Are you tired of the cold and snow?

Have you had it with experiencing, day-after-day, weather forecasts that call for overnight temperatures that start close to zero and afternoon temperatures that are consistently below freezing?

Have you resorted to cursing the groundhog and started to wonder out loud how the woolly bear caterpillars you so carefully studied last fall could have been so wrong?

Relax — spring is on the way.

And while we haven’t seen the grass in a couple of weeks and the trees are still waiting for their first buds, we would remind you that there’s an even better indicator that warmer weather is coming. All you have to do is look to Florida and Arizona and you can recognize it.

Major League Baseball’s spring training camps open this week, and that’s a time-honored sign that better weather is not that far away.

For the Pirates, pitchers and catchers will hold their first workouts Wednesday in Bradenton, Fla., with the first full-squad workout set for Feb. 16.

There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the Pirates this season. With a pitching staff anchored by Paul Skenes, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 and followed that with a Cy Young Award last year, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller, as well as an improved overall lineup, the team could, realistically, return to the playoffs this season.

Cincinnati and Cleveland fans, meanwhile, will turn their attention to the training complex they share in Goodyear, Ariz. Pitchers and catchers for the Reds will have their first workouts Wednesday, with full squad workouts set to start Feb. 16. Cleveland’s pitchers and catchers begin work Thursday, with full squad workouts set to start Feb. 17.

The Pirates begin Grapefruit League play at 1:05 p.m. Feb. 21, when they visit Sarasota to take on Baltimore. They’ll make their home debut at LECOM Park at 1:05 p.m. Feb. 22 when they host Tampa Bay. That’s a split squad day, which means another group of Pirates will be headed to Clearwater, Fla., to face the Phillies.

The Indians and Reds, meanwhile, will open Cactus League play Feb. 21 when they meet each other at 3:05 p.m. at their complex.

While those games don’t really count, they offer a glimpse of what we can expect to see in just about a month. The Pirates are scheduled to open the regular season at 1:15 p.m. March 26 when they visit the New York Mets and will play their first home game of the season at 4:12 p.m. April 3 when Baltimore comes to PNC Park.

Cleveland, meanwhile, opens its regular season at 10:10 p.m. March 26 in Seattle and begins its home season at 4:10 p.m. April 3 against the Chicago Cubs. Cincinnati’s home-opener is set for 4:10 p.m. March 26 against Boston.

Of all of the things people turn to looking for a sure sign of spring, the return of baseball is the most reliable.

Sit back and enjoy.