Opening Day

The Pacific League has decided to postpone their opening day until April. The Central League is set to open on March 25th (though this may be reconsidered). So what do people think - should the baseball season start on March 25th given the earthquake and the struggle to restore a credible power supply in Tokyo? A sense of normality and inspiration might well be obtained from the start of the season but should there be a delay? Opinions welcome.

I'm glad someone brought this up. You know, if somebody brought this up 10 years ago I would've said it was too soon but having gone through 9/11 and seeing what that Mets v Braves game on 9/21 did by lifting peoples spirits, I say lets play the games.

I wasn't there that night but watched it on TV, and i still think Piazza hitting that go ahead 2-run HR in the bottom of the 8th inning is one of my favorite baseball moments. It helped us forget things for only a few hours but it was a welcome distraction.

Sure this is only a personal anecdote and I'm not going to compare tragedies but having been through something so terrible, I can assure you that playing the games will really lift the spirits of those who choose to watch the games.

As long as no players or fans are put at risk, lets play ball. These games could also be used to raise money if the clubs get together on this. I honestly believe a lot of good can come from these games. What do others think?

Yes, people want a return to normality, and this would be a great way to do it. It's now been a week and a day, and I'm finally able to concentrate on my work like it was a normal work day. (Yes, I work on Saturdays.) The stress level is starting to die down.

However, we're keeping all the lights off at home all day long, making it dark and dreary in an effort to conserve electricity. It felt like winter returned on Friday, yet we refrained from using either electric or kerosine heaters, as the electric-based air conditioner consumes a lot of power and kerosine is not available anywhere near where I live in Yokohama right now. The whole family is wearing jackets throughout the day in the house. And there are a lot of people, even across the bay in Chiba, not to mention up north, much worse off than we are.

I really don't like putting moral judgements on what others do or don't do. But using as much power as it takes for lights at the various stadiums just doesn't strike me as being a very good neighbor. People and businesses have been doing an excellent job at cutting back on power consumption, as we have yet to have a scheduled black out in our area gone through with.

Does the Central League really want to start the season on time? If so, play day games, even during the week. People came out in the 1960s before light pole were put up. Rakuten even had a few week day day games in the spring time in past seasons to combat the extremely cold of night with normal turn outs.

If inspiring the population is so important, be a good neighbor and do so in the light of day.

> If inspiring the population is so important, be a
> good neighbor and do so in the light of day.

And according to the press, this is what's happening. Games in Kanto early on in the schedule will be day games. I've always been wanting to see some day games played during the week like they do in the majors. Brings out a different kind of fan.