Baseball in the snow, rain, heat or gloom of night? Not exactly

It seems Major League Baseball would like to think of itself as the equivalent of the United States Postal Service.

Would Chicago baseball really be better if this monstrosity had been built nearly 30 years ago? Image provided by StadiumPage.com

You know, that jazz about snow, rain, heat or gloom of night not keeping the postman from fulfilling his rounds? Professional baseball teams began their 2018 season back on March 29 with the same theory that they weren’t going to let inclement weather prevent them from playing their games.

THAT’S NOT QUITE the reality of this season, which is now about two-and-a-half weeks old.

All throughout the East coast and Midwest – whose ball clubs are the heart-and-soul of professional baseball – there have been reports of teams playing in crummy weather (rain and snow) on occasion. Although the inclement weather has been more likely to cancel ballgames.

Just this weekend, the Chicago White Sox traveled to Minneapolis for what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins – only to have three of the games cancelled due to snow. No word yet on when those games will be made up – other than the fact that having to make up that many games in one shot will be an inconvenience later this season.

Sunday was Jackie Robinson Day across baseball, but ...

In fact, the White Sox have had four of their 16 scheduled games thus far called due to inclement weather. That’s one-quarter of the season.

IT’S NOT JUST the White Sox. The Chicago Cubs had their Opening Day last week delayed due to snow. On Sunday, their Wrigley Field game against the Atlanta Braves was postponed due to this weekend’s heavy rainfall. Which means we won’t get to see either Chicago ball club take part in the annual April 15 tribute to Jackie Robinson and professional baseball’s racial integration where everybody wears uniform number 42.

... since neither Chicago team played, ...

Some people might have rejoiced in the Saturday ballgame in which the Cubs came from behind to win 14-10. But Cubs manager Joe Maddon grumbled about the rain that soaked the playing field so thoroughly he was convinced the ballgame should never have been played.

... No. 42 locally remains with these two

Moments like this get a certain type of person all worked up in saying baseball is stupid for even bothering to play ballgames this time of the year. They should know better than to fight against Mother Nature, because she’s a tough ol’ broad who never loses.

Some argue baseball shouldn’t begin play until sometime in May. While others argue that the first few weeks of the season should all be played in southern or west coast cities – or in places where the locals built stadiums with the retractable roofs that could keep the field (and fans) dry while games take place.

IT’S AN ARGUMENT I really don’t buy into – largely because I could see how it would put teams at a disadvantage if they had to play the first few weeks of the season on the road.

The first ballgame ever in Toronto (1977) saw White Sox infielder Jack Brohamer having to be innovative to get across the snow-covered turf of Exhibition Stadium

Plus, I’m sure those west coast and southern cities with teams would complain about having to stage so many of their home games so early in the season – which would wind up with them being road-bound at season’s end. If they’re actually contending for a league pennant, that would seriously stink.

But why I really don’t get into the idea is the fact that, as I wrote earlier, those Midwestern and Eastern cities are the ones with the long-standing baseball franchises with history and tradition.

Sun-shiny days like this will be with us soon enough

Part of that “tradition” is that fans know if they’re going to attend an early-season game, you bundle up to cope with the weather. It’s part of the reason why baseball attendance goes up come June – that and the coming of summer break means kids attending a game can actually contemplate staying for the whole thing (10:30 p.m. is NOT an uncommon finishing time for a ballgame).

YES, IT WAS kind of freakish last week when on the same day the Cubs’ Opening Day game at Wrigley Field was delayed because of snow, the White Sox managed to play (their home Opening Day had been the week before, so it was just an ordinary ballgame).

Official attendance for that game was just over 10,000 tickets sold (which is probably mostly the season ticket base), although reports indicated only about 900 people showed up – and I saw one broadcast type who said her personal count of people in the stands was about 300.

It’s quirks like this that can make baseball and its fans interesting – far more than those people who think ball clubs are entitled to have 40,000-or-so capacity crowds for all 81 home games.

So no, I’m not for delaying the start of baseball. For I actually get a jolt from seeing regular-season games taking place in the cool of a Midwestern spring. I also see the presence of baseball as evidence that these outbursts of wintry-like weather are merely the final strands of winter – and that we’ll soon move on to complaining about the 100-degree temperatures and how “It’s too hot!” to live here.

