The Pittsburgh Pirates will have five Spring Training games broadcast on ROOT Sports this year, with all five coming in the middle of camp. The scheduled games are as follows.
**Sunday, March 15 vs. Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m.
**Tuesday, March 17 vs. Houston Astros at 1:05 p.m.
**Wednesday, March 18 vs. Detroit Tigers at 6:05 p.m.
**Saturday, March 21 vs. Boston Red Sox at 1:05 p.m.
**Friday, April 3 at Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia) at 7:05 p.m.
Normally the March 15th-21st timeframe is the best time to see Spring Training. Pitchers are a little more stretched out. Position players are playing a little deeper into the games. Most importantly, the roster is starting to take shape, revealing who might make the team. The latter probably won’t be much of a surprise this year, since there don’t look to be many actual position battles. Then again, it never hurts to see baseball on TV in March, even if there is little surprise in who might make the team. I’m sure for many people, one of these games will give the first look at Korean infielder Jung Ho Kang.