Apparently Major League Baseball wants to take a run at the National Hockey League for utter cluelessness.
Instead of opening the season from California, Florida, Arizona, Texas, or from a retractable roof stadium at the very least, the real men of genius that run the game made the brilliant decision of opening the season with an April 5 night game from Chicago, as the Cubs are scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals. The game is scheduled to be telecast on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET. To add to the stupidity, there is no backup game from a retractable roof stadium site scheduled at the same time in case the game in Chicago gets rained out.
With rain in the forecast for Sunday night, as anyone would of course expect in Chicago at this time of year, Opening Night stands a good chance to become an irritating reminder of how it apparently requires a lobotomy to run the MLB or the NHL.
If We Do Get Baseball
If we do luck out, and Mother Nature gives baseball a pass, we’ll get treated to the great National League Central Division rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs. The Cubs were one of the most active and successful teams in the offseason with the acquisition of such key components as scheduled starting pitcher Jon Lester.
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High Expectations and Grand Tradition
St. Louis, as always, is thinking World Series. The Redbirds are coming off four consecutive playoff berths and have made the postseason in 11 out of the last 15 seasons.
Adam Wainwright is the scheduled starter for the Cardinals and is coming off a stellar season in which he went 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA with a WHIP of 1.03.
Mike Matheny has proven to be the perfect replacement for Tony LaRussa as manager of the Cardinals. Matheny has led the Cardinals to the post season in all three of is seasons as manager with a World Series appearance in 2013.
The Cardinals rank as one of the best run and most successful franchises in all of sports with a fan base that is indeed a nation.
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Maddon Men
With the arrival of Maddon, the Cubs have the best manager in the game and a roster that has been quietly building and learning on the job for the past couple of seasons. Lester immediately gives the Cubs pitching staff a much needed jolt of credibility while first baseman Anthony Rizzo is expected to emerge as a power hitting superstar.
Wrigley Field is going through major renovations but Cubs officials promise the ancient park will be ready. If it doesn’t rain that is…
