The Waiting is the Hardest Part…

Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.  The Tigers home opener is exactly 20 days away and I can’t wait any longer.  My ball park bag is packed, my score books are ready, my pencils are sharpened, binoculars are focused, opening day attire picked out, day off of work approved, tickets in the mail, but alas, I still have 20 more days of waiting.  Can we get this show on the road already?

I look forward to the start of spring training like little kids look forward to Christmas day.  I even bake cupcakes for “happy pitchers and catchers report day” – but enough is enough. By this point in the spring, the games that are televised (Thank you MLB Network, your addictive control is strong with this one) are only teasers of the season to come.  I’m tired of watching team previews and listening to predictions.   The regular players you want to see (The Boys) only play part of the game. I’m tired of getting to the 6th inning and seeing the AA and AAA team play because all the regular everyday players have taken their hacks and gone off to shower.  Everyone is on pins and needles for fear of spring training injuries (See Joe Nathan, Josh Hamilton).  There is no fierceness to the play, no meaningful stats, no diving for grounders, no leaps for fly balls due to fear of injury, no extra innings = no point. 

Whining about the length of spring training is like whining about batting averages at the beginning of April – pointless.  But I definitely think that from a fan perspective, spring training goes on far too long.  I completely understand the need for a spring training - check out the new players, rookies,  get players back into a routine, pick your rotation and batting order, but all these things should be highly observable within the first month of Spring Training.  If Jim Leyland needs help picking out his lineup or starting rotation have him give me a call, I figured it out 2 weeks ago.  And for a nominal fee, I’ll share that information with him.  But this isn’t going to happen so I digress back to my original point.

Come late September, fans are crying for the post season to start.  It seems as if it kicks off later and later each year.  Twenty years ago, baseball season was over by the last day of October.  Now we are watching baseball well into November each year (how else did Derek Jeter get his nickname?).  By extending out the game schedule to 162 games, we have lengthened the season unreasonably.

I can’t help but think in years to come, I may have to make a very big decision on Thanksgiving day – Do I watch the Detroit Lions loose again or do I watch game 2 of the World Series?  Of course the World Series would win that contest but it shouldn’t have to be a contest to begin with.  I don’t want fewer games on the schedule (the schedule was extended for a reason), I don’t want to eliminate Inter league play (so uh, when do my Tigers play my Padres – never…) and I don’t want to watch games the second week of November.  I want the real “this counts for something”  baseball season to start at the end of March – not the last day of March – lets say, March 22nd.  That seems like a good date.  Sorry Bud Selig – I’m gunning for your job now…

I know and understand the argument for weather.  I do live in one of those “unseasonably cool” cities that has no dome on our stadium (and we like it that way).  But I don’t care.  I could handle an afternoon in the park with a hot chocolate and hot dogs to keep me warm.  Historically for the Tigers, because of Michigan’s unpredictable spring weather, the first two weeks of the season are afternoon games anyway.  So why not do it two weeks earlier?  45 degrees is not too cold for baseball.  If it’s too warm to snow, its warm enough to play ball.

So let’s get this show on the road already!  Play ball… Please…

~MotorCityKitty