Yankees hope to get Tuesday’s opener in despite weather
The tarp covers the field before the Opening Day game between the Yankees and Rays at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Everybody was talking about the weather, but no one could do anything about it Tuesday as the Yankees hoped their home opener against the Rays wouldn’t be rained out for the second straight day. Tuesday was a scheduled off day, but that was lost when Monday’s game was snowed out.
The option to move the series to Tampa Bay, where the Rays play under a dome, was not being considered.
“No,’’ chief operating Lonn Trost said in an email.
“No,’’ general manager Brian Cashman responded in kind.
Aaron Boone was a bit more expansive.
“That’s not something we’ve talked about yet,’’ he said. “I’m sure if it was really bad, then those kinds of conversations start to happen. I’m not a weatherman, I check every now and then. It doesn’t seem like we’re at that point. If it got really bad here the next couple days, you never know.’’
The Yankee Stadium turf was covered with snow when the game was called early Monday morning. Players arrived to a steady rain Tuesday for the scheduled 4:05 p.m. start. The Yankees announced around 3:40 p.m. that first pitch would be around 4:15 p.m.
“I think you just kind of deal with the weather, whatever it is,’’ Yankees reliever Chad Green said, “It’s the same for everybody. Obviously, we’d like better weather, cold weather stinks.’’
The Yankees and Rays played at Citi Field last September when a hurricane was headed for the Tampa area.
“We tracked the hurricane, that was for safety purposes,’’ Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The good thing here is they did plan the off day, so we’re only talking two games. I’m still confident we’re going to play at least one of them. So, I’m not overly concerned. I can understand if people have gripes. The Trop is domed.’’
Several seasons ago, Major League Baseball started the season in domed and warmer weather venues but that did not last because of revenue issues and those teams’ complaints playing fewer home games down the stretch. Some fans may recall the 1962 World Series between the Yankees and Giants when Game 6 was delayed by rain for three days in San Francisco.
MLB has not stepped into this situation. “Depends on the circumstances,’’ a spokesman said. “It is a division opponent that play each other a lot.’’