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I can’t figure the weather, but my mother still helps keep me warm

At first, I thought it was my imagination.


I was walking to a Metra commuter rail station Saturday morning when damp little driplets began to pelt my face.

IT WAS CLEAR that it was not rainfall. But snow? This early in the season. When we’re officially still two months away from the beginning of winter?

Sure enough, it was.

A snowfall so light that it barely registered. But it is what we got hit with in Chicago this morning, and the cloudy overcast day and cold temperatures made worse by the fact that I spent a part of the morning right on the shore of Lake Michigan (at the one-time U.S. Steel South Works site) where there were no big buildings to alter the breeze.

I got hit with a blast of chill. It felt like a winter’s day. And when later in the day it started to actually rain, I got soaked and seriously cold.

SATURDAY NIGHT, the temperatures were to hit levels just above freezing.

I guess what I’m really trying to say here is that I got spoiled by what essentially was a mild summer. It was fairly comfortable. We didn’t get many days of excessively high temperatures.

I definitely got spoiled by the notion of comfortable temperatures. I’m not ready yet for excess winter cold.

Particularly if it is anything like those excessive days of heavy snow and sudden chill that we endured over and over and over again back in January and February of this year.

FOR THE RECORD, this is not the earliest snowfall on record in Chicago. The national Weather Service says that in both 1928 and 1944 on Sept. 25, the Second City got hit with traces of snow.

So 2014 will be the year we can chant “We’re Number 3!!!” when it comes to snowfall. But that fact does not make this weekend any more pleasant.

The fact that Sunday was a bit warmer than Saturday only means we had to appreciate the slight uptick in heat all the more, since it is clear summertime is over – although the fact that baseball is still being played without Chicago ball clubs ought to have been the ultimate evidence of that fact.

Despite all this attitude that really is one step up from a whine, I can’t say I would want to give serious thought to leaving Chicago. The city has way too much going for it for me to consider leaving just because of a dose of cold.

BESIDES, THE FACT is that in the “real” world, temperatures get cold. I don’t know that I fully trust any place where people think a 30-plus degree day is a cold spell and evidence of the polar vortex.

If anything, the most unpleasant aspect of snow in Chicago is that it will get all the nitwits worked up who think they have a right to stake claims to parking spaces on public streets by dredging up all their summertime lawn furniture.

I’d suggest citing those people for littering, except that I realize our police officers really do have more significant things they ought to be doing with their time while on duty.

What I’m going to dredge up is one of my warmer jackets – one that I tucked away back in March and haven’t worn since.

IT IS ONE that I got as a present from my mother for Christmas 2009 – a leather jacket (although I do have one of those heavy, bulky down jackets for the truly shivering days).

That happens to be the last Christmas I celebrated with my mother prior to her passing. It was a last gift she gave to me.

So as I go about in coming weeks managing to stay warm despite the chill in the air, all I’ll have to say is, “Thanks Mom.”

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Mother Nature reminds us periodically of who really runs things – it ain’t us!

Never before in my life have I been thankful to be woken up at about 3 a.m. by a sudden surge of noise and light.

No, I didn't see ...

That’s what happened to me early Tuesday, because I was among those who managed to get their electrical power knocked out for a few hours by Monday night’s sudden storm.

I HAVE TO confess that the storm itself didn’t seem like much to me – a heavy rain is all.

I happened to be in my broken-down (but fully paid-for) automobile when the hard rain and stronger-than-usual winds suddenly came. My instinct told me that trying to drive in it could be risky.

So I pulled over and parked the car, then sat in the vehicle for about 20 minutes until things settled down to the point where it was just a normal rainfall.

I finished my trip (work-related) a few minutes later, and by the time work was “done,” the rain had stopped altogether. So I drove home not thinking much about it.

IT RAINED. RAIN is a part of our normal weather. It helped cool off the humidity somewhat.

But when I got home, I discovered that my home neighborhood had been devastated by those stronger-than-usual winds. There were branches blown all over the place.

Many of those branches managed to hit things. In my case, they knocked out the electrical power.

