Spring Training for Pirates Fans

Well, pitchers and catchers have reported, and so did everyone else over the past week as camps opened across Florida and Arizona for Spring Training.

The Pirates made news when they extended Hurdle's contract through 2015 and that got the juices flowing for baseball in the Steel City.

For the sports fans in Pittsburgh, the need for hockey is being fulfilled after the lockout ended back in January. But it's never too early to get ready for baseball. April will be here before you know it.

So like all the players down in Bradenton, Florida, it's time for fans to get back in the swing of things.

First off, let's see how much you remember and if you need a refresher for 2013.

This is Bob. Bob owns the Pirates. Bob has money. But Bob doesn't want to spend too much on players for the teams future. It's OK to be mad at Bob if the team doesn't win again this year. That's why Bob is here.

Another thing to remember is the number 20. That's the number of seasons since the Pirates last had a winning year.

Another number to know is 82. That's the number of wins the Bucs need to make that other number go away, and one Bob wishes would go away too.

Remember Zoltan? That was fun for a while, huh? Maybe the Pirates will bring that back. The green weenie is a backup option if needed. The third option would be to watch another bad movie with Ashton Kutcher or Seann William Scott in it.

Here are some other things to know while you watch the Pirates in 2013.

-Bob Walk hates the D.H.

-Greg Brown may have a heart attack calling a Pedro Alvarez home run.

-Steve Blass or Walk will have to resuscitate him.

-Lacee Collins was fired in June of last year and is never coming back. ROOT Sports hired some guy named Robby Incmikoski. It will take you some time to pronounce his last name correctly. 

-Dan Potash is still #1 in all of our hearts. Robby WhatsHisName will have a hard time outdoing Dan.

-Tim Neverett's depth perception will trend at some point on twitter. #TNDP

-There will still be Skyblast's and "All You Can Eat" seats. So if they go downhill in September again, there's always Blues Travelers.

-The Houston Astros, the Pirates National League Central punching bag is now in the American League West. Don't worry. Pittsburgh has a series against Houston May 17-19 at PNC Park.

-For you social media freak, here are some fun hashtags.

#BUCN, #Buctober (Use sparingly), #(Number of Wins)ToGo #RaiseIt and #STFD