Tom Brennan - BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

Tom Brennan - BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

I am glad we won Wednesday - really.  The weather conditions in that Mets win were, well, crappy again.  With more crappy weather to come. 

Thursday morning, it was 34 degrees on Long Island with a wind chill that had to be in the low 20’s.  Thankfully, the Mets' bomber bats heated things up in a huge Thursday win over the Gnats..err, I mean Nats.

I prefer starting the season later, and mixing in several day-night, separate admission doubleheaders to shorten the season’s length – but of course, that would eliminate several separate TV days, so perhaps that would also slightly reduce overall TV revenues to owners, so I guess that is a pipe dream. 

I also prefer day games this early in the year, since night games can easily bring winter temperatures.  Scheduling a night game on April 2 just seems bizarre, and increases the risk of injury. 

But what do I know? Binghamton had a home opener NIGHT GAME Thursday night, and the temperature by game’s end will be in the upper 20s.  BRR-ITO night in Bingo land?  Bi-polar scheduling decision?

I seem to recollect that the Mets’ first night games back in the 1960’s at Shea Stadium occurred in late April and were still quite chilly.  I for one won’t go to cold games – but I guess having nighttime TV broadcasts (and revenues) trumps all.

Noah Syndergaard struggled Wednesday – I will posit that it was due to the lousy weather which is so easily expected on April 4 in NYC.  Syndergaard logged four laborious innings, throwing 92 pitches. While he fanned seven, he struggled with his velocity and command. 

My guess?  The lousy early April weather messed with him.

Everyone has a different experience with cold – some easily tolerate it, others constantly struggle to keep hands warm – and a pitcher’s hands are vital to command. 

It reminds me of when I was around 14 years old, I was hooked on hoops – and my friends and I would play 3 on 3 games in almost any weather.  One winter day, it was a blustery 9 degrees out, but we were too stupid to not be out there playing, while avoiding traces of snow and ice on the court.

Moving as much as possible, and wearing a winter coat, I was still freezing, especially my hands.  One of my friends, though, had no jacket on, just a sweatshirt, and he was completely soaked in sweat, with steam coming off of him.  Not a dry square inch on that sweatshirt.

We were two extremes, but I have no doubt if my buddy were pitching in Binghamton Thursday night, he’d have no problem staying warm. 

(The Rumble Ponies warmed things up, though, with 3 homers, 1 being a BOMB in Tim Tebow's 1st AA at bat, and one by Pounding Pete Alonso.)

My greater-than-normal-sensitivity to cold made a career decision easy for me – I was pursuing a business degree at Fordham, but was also a steamfitter’s apprentice.  I was leaning towards white collar work when I got on an outdoors construction job at Kingsborough Community College in late winter.  Windy, nasty, frigid on the job for the first several weeks, I could not stand the cold and made my mind up right then that year-round construction was not my cup of employment tea. 

Similarly, some players probably shrug off cold weather as a minor nuisance, while others are greatly impacted by it.

Yes, I know that both teams play in the same lousy weather, but I’d prefer to see them playing like they did in 1962, starting the season on April 11, with no cold weather night games the first few weeks.

I am, however, looking forward to another snow game this Saturday – aren’t you?  There's no ball like Snow Ball.