Which in my case was professionally devastating, because I had some work-related writing to do. It was on deadline. And the lack of electricity meant I didn’t have the wireless Internet connection at home that enables me to work there at my convenience.

... either of their big-game goals

AS I SEARCHED for a place with a wireless connection that did NOT lose electricity, I couldn’t help but notice how darkened the neighborhood was. Particularly odd since we’re at the time of year when daylight is at its longest.

My neighbors wound up using the weather as an excuse to party. The whole extended family swarmed their way out of the air conditioner-less home (no electricity), pulled out the barbecue grill, and the kids were running up and down the block in play.

I felt like I had to avoid hitting both fallen branches AND little children. Fortunately, I succeeded.

And when I got about one mile from my humble abode, I found a Starbucks’ coffee house. I’m not usually one to spend big bucks for their pretentious cups of coffee. Nor do I think much of people who spend hours on end with their laptop computers or other electronic devices – leeching off the wireless connection.

She can be mean when she wants to be!

BUT ON MONDAY, I became one of them. Although I made a point of getting my essential work done within a half-hour, then leaving (not long before they were getting ready to close).

When I returned home, the place was still dark. It was humid. It was miserable.  And the answer is "no," I didn't see any of the Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup-winning victory over Boston. But in the dark, there was nothing one could do – other than stumble my way through my humble abode to the bedroom. Where I laid in my sweat, and ultimately drifted off to sleep.

Until! My alarm clock suddenly lit up (3:11 a.m., it was), the air conditioning kicked back on and a couple of lights that had been on when the power went out suddenly flickered to life.

The rest of my night was a little more comfortable. But I have to confess I struggled to remain awake Tuesday morning. It was NOT a good night’s sleep.

AS I WRITE this, I still have a few gadgets whose inner clocks are going to have to be re-set.

Although I learned that a colleague of mine who also lost power still had not had it restored as of the noon-hour Tuesday. And as I drove around my neighborhood, I still see some crews working to clear fallen brush and restore electricity to those whose power-less experience extended into a Day Two!

So as much as I want to gripe and grouse about a miserable night, a part of me can’t help but feel fortunate that it didn’t turn out worse. That’s something we all should keep in mind.

One little twist of wind can revert us back to the conditions of the days when all of this land around here was nothing but open frontier.

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When it comes to this week’s heavy rains, let’s keep a sense of perspective

Learning that Gov. Pat Quinn was traveling across the Chicago area on Thursday to survey flood damage, and also held meetings in Springfield with high-ranking officials before declaring a “state of emergency” for all of Illinois, you’d think we suffered something of historic proportions.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Jonathan Monken discussing Thursday's weather predicament makes things seem more ominous than they really are for most people. Photograph provided by State of Illinois

 

But let’s be honest. I really suspect that the bulk of us had our days tampered with much less than those individuals of West, Texas – the rural town near Waco where some fertilizer ignited and exploded.

THE END RESULT killed or maimed a significant portion of that town of some 2,400 people.

Most of us just had our lives inconvenienced by the rain – although I couldn’t help but notice that The Weather Channel Thursday morning gave equal play to both the Texas explosion AND heavy rains hitting DuPage County.

Some of us may have got stuck on the interstate for a couple of hours – turning their typical half-hour commute into an ordeal.

Others may have had their basements soaked. Although for many, that happens whenever there is a heavy rainfall. It’s not the end of the world as we know it!

IN MY CASE, I have a stinky bathroom. Or perhaps I should say, a stinkier-than-usual bathroom.

For it seems that the creek that runs right by my residence did rise to higher-than-usual levels due to the steady rainfall that began Wednesday afternoon and was still ongoing as I write this commentary on Thursday. Weather forecasts are predicting that Mother Nature’s waterworks will come to an end early Friday.

Whenever that creek level gets high, it interferes with the sewage lines in my neighborhood. In my case, the other end of the block gets hit with flooding.

My place usually sees the toilet bowl water levels fluctuate.

IN THIS CASE, I woke up to the feel of cold toilet water all over the bathroom floor. It seems the bowl overflowed sometime during the overnight hours.

My day started out with me having to mop up the bathroom floor. A couple of other times, I had to re-mop as more water came.

