BRADENTON, Fla. -- The pitchers and catchers were limited to primarily staying indoors on a rainy morning at Pirate City. However, that did not dampen Clint Hurdle’s enthusiasm.
The first official day of spring training is always a case for optimism following a long winter. The Pirates’ manager was in a particularly sunny mood despite the overcast conditions.
Rain fell until mid-morning, forcing the pitchers scheduled for bullpen sessions to throw in the indoor batting cages. Only a few pitchers ventured outdoors in the damp and cool weather to play catch toward the end of the workout when the rain stopped.
“It was a good first day,” Hurdle said. “We got to audible early. Plan A, moved that aside to go to Plan B. We were efficient with what we had to work with. Pitchers got to throw, got their work in, got their activations as scheduled. We were still able to get some work in, so it’s a good day for everyone.”
The rain caused pitcher’s fielding practice to be scrapped but that was the only major change to the schedule. And it’s not as if Neal Huntington, Hurdle and the coaching staff were going to base any roster decisions off what happened during the first workout.
“I’m not in a hurry to start evaluating,” Hurdle said. “At this point, it’s opportunity for guys to get in here, get comfortable and start working on getting to a point where they can compete. What good does it do to evaluate someone now? In two weeks, you’re going to see a different look. We’re just looking to let them work on their skills, get their reps. We’re looking to see what they’ve been working on over the winter, the areas in which they want to get better and why they feel they need to get better.”
• There were not a whole lot of observations to be made because the media is not allowed access to the indoor training areas of Pirate City. Felipe Vazquez did provide two highlights, though. One came before the workout when he decided to leave his bat in his locker. “I don’t take at-bats and I don’t swing the bat,” he reasoned. As a closer, Vazquez rarely steps into the batter’s box. He had only one plate appearance last season. When some reporters stood outside the indoor cages trying to shoot video of Vazquez throwing, he intentionally – I think – threw a pitch high and outside that nearly broke someone’s cellphone. Not mine, fortunately.
• There was a brief team meeting before the workout in which Hurdle made what was essentially a welcoming speech. Hurdle said his remarks will be more extensive when the full squad gathers Monday. Huntington did not address the team and likely won’t before the first full-squad workout, either. “Clint does such a good job of relaying the vision to our players that they don’t really need a second talking head to say the same thing,” Huntington said with a smile.
• All pitchers and catchers were present for the first workout. It used to almost be an annual tradition for at least some players from other countries to be late to spring training because of problems in securing a work visa. For example, in 1998, outfielder Jose Guillen missed nearly half of camp because he was stuck in the Dominican Republic. However, visas don’t seem to be much of an issue these days.
• While the reporting date for the full squad is Sunday, some more position players checked into camp Wednesday. Among them were Josh Bell, Adam Frazier and Jose Osuna. Colin Moran, Erik Gonzalez and Starling Marte are the regulars who have yet to arrive.
