Retractable roofs for all
Skylar Walker
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Sports
March 1 at 10 a.m., Tigers single-game tickets went on sale. After hours in a virtual waiting room and too many error messages to count, I had five tickets to the April 5 game in my hands. In my mind, I saw Comerica Park awash in warm sunshine with an outfield greener than anything I've seen in months. I could smell hot dogs and spilled beer, I could hear the crack of a wooden bat connecting with a ball, and I could feel the crowd rising to their feet, hoping it would sail over the fence in right field.
Then I remembered last year's first month of the season and my excitement for "baseball, finally!" was tamped down by, you guessed it, the weather.
This is where I hate on the MLB schedulers.
Now, I know they have a tough job. There are 30 teams and six divisions to schedule, they have to have equal home and away games and have to play certain teams a certain number of times, plus interleague and all the problems that brings to the table. But honestly, is there any reason at all why Minnesota should play at Chicago the first week of April? Minnesota, with their enclosed, weather-proof stadium, playing in Chicago where the U.S. Cellular Field is bare to the elements, makes no sense at all. The odds of the game being postponed must be higher than if the venue were reversed. The White Sox play at the Metrodome at the end of the month anyway, what's the problem with switching those homestands?
Worse yet, the A's and the Red Sox start their season Tuesday, March 25 at 6 a.m. Eastern Time. That's right - six in the morning. As part of MLB's plan to further globalize, the Oakland and Boston teams agreed to play two games in Japan. This sounds ridiculous on the face of it, but it's possible to excuse MLB for trying to expand their market.
Then you look at the schedule and you see the A's are the home team. Two home games are being stolen from a team who already has enough trouble getting fans in the seats so a team with the second-highest payroll can keep its precious home games.
In what world is that fair?
Contact Skylar at swalker@hillsdale.edu
Then I remembered last year's first month of the season and my excitement for "baseball, finally!" was tamped down by, you guessed it, the weather.
This is where I hate on the MLB schedulers.
Now, I know they have a tough job. There are 30 teams and six divisions to schedule, they have to have equal home and away games and have to play certain teams a certain number of times, plus interleague and all the problems that brings to the table. But honestly, is there any reason at all why Minnesota should play at Chicago the first week of April? Minnesota, with their enclosed, weather-proof stadium, playing in Chicago where the U.S. Cellular Field is bare to the elements, makes no sense at all. The odds of the game being postponed must be higher than if the venue were reversed. The White Sox play at the Metrodome at the end of the month anyway, what's the problem with switching those homestands?
Worse yet, the A's and the Red Sox start their season Tuesday, March 25 at 6 a.m. Eastern Time. That's right - six in the morning. As part of MLB's plan to further globalize, the Oakland and Boston teams agreed to play two games in Japan. This sounds ridiculous on the face of it, but it's possible to excuse MLB for trying to expand their market.
Then you look at the schedule and you see the A's are the home team. Two home games are being stolen from a team who already has enough trouble getting fans in the seats so a team with the second-highest payroll can keep its precious home games.
In what world is that fair?
Contact Skylar at swalker@hillsdale.edu
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