Players dealing with cold spells (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TRIES TO ADAPT TO GLOBAL COOLING)

Cleveland.Indians.Mlb.com ^ | 04/12/2007 | Anthony Castrovince

[Chi-townChief]

They donned long johns. They slipped into the sleeved shirts. They stocked up on the stocking caps. This is how the Cleveland Indians prepared for their purported home opener against the Mariners at Jacobs Field last Friday, bundling up for baseball in 30-degree temperatures and sheets of snow.

Perhaps, in some parallel universe, these are the conditions in which the glorious game is played.

But here in the present tense of planet Earth, it's an alien experience.

"They call us the boys of summer," Tribe outfielder David Dellucci said. "We're not supposed to be playing in frigid conditions."

The conditions in Cleveland were so bad that the Indians didn't get that opener in. Instead, they made the trek all the way to the indoor comforts of Miller Park just to play some so-called "home" games.

But not every ballclub can run and hide from the wintry conditions that inevitably come with the month of April. They are at the mercy of schedule makers.

And this year, more than any other in recent memory, that schedule has been thrown out of whack by a particularly brutal round of global cooling.

Rain delays are one thing, but the Blue Jays and Tigers had a game in Detroit postponed April 4 because of wind chill in the teens. The Twins and White Sox saw their April 6 game in Chicago "colded out," for lack of a better term. The Cubs and Astros were snowed out at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and the Indians, famously, had their entire four-game home series with the Mariners wiped out by the white stuff this past weekend.

As for the chilled games that go on, well, hang with 'em, boys.

"This weather is crazy," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It's just something you have to deal with. You just pray that nobody gets hurt."

Ah, but that, like most things in life, is easier said than done.

Team trainers have their players stretch thoroughly and move around between innings, but one can never be sure how the muscles will react to the conditions.

"Football players go through it an awful lot, but they are running on the field and they're padded," Dellucci said. "The way that sport is played, they're constantly in motion. In baseball, whether it's a swing or stealing a base or in the outfield, you go from a complete standstill to completely explosive on one or two steps."

Cold weather slows down the body and affects every part of the game.

To hitters, the fastballs look a little faster. And if you make contact with one, you better hit the sweet spot of the bat. Otherwise, you're in for a world of hurt.

"It's miserable," Reds outfielder Adam Dunn said. "I hit two balls off the end of the bat [during a recent game], and it felt like I just stuck my hand in a honeybee's nest and pulled out about 50."

Dunn isn't the only one buzzing about how bad the conditions are.

"It's tough to see the ball," said third baseman Chad Tracy, whose Diamondbacks left the desert to open their season in Colorado and Washington, D.C., "because your eyes are watering and you have the wind in your face."

Perhaps as a result of the spring chill, home runs in the first week of the season were hit at their lowest rate since 1993, dropping from 2.4 per game in '06 to 1.8, according to Elias Sports Bureau. And runs per game dropped from 10.51 to 8.55, the lowest mark since 8.21 runs were averaged in '92.

Thanks to stats like those, pitchers are said to have it easier this time of year. But the hands don't always cooperate with that claim.

"The balls are rock-hard, and it's tough to get a grip," said Yankees left-hander Sean Henn. "The wind is blowing and it dries your hand out. It's like there's baby powder all over the ball."

Said Mariners pitcher Horacio Ramirez: "It feels like you are throwing a cue ball. You can't feel the stitches on the ball."

If a pitcher can fight through the abnormal surroundings and get a feel for the ball, he can gain a distinct advantage on the hitter. But that doesn't mean his defense will necessarily be able to back him up as smoothly as it might in, say, June.

Reaction time is weakened when the temperature dips. And when the wind kicks in? Well, sometimes it's anybody's guess where a batted ball might end up.

During an April 4 game in Detroit, with wind gusts nearing 50 mph, the Tigers' Craig Monroe hit a popup on the first-base side that appeared destined for the seats in foul territory.

"[The ball] went up," said Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, "and it just looked like it stopped and took an immediate left. It was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it. I caught that ball near second base. [First baseman Lyle Overbay] was running toward the stands, and I stayed at second. Lyle was in a panic, saying, 'Aaron!'"

Latin players who didn't grow up in this nonsense can sometimes panic when they get their first taste of it. Indians third baseman Andy Marte, a native of the Dominican Republic, remembers his, and the thought still gives him chills.

"It was in High-A ball, in the Carolina League, in Wilmington, Delaware," Marte said. "We got out on the field that day, and I almost told the manager I could not handle that. It was freezing, like 30 degrees. It was terrible."

Sure enough, Marte went 0-for-5.

"That was my worst game ever," he said with a laugh.

Laughter is probably the best tactic in the face of such a biting backdrop, because complaining certainly isn't going to affect the weather chart.

"In times like this," Dellucci said, "it's easy to be negative and say, 'It's too cold. Poor, pitiful me.' But our goal is to go out and win. Whether it's freezing cold or extreme heat, we've got to win ballgames."

Now, that's a thought most ballplayers can warm up to.

[Chi-townChief]

The Tribe should get Al Gore instead of Billy Joel to throw out the first pitch for their late home opener - then everyone could take turns throwing snowballs at Weird Al.

[umgud]

It will be so cold that lawyers will be seen with their hands in their own pockets.

[Jhensy]

Do we need to be reminded once again that....

The Sports Illustrated Curse lives!!!

Idiots.

[Chode]

we got a couple inches of GlobalWarming again today...

[randog]

Amazing how “Spring” is being re-discovered.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

I guess all the AL West games can be played at home. Good News for the Angels! WAAAHHHOOOOOOOO!!

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

That’s what I was thinking! Nice Post!