Yet we’re not talking about large amounts of water. It does not seem to be spreading to any other part of my humble abode. I have a smelly bathroom that I’m probably going to have to get down on my hands and knees and scrub clean before I’ll feel truly comfortable using again.

But that is do-able. It is not tragedy.

SOMEHOW, I SUSPECT my story is closer to the real-life impact – a minor inconvenience – of Thursday’s “state of emergency” than any images people would create in their minds.

Now if, by chance, someone out there reading this is suffering a major calamity, I feel for you. But it would be wrong to think that everybody is in that situation. Which is what I remember from the date Sept. 11, 2001 – which for many of us was merely a date on which we had to go home early from work when city officials evacuated the Loop – “just in case” something was plotted for Chicago too.

It wasn’t!

PERRY: Oh, be quiet!!!

The true disaster is that aforementioned incident in West, where as I write this some three people are dead and about 170 suffered some form of injuries. And about 50 homes were destroyed by the explosion – which some have said had the physical impact of the kind of bomb the military might drop on an enemy in wartime!

WHICH OUGHT TO be the focus of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s attention these days – helping those people in their time of need.

Instead of trying to defend those tacky radio ads his state is spending precious tax dollars to make ludicrous claims that the Lone Star State is a preferable place to the Land of Lincoln in any aspect!

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Isaac hits Chicago! And we’re happy. What a difference a couple of days make

Isaac is the one-time hurricane turned tropical depression that is going to hit the Midwest and the Chicago area this weekend in the form of heavy rain.

We’re going to get soggy weather both Saturday and Sunday – if the weather forecasts are correct. Of course, considering that the days of 100-degree-plus heat we had this summer has burned its memory into our brains, the idea of some cooling rainfall may well be a relief.

IN FACT, MOST Midwestern-oriented officials are praising the fact that we’ll get a bit of wet weather. We’re in drought conditions all across Illinois – with the southernmost tip of the state getting hit the worst.

Everybody thinks we could use the remnants of a hurricane that swept through New Orleans and the states of Louisiana and Mississippi seven years to the days after Hurricane Katrina left its historic devastation.

This time around, the harm isn’t quite so intense. Many businesses already are reopening, and people who had to flee just a few days ago are returning to their homes.

Although this weather story is just like many other weather stories – its significance depends on how it personally affected you.

I CAN SIT back and write this commentary from a detached perspective because all I’m getting hit with is some rainfall this weekend that may well wash some of the grime that has accumulated on my car.

I’m sure there are some people who got wiped out by Katrina who got whacked equally hard by Isaac. They’re going to forevermore equate the two storms equally – even though all the reports coming from the south indicate otherwise.

I do know a few people who live in (or near) New Orleans who have some personal stories to tell of Katrina, and I’m sure Isaac will give them some more tales to tell.

Perhaps I’ll be able to get something from them that I can share with readers of this web log in the near future. They are stories we, personally, should take into account. Unless we really want to be gullible enough to think that what we’re going to experience this weekend is the extent of Isaac.

BUT UNTIL THEN, my experience with Isaac will have to deal with this weekend, which may well center around the fact that I’ll have to dig the raincoat out of the closet for the first time in several weeks.

We’re coming up on Labor Day, we’ll soon have the sight of college football dominating the television on weekends, and the presidential campaign season is about to kick into high gear.

Summer is coming to an end. We really are coming up on autumn. So perhaps a heavy, but cooling, rainfall is ever so appropriate.

I did find it reassuring to learn that officials at the southern end of the Chicago area (Will County and the part of metro Chicago that stretches into Indiana) are convinced they’re ready to handle the rain that they say could increase the Kankakee River watershed with 5 inches of rain – compared to 1 inch that would be expected from a rainfall.

BECAUSE THE LAST thing anybody wants is some flooding. Even though it wouldn’t compare to the flooding that has hit greater New Orleans, it still becomes an inconvenience – particularly for the few individuals who get devastated by the water worse than the norm.

Although I can think of one benefit to having such rainfall this weekend.

A part of me feels like the rhetoric from the Republican National Convention dirtied us all up a bit. We can use the cleansing effect of a natural shower – otherwise that and the combination of next week’s Democratic nominating convention would just be too much trash talk crusted onto our souls for anyone to take.

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