CLEVELAND: The Indians sacrificed the only day they will be in the Northeast Ohio spotlight until perhaps mid-June.
The only day until the Cavaliers’ playoff run ends that some people care about baseball.
Yes, it was 30 degrees Monday with a wind chill in the teens. But telling Clevelanders it’s too cold for Opening Day does not really compute.
They’d put on their winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves before, dug out their hand and feet warmers from their Browns’ game day bag. The occasion has called for parkas more often than shorts.
Fans were dressed in layers as if they were attending a football game. The East Fourth Street bars were packed. They’d forked over $30 or $40 to park, plus what they’d already spent on food and booze. Some had come in from Columbus, or even farther. One drove around downtown for 40 minutes looking for an open garage, gave up, headed back south on Interstate 77 and resorted to Uber.
The Indians’ decision to wait until 1:18 p.m. to postpone their 4:10 p.m. opener was a case of terrible timing and mishandling, even if it was the right move for players and umpires.
Especially after Tribe manager Terry Francona vowed during his 12:45 p.m. pregame news conference, “We’re going to play today.”
By then, the issue should have been long decided.
“We realize it’s not balmy out there,” Francona said. “There’s not going to be a lot of need for sunscreen.”
I agree that Tribe right-hander Corey Kluber, Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price and those who followed them to the mound would have struggled. But before the game, the Indians seemed to have steeled themselves for what they were about to face. The rest of the week, including a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox that opens Friday, might be no better.
Major League Baseball needs to find a way to keep the bulk of April’s schedule in warm-weather cities and domes.
For Tuesday’s 1:10 p.m. rescheduled game on what was previously an off day, the Indians will be lucky if they draw 15,000. It could be more like 5,000. Those who took Monday off may have no luck convincing the boss they need Tuesday as well.
The Indians had known for days how cold the opener was going to be. They could have postponed it on Sunday, or even early Monday morning. There was ample time to avoid sending home a packed downtown, of turning away people lined up at the gates, to scrap thousands of dollars of concessions.
Does the Greater Cleveland Food Bank accept nachos?
At 12:51 p.m. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, according to the National Weather Service, the temperature was 31 degrees with a wind chill of 19, thanks to an 18 mph breeze from the north, along with fog and mist. By 1:51 p.m., the wind chill had dropped to 18 degrees, an hour later it was 17.
The Indians emailed out their explanation, but made no team official available to give details of their thought process.
“Today’s game was postponed due to the forecast changing from no precipitation to having precipitation most of the afternoon and into early evening. That steady precipitation forecast combined with wind chills dropping into the teens, it was decided by both teams and umpires for fan comfort and player safety to postpone the game.
“Tomorrow’s forecast will continue to be cold, but no anticipated precipitation.”
Weather.com showed no more than a 15 percent chance of precipitation the rest of the day. By 4:10, the skies had lightened. The website’s Tuesday forecast called for a high of 34 degrees with sun in the afternoon.
The Indians hadn’t postponed their home opener since 2007, when their entire series against the Seattle Mariners was rescheduled. That year, on April 7, Indians starting pitcher Paul Byrd had a no-hitter through 4⅔ innings when Mariners manager Mike Hargrove, the ex-Tribe skipper, protested that No. 9 hitter Jose Lopez couldn’t see Byrd’s pitches because of snow. The Indians began the home season in Milwaukee with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
The day the Indians ruined Opening Day might not have created as much ill will with fans as letting CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee walk in free agency. But in a season in which the Tribe will highlight memorable home moments with the slogan #OnlyHere, the dubious “Only In Cleveland” list grew.
This time with an entirely avoidable entry.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.