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Today was my final spring training game in Port Charlotte. Drove down to see Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. This is an beautiful spring training location. The park looks brand new. Each stadium has a team store but this one was probably my favorite. They have some unique T-shirts and hats for sale and most of the items were cheaper than other locations. Really enjoyed this spring training location, not to mention the excellent team here.

Tampa Bay was out hit by Pittsburgh 10-9 but Tampa Bay was the victors 9-5. Tampa Bay was credited with 2 errors but they had at least 4 by most fans count. The official scorer was very lenient to say the least. But it was obvious the Rays have a much better team than the Pirates.

The Pirate coaching staff is making the best use of the talent they have by using their speed on the bases and old fashioned bunting. I have never seen a major league club bunt as much as they do.  They do have some excellent speed on the base paths but they look like a team of mostly singles hitters. They are going to have to spend some money to bring in more talent or they are going to be at the bottom of the league for years I am afraid. I did get to see former Gamecock Steve Pierce play 3B for the Pirates. He was 0-3 but made some nice stops in the field.

On the other hand Tampa Bay looks ready to challenge for the American League Championship. They picked up Manny Ramirez in the off season to use as a DH. Right now his teammates are saying nothing but good things about him. He was actually signing autographs and joking with fans before the game. Another major pickup for them was getting OF Johnny Damon. He will be starting in LF. He can still run and looks good. He is also excellent with the fans. If B.J.Upton can get his stroke back after a down year last year and Evan Longoria continues his superb hitting I look for Tampa Bay to be in the World Series. This teams looks good on paper and on the field.

In six spring training games I only saw one game that was not competitive. So it was a great time and I cannot wait to get back next year. Think I will try to make it 2 weeks next year.