The American League Central has bore the brunt of the weather woes around MLB in both games postponed as well as injuries and roster adjustments. Yes, these postponed games so early in the season can cause managers to scramble to get the matchup’s they were looking for early in the season.

Take for instance the Tigers situation where a few days before Opening Day I wrote about the pitching matchup’s through April. This couldn’t be much more different with Rogers out now and the Leyland changing the rotation to handle the postponed game by moving Bonderman up to pitch tomorrow against KC.

With the number of off days being very few through the season rescheduling could be a nightmare as well in addition to causing fewer off days for each team. The effect of these games goes even farther as mentioned in Buster Olney’s column today (subscription):

The weather impacts the way the games are played. Hitters tend to rush through their at-bats, hacking at pitches early in the count. The normally patient Yankees, for example, averaged 3.5 pitches per plate appearances, markedly lower than their average, during Thursday’s Freeze Bowl against the Devil Rays. The strike zone during the game between Detroit and Kansas City Friday was … interesting, and you could understand if the human nature of umpires came into play, because unlike the players, they have to stand out in the cold all night, without retreating to the dugout every other half inning.

Here’s a rundown of all postponed games thus far in the AL Central:

• Thursday, April 5th: Toronto vs Detroit (Rescheduled for Sept, 10th)
• Friday, April 6th: Seattle vs Cleveland (Rescheduled for Apr 7th w/ Double Header)
• Friday, April 6th: Minnesota vs Chicago (Not Rescheduled Yet)
• Saturday, April 7th: Seattle vs Cleveland; both games postponed

If you haven’t seen it yet, last nights game in Cleveland against the Mariners was a disaster with the team playing a number of innings before the game was officially called with 1 out left until it could be made official. Cleveland was winning the game at that point and adding insult to injury Victor Martinez, the Indians starting catcher, could be headed to the DL after an injury in last nights game.

While it is true the is unseasonable weather for the year, those who live here in Detroit year-round are not shocked. So what do we do about this? Well, Doug at the Daily Fungo has outlined some idea’s. Buster Olney’s suggestion is that north-based teams start the year off on the road. I think the answer is somewhere in-between.

162 games is too many. Teams deserve more days off each month and I hate saying that as I hate it when there isn’t a game on. I also hate saying the Tigers should open on the road but I think the risk and havoc that postponements play on a team is worth the sacrifice of opening on the road in the south. That said my guess is that no changes will be made to address this, at least this year.

What do you think?