Whether the Weather Can Be An Advantage

With the frigid temps overtaking the upper Midwest, it is playing havoc on the early baseball season. Yesterday, the Tigers and Blue Jays were postponed due to the frigid wind chills, and snow flakes were falling as Andy Pettitte made his return to Yankee Stadium. Today, there have already been three snow delays during the Tribe and Mariners match up at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Most notably though was the early morning cancellation of the Twins and White Sox game on the South Side of Chicago. Why is this the most notable of the baseball weather events you ask? It gives Ron Gardenhire and Rick Peterson the opportunity to deliberate on the rotation for the Saturday and Sunday match ups. The weather is not supposed to improve much over the weekend so the two of them should take a couple of things into consideration when making their decision.

First off, ace and one of the faces of the organization, Johan Santana, is a known slow starter, specifically on the road. With the frigid temperatures it makes it that much more difficult for a pitcher to get loose and risks for injury are increased. Cold temperatures also play into account for pitchers who use off speed pitches (curve and change up). With less feeling in your hands and fingers, it makes it difficult to get a good feel for the ball; a necessity for Johan's out pitch, the change up.

Secondly, the Twins return home Monday to face the Yankees in the Metrodome. As I posted here in an article entitled Dome Field Advantage prior to Santana's season opening win, the Twins and Johan are unbeatable in now 24 consecutive starts in the dome. By not throwing Santana in the frigid Chicago weather on Sunday, it would allow him to pitch 8 of his first 12 games in the Metrodome vs. an even 6 on the road and 6 at home. With the strength of the teams in the AL Central, those two extra games in the Dome for Johan could be very important in the Twins defense of the AL Central Division.