Let’s Not Repeat The Phillies World Series Weather Debacle
PHILLIES NEED TO TAKE THEIR OWN ADVICE
Major League Baseball is VERY protective of their home openers. It is a day of celebration and excitement that rivals a National Holiday. Unfortunately, Mother Nature exerts control over the day in a way that doesn’t affect other sports. A rainy day can ruin the party so baseball has another plan. They will schedule open dates after the scheduled home opener to make sure they don’t miss out on enjoying the party. The Phillies should have already learned a valuable lesson from the debacle that was Game 3 of the World Series.
Major League Baseball refused to call Game 3 off due to weather concerns. They ignored the forecast. They opened the stadium and charged for parking and concessions. The rain kept coming and there was an awful night had by all. They had to move the game to the next night and every game of the series was shifted back. The disruption could have been completely avoided if MLB decided to respect the weather forecast which was clear for the next 3 nights. Hopefully, the Phillies don’t allow their fabs to be inconvenienced again.
Why would you schedule an off day for Friday? You do it because you want to know you have two chances to have that glorious opening day experience without a rain delay and fans being subjected to a miserable experience. As we awake on Wednesday morning we have one thing that is not debatable. There is no rain in the forecast that would affect the games being played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Thursday afternoon actually holds the chance for severe weather and it is expected to arrive during the game window. So I ask, why would there be any reason to risk the fan experience when you scheduled a day off to insure against it?
Baseball has been doing things to change their game and improve the fan experience. The pitch clock has sped up the pace of games and made it far more action packed. The new rules of holding on base runners has already shown a huge jump in stolen base attempts. It’s a more aggressive game and challenges the players to create memorable moments in a smaller window. That is applaudable and is being met with fan approval. How about looking out for them and making sure that the celebration of the 2022 NL Championship isn’t met with a severe weather delay? It makes way too much sense.
NOLA AND WHEELER – PART TWO
The first starts of the season for Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler were less than desirable. Nola was gifted a 5-0 lead and couldn’t hold it while getting flustered with runners on base by the new pitch clock. It’s not often you get up by 5 on Jacob deGrom and when you fail to close the deal it’s frustrating. Umpiring issues got the Phillies off their game on Saturday as they were pummeled by the Rangers. Both games were plagued by a lack of mental toughness. They get a chance to wipe the slate clean as the Nola faces the Yankees and Wheeler will pitch the home opener vs the Reds. It would be great to see these two changing the early season narrative.
Phillies Release 2023 Schedule
