If you haven’t been keeping track of the Advent Calendar, I am here to inform you that the Christmas is mere days away. Unfortunately for me and many fellow Minnesotans, Christmas is cancelled. Instead of travelling the hour home on Christmas (Real Job Inc is staffed 24/7/365, and I work Christmas Eve and Day) and back again, an hellacious storm is forecast to bring 1-2 feet of snow right on those two days. Bad news to be sure. especially given the timing.

This is the second massive snow storm the country has seen this week. On the East Coast, they made an admirable recovery, just as I suspect we in the Midwest will. In fact, in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, they shoveled the two feet of snow and played an NFL game.   Pretty impressive, if you ask me. Also, a pretty good home field advantage for the Eagles and Ravens. (The Redskins are still bad no matter what the weather).

It sort of makes you think, as a baseball fan doesn’t it? Baseball games are shorter, on average, than an NFL game, and yet somehow it is a national crisis if there is a baseball game played when the temperature is below 50 degrees. People who think they are smart seem to want to change the schedule so teams who play outdoors in colder climates can’t have home games early in the season.

This is stupid.

Why? A few reasons. First, it unfairly puinishes teams who play in these cold climates. Starting with a 14 game road trip will put some teams behind the 8-ball early, which will affect how teams play for the entire rest of the season. Second,  what about homefield advantage? Why is it OK for weather to be an advantage in football and not in baseball? Especially considering that similar conditions will arise if any of these teams make the post season, like, say, the Yankees. Third, it isn’t a safety issue. As I said, the games are shorter than they are in football, the crowds are smaller and frankly, the blistering heat in Texas or Florida is a greater concern for fans than temperatures in the 40s. Fourth, BUY A DAMN JACKET. Long sleeves, access to the clubhouse and JACKETS should mean it isn’t an issue for anyone anywhere if temperatures dip.

All right, maybe a snow storm will postpone a few games. Granted, you cannot play baseball with snow on the ground. So if we aren’t playing games in the midewest because it MIGHT snow, then we should probably cancel September games in Florida and Houston because they MIGHT get hit by a hurricane, or games in Kansas City in June, because they MIGHT have thunderstorms.

Essentially, what I am saying is that people who want to reformat the schedule aren’t doing it for practical reasons, they want things changed because they themselves are babies, and they assume everyone else is.

Now, have a very Merry Christmas, but by all means, stay indoors if the temperature dips below 60 degrees where you are.