No…
BRING YOUR PARKAS, THERMALS, TOO
TO KEEP YOUR NOSES FROM TURNING BRIGHT BLUE!
In the off season, we always have visions of warm, sunny baseball games with
peanuts, popcorn, and crackerjacks. Nostalgic.
Not so, in reality, in early season AAA Syracuse. Bring the parkas, the thermos, the thermals. If you’ve seen the movie Everest, dress like those folks.
The S-Mets open the season with 3 DAY games in Syracuse on
March 29, 30, and 31, which is like opening the baseball season in Queens on, say, February 29 or March 5:
Fri: Partly cloudy. High 44°F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25
mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Sat: Partly cloudy. High 50°F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Sun: Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. High 47°F. Winds WNW at
10 to 15 mph.
My take? Clearly, baseball in March in Syracuse is for Frosty the Snowman and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Wind chills in the 30s? Nah. Not for me.
Then, frozen Syracuse Metsies hop on dog sleds and head to Wilkes-Barre, Pa for 4 straight early April night games.
Weather forecast?
Tues: Rain. Low 43°F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Rainfall around 0.25 inch. (Beautiful, wouldn’t you say?)
Wed: A mix of rain & snow showers. Low 34°F. Winds WNW 5 to 10 mph.
Chance of precipitation 50%. (Quite Lovely, said one Eskimo to the other)
Thurs: Partly cloudy. Low 35°F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. (Beautifully Brisk and Blustery - for downhill skiing, that is)
Fri: Partly cloudy. Low 38°F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. (Calm and Cool, relatively speaking, if you are a polar bear)
My take?
Simply insane to be playing night games in early April that far north.
PLAY B..B..B..BALL!
Horsehide balls are
optional, of course…snowballs may be used instead.
It’s gotta be minor league TV money, I suspect.
Don’t worry, boys…the spring thaw will arrive before you know it.
I hope JD Martinez enjoys his time up near the Arctic tundra, and let's hope Mark Vientos can go on a tear in games where the wind/chill factor is below freezing.
Nolan Ryan (Schanuel)
The 11th overall pick of the LA Angels last year, he played only a scant 22 games in the minors, had a Ted Williams-like .505 OBP and, like a blur, got promoted to the Angels shortly after being drafted as their starting 1B.
In 29 MLB games in 2023, he compiled a .402 OBP. Amazing.
Why don’t any Mets prospects over the decades ever do stuff like that?
Mets prospects take years, not months.
Ponder that.
It's really insane to have night games in April in cold weather sites.
ReplyDeleteI predict one pitching arm from both Syracuse and Binghamton go stiff this "spring"
ReplyDeleteAlways said all their games should be away at more lower US locations
Mack, agree - why not keep those teams in Florida for the first 10 days? If they don't want that, start 10 days later and play several doubleheaders.
ReplyDeleteDoubleheaders are for later in the year, when most of the tickets you’re going to sell are sold and you want to entice a few more fans while you get the games in.
ReplyDeleteGus, I pay particular attention to April stats in Binghamton and Syracuse. Two years ago, before Wyatt Young skipped 3 grades to Syracuse and gave their offense a shot in the arm, they were hitting brutally there. My guess is the weather played a big factor.
ReplyDeleteFirst Wyatt comment of the season
DeleteMack, it might be the last.
ReplyDeleteOn April 23, 2013, officials and volunteers shoveled snow off the diamond at Coors Field so that the Braves and Rockies could play. Both teams took the field with a game temperature of 23 degrees, making it the coldest MLB game on record
ReplyDeleteRemember a series in Min in April and then in Colorado where they were shoveling snow and the Min. game Harvey pitched and game time temp was like 20 degrees. Also remember a televised game in Buffalo where Matt pitched and it was snowing which of course would never lead to an injury right? Of course another Wilpon misstake about no roof when they built Citi does anyone here have any more info on that subject?
ReplyDelete