Did anyone read yesterday’s asinine and poorly written post? I was hoping to lure someone into calling it asinine (not necessarily poorly written), because today, I planned on writing an AHA! type of gotcha post. So, I’m going to pretend that Thomas Q. Crabtree posted a comment that called my post yesterday asinine.
Well, Mr. Crabtree, I would like to thank you for reading and commenting, you have earned a special spot in my heart. Secondly, I agree with your point that adjusting the baseball schedule in September to avoid the Gulf Coast is stupid. You addressed several points, as follows.
First, what happens if a Gulf Coast team, like the Marlins or Rays this year, are in the hunt for the playoffs? It will certainly interrupt any momentum that team has. Of course, it will give these teams an advantage, because they will have more early home games, and maybe they will be more inclined to improve their team and either waste payroll or have more momentum than other teams in their division leading into September.
Your second point, Tommy Q, that hurricane season goes into October, and would you play all the World Series games on the road? also rings true. That would just be silly.
Lastly, you stated in your brilliant bit of commentary, that it would be obtuse to reschedule something simply on the offchance a meteorological happenstance would occur and interrupt the season. Agreed. Typically, one tropical storm or hurricane will hit Florida a year, and when it does, it lasts for 1-3 days. Why bother tweaking the schedule just for that? Also, good use of the word obtuse.
Well, now, here’s why I hoodwinked you all (well, the six of you that read it, anyways. Hi, mom!). See, my post yesterday carried many of the same arguments pundits have for avoiding Northern climates in the early season due to cold, and slightly modified version of the arguments moving baseball away from the Gulf Coast in September hold water here as well.
Reversed from what what would happen to a team playing on the road in September, the team playing on the road in April would probably see their season derailed before it started. How would a young team like the Twins, or a newly thrown together team like the White Sox hold together if they started the year with a 14 game road trip? The Tigers, despite themselves, would be running away with the division right now. And then, when the teams are struggling in late July, they would sell their expensive players and would forever be like, well, the Pirates.
Secondly, if you weren’t aware, in mid to late October, places like Minneapolis and Detroit and Cleveland can get mighty chilly. Does this mean they shouldn’t be allowed to host playoff games? Absolutely not.
Thirdly and almost lastly, while the average of one hurricane makes landfall annually in Florida alone, let alone in the Texas coast or even riding up the Mississippi towards St. Louis or into the Mid-Atlantic at D.C. or Baltimore, a researcher from Western Kentucky wrote last year that a string of “Miserable Baseball Weather” days occured once every 2 years in the worst offending cities (of course, this researcher came to a different conclusion than I did, and I actually think it would be counter productive, forcing more important baseball to be played later in the year). So really, people who want baseball schedules tweaked to avoid something more anomalous than a hurricane? Really?
Things you didn’t mention, T-Crab, was the financial advantages. First, how will warm weather cliimates feel about having more home games when school is in session? In smaller, warmer markets, thats revenue out the window. Additionally, will fans be as keen on coming out to the normally popular home openers of teams that are already 4-10? 1-2 is one thing, but that is a team that’s already a loser in many fans’ eyes.
Again, thanks for your comment, Mr. Crabtree, you have broadened all of our horizons.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
