Video (01:23) : Target Field grounds crew, workers from a temp agency and staff shoveled snow and ice to clear the ballpark ahead of Thursday's home opener.
We know the weather is going to be lousy Thursday when the Twins are scheduled to play their home opener against the Seattle Mariners.
We also know the Twins have professed reluctance to postpone the opener, in part because it would mean rescheduling the games later in the season -- and this is the only time that the Mariners are scheduled to be in Minnesota.
Baseball's schedule has more open dates this season at the behest of the new contract between MLB and the players' union. That means there are more chances for the teams to meet on an open date for both. We also know the weather forecasts are cruddy for the rest of this week, including Friday's open date, which also means there's a really good chance that one of the games scheduled for Saturday or Sunday could (or should) be called off.
So we were looking at the season schedule this morning and, with only about five minutes of work, discovered this:
The Twins and Mariners both have off days on May 14. The Twins will be returning home on Sunday night after a series against the Los Angeles Angels to begin a homestand that starts Tuesday. The Mariners will be finishing a series at Detroit and then going home to play Texas.
Boom! There's a chance to play a day/night doubleheader.
Wait! There's more!
Both teams are off on June 18. The Twins will be returning from a weekend series in Cleveland to start a homestand. The Mariners will be concluding a homestand against Boston and then heading to New York to play the Yankees,
In May, the Twins have three off days in a streatch from May 9 to May 17. The Mariners also are off May 7 and May 21. The June make-up date is dicier for the Mariners because June 18 is their only off day between June 5 and July 1, which would require the players to agree to the make-up date.
Still, there are two chances for a day-night doubleheader in the next 2 1/2 months, or a single game if the weather this weekend is better than expected.
It would make sense to postpone the opener right now for (1) the cool parents who pull their kids out of school for the home opener, (2) everyone who's planning to take day off and (3) the rest of the fans with tickets.
Anyone opposed is encouraged to respond in the comments.
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