Musing From the Bleachers 04.09.09: Welcome Back

Posted by Frank Fedele on 04.09.2009

A familiar refrain has been heard in baseball stadiums around the United States, “Play Ball”. It is a sweet music to many fans ears, this one’s included. We welcome baseball back from the offseason and look at some early quirks that have us wondering.

Opening Day

The long spring training has ended and Opening Day is upon us. A day that should be a national holiday and the real sign that spring is upon us. Baseball opened the 2009 season in the home of the World Champion Phillies taking on the division rival Braves. It was the only game of the night, so it had all the baseball fans full attention. A great game of baseball was played (at least if you are a Braves fan) and the ESPN crew did a wonderful job of broadcasting it. There were some things that just rang wrong about it though.


Chipper Jones being congratulated by his manager Bobby Cox after an opening day win

Days of Yore

Back when I was watching baseball in my youth, there were two things you could count on for the opening of the baseball season. The games would be played on Monday and the first game of the season would always be in Cincinnati. The rest of the games would follow behind, but the Reds were given the first game each year since they were the oldest franchise in the majors. This however has gone away, much like the day game during the week.

Baseball striving to please their television partners has created an evening event for the network. Opening day will now be played at night on Sunday with a matchup to be determined by MLB and influenced by television. Granted, the Reds haven't been a great team for a number of years but this is a tradition I do miss this time of year.

Final Thoughts

News flash. Weather can be bad in Boston and Chicago in early April. Who knew!!!

Apparently not major league baseball as they scheduled opening series in both Boston and Chicago this year that were affected by bad weather. To make the matter even more perplexing, Boston played Tampa Bay where the weather is much more pleasant this time of year. Tampa even went to the World Series last year for the American league, but was forced on the road to open the season.


April weather in Boston

One of the many things that taxes my little brain.


The good news is baseball is back and the long season has begun. Come back next time where we start to look at some early season trends. Until then, that is my view from my bleacher seat. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.