Hey Bud, You May Want to Revisit This Early Schedule

As Old Man Winter continues to hold a majority of the country in his crotchety, frozen grip for a bit longer than usual, we've seen more than a few early season games canceled due to winter weather in places like Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland. In addition to that, almost nightly we've seen images from many cities of players bundled up like ninjas or bank robbers and generally just looking miserable. Baseball is just not a fun game to play when it's 30 degrees outside with a 40 mph wind in your face. Not to mention when you're trying to run in snow, right Victor Martinez?

Truth be told though, cold weather during the first couple weeks of April is really nothing new so why are we bitching about it? Well because it begs the question: why let this happen in the first place? The are enough teams now in warm weather cities, semi-warm weather cities, or in domes/retractable roofs that MLB doesn't have to play outdoor games in cold weather cities (at NIGHT no less!) the first week to 10 days of the season just in case winter hangs on a little long like it has this year. After about 10 minutes of analyzing the teams, I've compiled a list of 15 teams that should open the first 2 to 3 series of each season at home EVERY YEAR. You know the MLBPA would agree with this. Here's the breakdown:

AL
1. Tampa Bay - Tropicana Field, Warm weather and a dome. What more could you ask for? Besides a better team on the field, of course.
2. Toronto - Rogers Centre, Canada is cold as hell in April but wisely they've got a dome with a retractable roof.
3. Minnesota - HHH Metrodome, For now they're still in the dome. Once the new outdoor stadium comes, they're off the list. How can they not be considering some kind of roof?
4. Los Angeles of Anaheim - Angels Stadium, Regardless of what city in California they pretend to be in, you usually cant ask for better weather there.
5. Texas - The Ballpark at Arlington, Usually in the 60's this time of year although unusually cold there this year. Hey would you rather be "Texas cold" or "Boston cold?"
6. Oakland - McAfee Coliseum, The warmer side of the Bay area.
7. Seattle - Qwest Field, Not exactly warm this time of year but it's average temperature of 57 degrees is better than the rest of the AL.

NL
1. Florida - Dolphin Stadium, Really a no brainer. Might want a roof to keep out summer rain if they ever get that new ballpark.
2. Milwaukee - Miller Park, A retractable roof in a cold climate. Minnesota should be taking notes.
3. Houston - Minute Maid Park, Mild climate with retractable roof basically to keep it cool in the summer.
4. Los Angeles - Dodger Stadium, Another picture perfect locale.
5. San Diego - Petco Park, Probably the best weather in the country.
6. Arizona - Chase Field, Great weather this time of year and a retractable roof to keep you from spontaneously combusting in the summer.
7. San Francisco - AT&T Park, Generally good weather this time of year in the low 60's. Sometimes it's actually colder in the summer.
8. Atlanta - Turner Field, The last one on the list for the NL. Weather is usually in the high 50's or low 60's. It's cold this year but better than the Northeast or Midwest.

So for everybody else, you'll have your opening days around the middle of April on that 2nd weekend. If they're not happy about playing the first 6-9 games on the road, maybe let them close out the seasons with a 6-9 game homestand against some of those teams. It's better than the alternative of playing games in front of sparse crowds and having your players go through the motions. (Insert Pirates joke here)