins and losses never matter. Neither do Grapefruit League statistics.
"Very happy that the season is about to start," Hurdle said. "We’ve done the work we needed to do. We’ve had all the conversations we need to have and now we look forward to being evaluated by the execution of the game. ... It’s the first of 162 opportunities to be a good team. I look forward to that. I never take it for granted. You don’t know when your last one is going to be. The pageantry is part of it. I’m also the first guy to tell you I’ll be happy when the day is over. Then when we get back in a vacuum and we’ll do it again Monday in Pittsburgh, and I’ll be happy when that one is over. I love the ride. And I love what comes with opening day. It’s a fantastic day."
Fourteen players return from last year's opening day roster and are joined by five new players. Additionally, there are three rookies experiencing their first opening day: Colin Moran, Dovydas Neverauskas and Edgar Santana. For the past six weeks, the Pirates' veterans worked to establish the type of winning attitude that David Freese said the club lacked the past two seasons.
Harrison and other veterans expressed optimism that positive changes were made, however, it is time for the true test to begin.
"It was a good spring for us," Harrison said. "A lot of young guys being acclimated. This will be a their first time really playing 162 games and trying to go to the postseason and know that slow and steady, but also at the same time there has to be some urgency to come out every day and do some work. That’s what these young guys are ready to do."