Pattern of dismal weather at the ballpark continues

CEDAR RAPIDS – The next tarp pull at Veterans Memorial Stadium is Thursday morning at 9:30. Volunteers always are welcomed.

'I'd say we're probably at about 20 of them already,” Cedar Rapids Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson said. 'And counting.”

Wednesday night's game against the Kane County Cougars was postponed by persistent light showers. The teams will attempt to play a double-header Thursday afternoon at 5.

It's sort of remarkable the first two games of the four-game Midwest League series were played, considering it has been Groundhog Day around here this week. Rain and cold every single day.

It has been rain and/or cold for virtually all 10 Kernels' home games thus far. Nelson said the average game-time temperature has been a not-so-balmy 51 degrees, the coldest opening stretch the club has ever had.

Thank goodness it's almost May, right?

'It is frustrating from two perspectives,” Nelson said. 'One, from a GM's perspective, (it's frustrating) knowing that you are sending guys out in 30-degree weather to play baseball, knowing that there is going to be mist or moisture falling on them, that they are playing in obviously not ideal conditions.

'Then it's just frustrating from a gate perspective. I certainly don't blame the fans. It's not comfortable being out here in 30-degree weather.”

The Kernels are averaging 1,187 fans in their first 11 openings, third worst in the 16-team MWL. They drew 607 fans to Tuesday night's game, opposed to 2,574 in Fort Wayne for its game against Great Lakes.

Then, again, it was 49 degrees in Cedar Rapids an hour before game time and 75 in Fort Wayne.

'I didn't think it could get any worse than last year, when we averaged 55 degrees for our first 10 games. I was wrong,” Nelson said. 'But with all this being said, a good weekend in June will quickly erase April.”

This was the second rainout of the season for Cedar Rapids, which is nothing compared to Wisconsin's five already. General managers decide when and if games begin, but it's up to the umpires to determine how long teams play once they are underway.

Safety of the players always is paramount.

'Today, the first thing I did was to go talk to both managers,” Nelson said. 'Make sure they are both comfortable with the playing conditions. I take what they say into account, lean on them heavily to give me direction on what to do.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@sourcemedia.net