It’s tough to think about baseball when there are snow banks taller than Dustin Pedroia, black ice, thunder snow and freezing fog.

But thinking about hardball and summer and warm sunshine and hot dogs warms me up.

And I need all the warmth I can get.

In perhaps the only two warm states in the continental U.S. these days, Arizona and Florida, spring training has begun.

And along with it, hope for all 30 teams (except maybe the Houston Astros).

Usually, it’s the Pittsburgh Pirates who are devoid of any notions of making anything of their season even this early. That has changed.

Thank last year’s playoff drive for that.

Baseball is back in Pittsburgh — well, maybe not now in the throws of one of the worst winters in years. But soon. Very soon.

Like just about every club, the Pirates have some questions that need to be answered, however.

Here are a few of the hot questions on these cold winter days:

Who’s going to take A.J.’s place? The importance of right-handed starting pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Buccos last year went far beyond his 3.30 ERA and his 209 strikeouts.

Burnett was like another pitching coach, which was crucial for a team with such a young starting rotation.

Burnett even caught some bullpen sessions to get a closer look at the mechanics and pitch selection of the young arms on the staff.

The Pirates will surely miss him on the field. They may miss him even more off of it.

Who’s on first? The Pirates have gone through first basemen like batting practice baseballs over the past decade.

The argument can be made that the club hasn’t had a legitimate every day star at the position since Kevin Young in the late 90s and early 2000s.

The Pirates will go with a platoon again with right-handed hitting Gaby Sanchez and left-handed hitting Andrew Lambo.

Neither one lit it up last season, although Lambo has some upside.

In a perfect world, the Bucs could go out and get a guy like Kendrys Morales. The switch hitter is not a whiz with the glove, but he’s solid and his bat makes up for any deficiencies.

However, any team who signs Morales will have to cough up their first-round draft choice.

As good as Morales could be in Pittsburgh, the club is never going to forfeit a high pick like that for him.

Can Jose Tabata handle the full-time right-field job? Tabata is penciled in as the Pirates’ everyday player in right.

The dude has potential and he flashes it from time to time. If he does become consistent, the Bucs could have one of the best outfields in the game.

And we all can be basking in the warm summer sun at PNC Park watching another contender.

I think at this point we’d all just settle for basking in the warm summer sun.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.