Baltimore Orioles open the spring with Mike Wright pitching

The Baltimore Orioles will send Mike Wright to the mound in the Florida Grapefruit League opener this afternoon.

The Baltimore Orioles will find themselves in Orlando today, where this afternoon they’re going to play the biggest baseball game in the history of western civilization – well, for this year anyway. Mike Wright will get the distinction of starting the first spring game this afternoon, in which the Orioles will take on the Atlanta Braves.

So are we to read anything into Wright getting the start this afternoon? I would advise against it. I don’t expect Wright to break camp with the team, although he certainly has a shot. At the end of the day you never know who has a shot and how things shake down in camp.

Wright is expected to pitch two innings this afternoon, although he will be on a pitch count. I’ll take this opportunity to remind folks that teams basically pre-plan who’s pitching, when, and for how long during the spring. It’s rare that we even see pitching changes in the middle of innings given that it’s already decided in advance – especially in the early spring games.

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But today’s game is mostly going to be about getting a look at guys, and for many of them to start to get their timing back. Most of these games early in the Grapefruit League schedule can look fairly ugly at times in terms of run output. Pitchers are still slightly ahead of hitters given the fact that they reported earlier.

It’ll be interesting to see who’s on the travel roster for today’s game. As I’ve mentioned before, many of the veteran players will most likely not make the trip this afternoon or in many of the team’s road games. You’ll see a few here and there, however, just to keep things interesting.

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Having said that, you can expect the litany of game recaps to begin in earnest here on Birds Watcher. Like most of you I look forward to spring training every year because it signals the beginning of baseball – and hope springs eternal! But quite honestly game recaps from these spring training games are tough to write given the sheer number of players going in and out of the game. Furthermore it’s tough for the games to take an ebb and flow because the players aren’t in the game for long enough.

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But the beginning of actual games is a true rite of spring – or perhaps a “Wright of spring” in the Orioles’ case today! If you’re a farmhand, today begins your opportunity to make an impression. If you’re a fringe big leaguer, today begins your journey to hopefully impress the coaching staff. At the end of the day, wins and losses don’t necessarily matter here, but in a certain sense they do. But ultimately, hope springs eternal starting this afternoon!