THE BULLPEN

     Happy Truck Day! To those of you not familiar with this term, today is the day that our Pittsburgh Pirates load up their truck with baseballs, bats, gloves and plenty of sunflower seeds and Double Bubble for the drive south to Bradenton, FLA. And today Mrs. Black-N-Gold will tell you why she looks forward to this joyous occasion. I shall call this essay "What Truck Day Means to Me".

                            WHAT TRUCK DAY MEANS TO ME


1)As Mrs. Black-N-Gold types these words, there is snow on the ground and freezing temperatures in the air in Western Pennsylvania. With Truck Day, there is a light at the end of the winter tunnel. Spring is just around the corner!

2)Once that truck makes it to Pirate City, pitchers and catchers will report shortly thereafter. It's a chance for players to get loosened up and start to knock the rust off. It's also an opportunity to become re-acquanited with teammates as well as a chance to get to know the new guys.

3)The official report date for pitchers and catcher is February 17 with their first workout on the 19th. From there, the report date for position players is the 22nd and first official workout is the 23rd. We're getting closer to Opening Day!

4)When the truck gets unloaded and all the players are assembled, everyone has a clean slate and teams are on an even plain. If someone had an off-year last season, all is forgotten. Just put in your work and begin anew.

5)With Opening Day just around the bend, hope springs eternal. So keep on truckin' and keep on BUCN all the way to the World Series.

Let's Go Bucs!!!!!