Weekday Baseball: Best. Thing. Ever.

This morning in Hartford, Connecticut, it was 1 degree above zero after the windchill had been factored in. Yes, this is commonplace where I'm originally from in Minnesota, but it's pretty chilly as far as New England goes. We haven't had snow here since October, when we were without power for almost a week, so it hasn't felt exactly wintry until the past few days. In fact, our grass is still relatively green, which almost gives you the illusion that it's not January, and that baseball season isn't three long months away.

As I scraped my car off this morning, I thought of one of the best baseball quotes ever, from Rogers Hornsby: "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." I have always loved that quote. It reminds me of how much people love the game of baseball and its traditions, and also how players used to play simply for the love of the game (and earned a paycheck that wasn't 1,000 times larger than what the average guy made). It's kind of the way I felt this morning. I'm no Rogers Hornsby, but I think I await the new season in just the same way, and I bet many of you do, too. So today's post is about something that I'm looking forward to this upcoming baseball season.

Weekday Baseball. It might be the best thing ever invented. Not that I ever attend weekday games, living in central Connecticut, but I greatly enjoy following them on the computer. Nothing is better than a Thursday getaway day game, usually starting at 1 p.m. my time, and lasting until I'm just about to start wrapping up my day. However you follow it -- whether it's through your computer, twitter, smartphone, the hushed tones of AM 1500 at your office, or perhaps you're occasionally lucky enough to sneak off to Target Field -- it's fantastic.

For me there's just something great about being able to monitor a Twins game while I'm working. Not that I'm the best, or most efficient, employee on those days, but I will tell you that I'm most definitely a happier co-worker to be around. Somehow, just being able to check the score every half hour or so makes a big difference in morale. I count 3 regular season weekday games in April, so that's something to look forward to. And even when the Twins were awful in 2011, a getaway day game while I was working still caught my attention.

Other sports haven't really imparted day games into their scheduling (not counting the NFL, of course), let alone weekday games. Travel considerations seem to be a big factor in scheduling day baseball games, and the way series are scheduled in baseball is unique when compared to the other sports. Watching the NHL classic the other day, I couldn't get over how great it was to see outdoor, daytime professional hockey. I als envisioned it being held at Target Field. It also reminds me of that first Thursday of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, when all your co-workers are checking their brackets, practically starting in the mid-morning. Every now and then, people just need an escape from their routine. And if you can't attend the day games, being connected to the game in one way or another -- whether through the dulcet tones of "Dazzle" Dan Gladden, or from LaVelle E. Neal's tweets -- makes things just a little bit better for those three hours.