I'm getting annoyed once in a while, not often, but once in a while, when there's an excessive romanticism attached to baseball.

But it's unmistakably there for most people anyway good morning to you good tuesday morning

i'm dan kovachvich of dk pittsburgh sports this is daily shot of pirates it comes your way bright and early

every weekday if you're into football and or hockey i also offer daily shots of steelers and penguins

in the same place that you found this i'll'll be flying to Bradenton, Florida later today

in advance of pitchers and catchers reporting to Pirates City first thing tomorrow morning.

When I get there, the first thing I'll do, because it's the first thing I've been doing

for more than 20 years upon arrival,

is to snap a whole lot of pictures, a couple of click video clips,

to send back to the users of our app, website, dK. Pittsburghsports.com,

and invariably, the reaction is, you know, romanticism.

Or even some of our readers who will break out into actual poetry.

They'll start typing up stuff that they've learned over the years related to the beginning of baseball.

Whoever it is that's running the pirate social media account these days

put out four pictures on various platforms.

There was a groundskeeper watering the dirt around home plate so that it settles properly.

There was a shot of a base from up close where you could see the palm trees in the background beyond the third field.

A simple bucket of scuffed up baseballs that had clearly been utilized in more than one batting practice session.

Another of the team's headquarters down there.

And underneath that, underneath that posting,

regardless of where it was posted,

the reactions, the replies were,

...