April 09--Despite frigid temperatures and a field that was covered in snow and ice this morning, the White Sox game against Cleveland is on.
Head groundskeeper Roger "The Sodfather" Bossard was out early Saturday morning shoveling snow off the tarp.
"It doesn't seem unfamiliar," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "But there won't be snow. Roger's gonna get rid of it. I trust him. It'll be cold, but I think guys are used to it by now. Everybody that plays in northern cities, you start in April, you're gonna get it. You get used to it, prepare for it, put on enough gear and go get em.
Bossard had to wait until the air temperature rose above freezing to hose down the outfield and melt the snow. The plan worked, and the field is playable. But the Sox couldn't remove the ice from the ramps leading to the upper deck, and decided to close off the entire upper deck for safety reasons. Fans were allowed to exchange their seats for tickets in the lower bowl.
Thousands of fans still waited to get into the park at game time.
While it should be a pitcher's day, Ventura doesn't expect the Sox to have any real advantage.
"I think Cleveland has bad weather too, so it's not necessarily an advantage," he said. "But there's no sense in complaining about it because we're gonna play the game. You play it, you try to get the most out of it as you can. They're playing in the same stuff."
The parking lots are also covered in ice, and some have not been salted, so fans should be careful getting out of their vehicles.
Sox ace Chris Sale will make his second start, facing Cody Anderson.
"For me, you have a smile on your face coming to the ballpark," Ventura said. "You know you have one of the better pitchers in the league. I think the team has that, too. You have a guy like him going, you feel pretty good about it. You wouldn't think it would be different, but it's different when you know he's going."
Sox outfielder Adam Eaton is not with the team as he attends the birth of his child. Austin Jackson will play center and led-off.
