CLEVELAND: Indians fans will have to wait one more day for meaningful baseball in 2016.
The Indians postponed their Opening Day game against the Boston Red Sox until Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. due the cold conditions and expected precipitation. Gates will open at 11 a.m.
The game was originally scheduled to begin at 4:10 p.m. on Monday. Roughly three hours before the season’s first pitch could be made by ace Corey Kluber, the Indians postponed the game.
“[Monday]’s game was postponed due to the forecast changing from no precipitation to having precipitation for most of the afternoon and into [the] early evening,” said Curtis Danburg, Indians senior director of communications in a statement. “That steady precipitation forecast combined with the wind chills dropping into the teens, it was decided by both teams and umpires for fan comfort and player safety to postpone the game. [Tuesday’s] forecast will be cold, but [with] no anticipated precipitation.”
The weather is expected to be much of the same on Tuesday, perhaps 4-5 degrees warmer. Partly because of that the similar forecast, Indians manager Terry Francona was confident the two teams would kick off the 2016 season as planned.
“We’re going to play today,” Francona said, about 45 minutes before the forecast, per the team, changed enough to warrant a postponement. “We realize it’s not balmy outside. There’s not going to be a lot of need for sunscreen.”
The Indians announced fans who had tickets to Monday’s game can use those tickets to attend any two home games — including Tuesday’s game — in April or May. More information is available at indians.com/ScheduleChanges.
Like any Cleveland spring, the Indians will have to get used to playing in the cold weather. After three games against the Red Sox at home, they travel to Chicago for a weekend series.
Indians outfielder Rajai Davis simply tries to think warm thoughts.
“I make sure I’m warm. I’ve got all that warmth inside, at least my temperature’s up,” Davis said. “Make sure I have the right gear on. Mentally, staying positive and mentally staying warm. You can easily let the temperature make you colder than you actually are.”
Rookie outfielder Tyler Naquin is from Texas — little explanation of his cold-weather exceptions is needed.
“I just got in from outside,” Naquin said before the game was postponed. “It’s a little bit different weather from Texas.”
On Tuesday — and Wednesday and Thursday — the Indians will simply have to deal with it, just like the Red Sox. And Cody Allen knows the bullpen guys have to stand with the team.
“We’re going to be out there,” Allen said. “Our starting nine is going to be on the field. We don’t want to be in here in the clubhouse drinking coffee and staying warm. Boston has to play in it, too. We’ve got to toughen up a little bit and go play some baseball.”
Jason Kipnis and other hitters have to deal with some additional sting when pitchers throw to the inside part of the plate. But, like Allen, Kipnis said both teams just have to deal with it, even if it isn’t ideal.
“It hurts if you get jammed,” Kipnis said on Sunday. “It hurts more than it does in 80-degree weather. That’s about it though. The other team is dealing with the same weather you’re dealing with. We’d all rather be playing in warm weather, probably, but I think we’re all getting used to it.”
Playing baseball in 30-degree weather with wind chills in the teens certainly isn’t easy, especially with both teams throwing Cy Young contenders in Game 1. The Indians know to expect it every spring, though they got mostly lucky with the weather last year. But there will certainly be plenty of cold-weather baseball this season, and the cold has already claimed its first victory.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