Boston Red Sox opening day delayed – Dome it!
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox opening day fell thanks to weather frustrations in Cleveland – no surprise in the northeast.
Opening day for the Boston Red Sox has been pushed back until Tuesday as Cleveland enjoys a weather day much like Boston with low temperatures and occasional blowing snow on a breezy day on the shores of the lake. Cleveland is certainly in the same category as many teams in the north that can make April baseball an adventure in frustrating weather patterns. My own snowblower – next to the ATM the greatest invention in the Industrial Age – sits lonely under a tarp as the snow accumulates in the greater Boston area.
A few short months ago a tower was built at Fenway Park – home of the Boston Red Sox – for some exotic snowboarding. The concept was a unique new experience that did rather well. The Winter Classic has also been well received as a way of bringing in unique, fun things for our winter enjoyment in “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” – a term I find as enjoyable as another lecture on the proper loading of a dishwasher.
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In 2011, Fenway got snowed out and that is not strange in the fickle climates of the northeast as there are plenty of examples of snow and a virtual monsoon eradicating a game or a series. Even the occasional World Series delays and one that I wished happened in 1967. Would a day or two of rain had made Jim Lonborg a winner and not a loser?
There are domes and then there are domes. Toronto is massive and is actually overwhelming in its size. I find my personal favorite is Minute Maid Park in Houston. The field has a quirky design and a left field mini Green Monster that is called the Crawford Corner – not after one of our recent signings errors, but after the street that goes on that side of the park.
The domes I just mentioned are the best of the next latest and greatest in dome construction as they can be retractable. A nice seventy degrees with a one mile an hour wind. In Houston, it takes about twenty minutes to open and close.
The domes are an idea I actually feel comfortable with and not the first generation stationary monstrosities of Houston and New Orleans, but the ones that are retractable and actually have a venue built for baseball. The current list now stands at six. Currently, the stationary one in Tampa deserves an intimate relationship with a wrecking ball.
The idea is to simply minimize the possibility of local weather conditions. In some areas, it is the oppressive conditions of summer heat and humidity. A few years ago I was in Phoenix in August for the Red Sox and fully appreciate what living in the Sahara or Gobi is like. I expected my hotel to be a yurt.
For us hardy folks in the north, it is the snow and rain – usually the same day and occasionally the same time. Cleveland should have constructed a retractable dome – just add on another hotel and rental car surcharge to pay for the roof.
Many years ago I read a science fiction story and part of it – a futuristic tale – mentioned going to a ballgame and watching it from under the Fenway Park Dome. I am sure that it the current ownership could paste a few thousand seats on the dome or run zip lines above the field – all expensive premium seats – it would be done.
So the only good news from today is the Red Sox are still with a total of zero losses (and wins) and David Price gets another day to avoid and risk of frostbite on his 207 Million arm.
Next: Boston Red Sox Series Preview at Cleveland
For those – such as myself – who perseverate on potential bad news the expected Boston snowfall is six inches and heavy rains on Thursday. Hopefully, the old ball yard will survive this last attempt at winter to destroy our 15 win April.