I've been doing this a while, 21st year on the beat.

Covering this particular baseball team.

Not a lot.

Surprised me.

Yesterday here in New York, surprise me.

Good morning to you. Good.

Thursday morning and happy opening day to everybody.

Dam Kovachvich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports.

And 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 cover two other teams in town and offer up daily shots of Steelers and penguins in the same place that you found this.

I'd like to think, I know the difference between manufactured enthusiasm, ginned up confidence, saying all the right stuff, or this,

what's here in advance of Pirates versus Metz, today 1.15 p.m. at City Field.

In the case of a couple veterans with whom I spoke, and when I say veterans, I'm talking about veterans of buck-odum, Brian Reynolds and Mitch Keller, they sounded

excited, but in a way almost relieved that, hey, that the day has come

when it's okay to walk into a stadium

and expect that you're going to win.

Not hope, but expect.

Tony Beasley, the new slash old third base coach,

told me this on that specific front.

It's just understanding that when you play teams, we're not playing them.

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