Back-to-back rainouts change pitching picture, create scheduling headaches

April 11, 2013 by Mike Axisa 26 Comments

Remember when the Yankees played baseball? (Getty)

Despite back-to-back rain outs in Cleveland these last two days, the Yankees will not alter their rotation heading into this weekend’s series against the Orioles. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Andy Pettitte will start the next three games in that order, meaning Phil Hughes is having his start skipped just like Ivan Nova. Hughes told Meredith Marakovits he’ll be available out of the bullpen this weekend, which is pretty awesome actually. He’s always been very effective in relief. Monday’s off-day affords the team some extra pitching flexibility as well. Hughes is currently scheduled to start Tuesday against the Diamondbacks pending his usage this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Yankees will have to trek back to Ohio to make up not one, but two games at some point this summer. They share only four common off-days with the Indians, not counting the Thursday following the All-Star Game and the day between the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason…

Monday, April 15th
Thursday, May 2nd
Monday, May 13th
Monday, September 23rd

April 15th is this coming Monday, right smack in the middle of a six-game homestand. May 2nd and September 23rd are also right in the middle of homestands while the Yankees will be traveling from Kansas City back to New York on May 13th. I think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll schedule a doubleheader for one of those dates and bang out both games at once. September 23rd is probably the most preferably makeup date in terms of reducing the number of consecutive days with a game (from the Yankees’ perspective) since they have both the prior and following Monday off.

Now here’s where things get really messy: it’s supposed to rain all day in New York tomorrow. The heaviest stuff is expected in the morning, but the forecast right now says the showers will continue through the night. Three consecutive rain outs (in two different cities) would be pretty crummy. Not only would the bombers have three postponed games to make up just two weeks into the new season, but you also have to worry about the hitters losing their rhythm and what not. The Yankees’ bats did some major damage on Monday and Tuesday and I really would like that to continue. Nothing they can do though, the weather is the weather. Unfortunate timing.

Chelo

Man. We should invest in domes for all teams lol
- Kiko Jones
  
  Yup, heh heh.
crespo

¡Por dios!
- Kiko Jones
  
  +1
Kiko Jones

Monday is Jackie Robinson Day; looking forward to it. Btw, I believe the Dodgers have a standing scheduling request with MLB so that they can be home on JRD, for obvious reasons. But the Bombers, at least lately, also seem to be home on that day, too. (And Mrs. Robinson has been at the Stadium for the festivities, as well.) Coincidence, or have the Yankees made a similar request to MLB?
- johnnybk
  
  I’ve been at the last 2. It really is one of my favorite games of the year, seeing everyone in 42 and the whole thing I think is just really awesome.
  
  On another note, if they don’t play tomorrow I’m gonna wake up Saturday having DTs. I need my Yankees baseball fix
- vicki
  
  and robbie always tears it up on that day. i guess we have ours tuesday?
fabricio

i hope they get the game in tomorrow me and my dad are hoping to see our ace pitch plus i wanna see the yankees smack the orioles around for being such a pain in the ass last year
Bob Buttons

CC and Andy and two days of rain?
Eddard

But at least tomorrow’s possible rain delay will be handled by the Yankees and not these clowns in Cleveland. I agree 100% with the decision to start the 3 aces against a division rival. It’s just too bad we couldn’t have gone into the homestand on a 4 game win streak with the 3 aces lined up against the Os.
Frank

I don’t think have a few April games postponed is a bad thing. When we make those up, we should have more of the offense together and be closer to whatever constitutes full strength.
- Frank
  
  …before this season got started, I think most of us would have signed up for some rain outs in April, lol!
trancje

survive and advance…
trr

nah, I wanted ’em to play
forensic

Sure sees like May 13th is an obvious day for at least one of the games. Not sure if they’d try to do 2 though.

If nothing else, at least Baltimore used Darren O’Day and Jim Johnson each of the last two games against Boston, so maybe they won’t be at full strength, or even available, for at least 1 or 2 of the games.

Of course, ideally they won’t have any late leads to need to use them for…
Tom

Maybe MLB should consider playing 1 game on the Thursday of the all star break?

Whatever they do is going to be followed up with another game anyway (and at a minimum travel for the Yankees) but at least both teams have the day off before it. This helps minimize long stretches of games where they run up against the CBA limit and playing a DH on an offday is brutal when you have to fly in the night before and fly out right after the 2nd game for a game the following day.
- Havok9120
  
  They probably should (and will) consider it, but not for very long. And I certainly very much doubt that they’ll actually do it.
- forensic
  
  Even though there’s a day off before that Thursday, I’m not a big fan of scheduling for that day.
  
  Before the break the Yankees are home, then the ASG is in NY. Then they’d need to fly from NY to Cleveland, then fly right back to the east coast to be in Boston.
  
  I know nothing is very convenient, but at least May 13th they’re kind of flying over Cleveland anyway returning to NY, so it’s not crazy far out of the way.
  
  Who knows though, with two games to have to make-up, anything could happen.
McLovin

Pray for no rain.
http://www.twitter.com/mattpat11 Matt DiBari

I wouldn’t object if we followed the Sabathia-Kuroda-Pettitte-two days of rain-repeat pattern all year, honestly.
Jim Cavanaugh

2 night no baseball in a row, just when it looked like they might have gotten on a hot streak lol.

Guys, i am heading to the stadium Tuesday night, am i correct to assume ill be subject to the Nova Show with no apparent changes in the rotation ?
- forensic
  
  They actually said that so far it’s likely it’ll be Hughes on Tuesday, but that could change depending on what happens with them in the bullpen over the weekend.
crespo

Boy, Jesus looks really bad behind the dish right now.
forensic

Just watching through the rain delay coverage from tonight (yes, I’m that pitiful), Michael Kay says that Wednesday night the rain stopped a little after 9 but they called the game early just before 8.

So, of course tonight, they wait a little longer, announce a starting time, and then nothing happens.

Geez, how pitiful have these last two nights been. No wonder nobody ever wins anything in Cleveland. Whether or not all of these decisions were theirs or not, it’s just a big pile of suck.
FLYER7

Never understood why they schedule 4 game series in April between teams making only one trip to town? Invites mid season return trips…it’s as bad a decision as opening in cold Eastern climates in March instead of warm weather cities and dome cities lmao
Midland TX

Obligatory “Ichiro on Cleveland make-up games” quote:

http://deadspin.com/267734/ichiro-does-not-think-cleveland-rocks