Hey Daily News, welcome to the party. Where were you a week ago when I was trying to Get Citi Field’s Opening Night Game Changed To A Day Game? with the help of some other bloggers.
Well. better late than never…
The Mets do have an off-day on Tuesday, April 14, the day after their home opener with San Diego. Still, some fans are griping because the lid-lifter at Citi, which they say never sleeps, is a night affair beginning at 7:10 rather than a traditional Opening Day.
Those looking to assign blame for this can point fingers at the players’ union and MLB. On Sunday, April 12, the Padres entertain San Francisco in a 1:05 p.m. start. MLB’s basic agreement stipulates that when a team must travel from the Pacific time zone to the East Coast, the next day (in this case Monday, April 13) must be an off-day.
“But we are allowed seven exceptions to that rule, no more than one per club, but it has to be a day game in the Pacific time zone followed by a night game in the Eastern time zone,” Feeney said. “That’s what is happening here.”
In the Bronx, people are already sweating.
Well, if the game is postponed, those hoping to be a part of history won’t be. This is Cleveland’s only trip to the Stadium in 2009. So, it looks like if the opener is bagged, it would be rescheduled for Friday evening as part of a split-admission doubleheader.
Two reasons for that possible scenario: (1) Saturday’s game, nationally televised by Fox, is a 4 p.m. start and (2) the “opener” could not be made up on Sunday (after the scheduled 1:05 game) because it’s a getaway day.
Katy Feeney, MLB’s senior VP of scheduling and club relations, prefers that Yankee fans with tickets to the home opener remain optimistic. “It’s going to be a gorgeous day,” she said. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be a gorgeous day.”
So the Yankees were willing to play Weather Poker but the Mets weren’t. I still think the Mets should have scheduled the opener for 1:10, on Tuesday if need be. There’s still time…
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