The Cleveland Indians entered Wednesday with two straight wins over the Chicago White Sox.
Unfortunately, the wait for a third goes on as bad weather continues to roll in over the shores of Lake Erie.
Wednesday’s game was postponed well before first pitch and that is frustrating given several things set to take place at Progressive Field during the afternoon.
Today's Indians/White Sox game has been postponed. They'll play a split doubleheader on Thursday, Sept. 23.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 2, 2021
Let’s start with what was set to happen on the mound.
A First Start That Must Wait
Rookie pitcher Eli Morgan was originally scheduled to pitch after his first start came in a monsoon last week.
Then that plan changed Tuesday night when Jean Carlos Mejia was tabbed to make his first MLB start instead.
Jean Carlos Mejía will start for the Indians tomorrow instead of Eli Morgan.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) June 2, 2021
No reason was given, but it was still great news for Mejia.
The 24-year-old has three relief appearances on the year and was a logical option to get a shot in the rotation.
He will now wait as the entire rotation may be reset because the Indians are also off Thursday.
The next game comes Friday in Baltimore, which may be a good series to throw some young pitchers out on the mound.
Facing the worst team in baseball is a great way to ease someone like Mejia or Morgan into action.
The Indians are also off next Monday and Thursday, so Terry Francona can get creative and maximize the amount of time Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale can be on the mound.
Mejia and Morgan won’t miss their opportunities because of weather, they will just have to wait a bit longer.
Zach Plesac being injured means the Indians don’t have a ton of other options unless they make a trade.
The Next Home Opener
Wednesday was also the first day in Ohio where COVID-19 health restrictions were lifted.
That meant Progressive Field was set to open at full capacity for the first time since 2019.
Alas, fans must wait until the team returns home June 11 against the Seattle Mariners.
That may be for the best as the team can spend the next week promoting the full house.
Fans can also plan for what should be a fun weekend at the ballpark.
There is no guarantee the game will be a sellout, but it will be a major change in atmosphere to hear the usual cheers of a large crowd.
The several off-days between now and then means we still don’t know who will be pitching that night.
Francona is not going to switch things around just so someone like Bieber can pitch on this Opening Day 2.0.
However, he is current scheduled to pitch next Saturday.
Having a game canceled for rain in June is a bummer.
Things should hopefully clear up next week as some sense of normal returns in the form of a baseball game.
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