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There are a number of good, logistical reasons why the dome at the Rogers Centre needs to be closed during Wednesday afternoon's deciding game of the American League Division Series.

After more than 25 years of use, the mechanism that controls the roof has middle-aged performance issues. It has trouble getting going in the cold. At 15 C, it starts getting creaky. Around 10 C, you risk a small contraction of the structure which may knock the motors that move the roof out of sync.

There is the real chance that, once opened on what most would call a mild autumn day, the roof cannot be closed again. It's gotten stuck before. Once stuck, it is preposterously vulnerable.

Unlike outdoor arenas, the Rogers Centre has no drainage system. If it gets sufficiently wet, it's not a ballpark any more. It's an aquarium.

Consider this, people: You and I spent more than $500-million to build something that is less impervious to the elements than the shed in your backyard.

Rogers Communications Inc., the owner and operator of the team and the building, has taken a hellacious amount of stick from locals over the roof. People are still going to the park in shorts.

Rogers is acting as if the games are being played in Kamchatka.

The man out front is Blue Jays' senior vice-president Stephen Brooks. He's become a bit of a social-media jiu jitsu artist – the angrier fans get at him about the miserable lid, the more reasonable Mr. Brooks becomes.

"We would love the roof to be open. Baseball is meant to played outdoors," he said Tuesday.

Well, there you go. Let's talk about that feeling. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?

"The risk is damaging the roof such that it cannot be closed again, causing millions of dollars of damage and making the building unplayable."

Oh.

Now that they're in the playoffs, the Toronto Blue Jays do not have the final say on whether the dome can be opened. That rests with the office of the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred.

The commissioner's office is not interested in mechanical issues or the temperature, per se. It only insists that whatever condition the roof is in when the teams take batting practice – opened or closed – must be maintained until the completion of the game.

As of this writing, the forecast for Wednesday at 4 p.m. – when the Jays will go do-or-die with the Texas Rangers – is clear and 13 C. There is a slight chance of rain, but when isn't there?

That's on the edge, but we'll be audacious, right?

"If I had to guess – and it's not my decision – the roof will be closed," Mr. Brooks said Tuesday.

So we're out of luck.

Practically, it makes sense.

This is not a time to be practical.

The Jays are a team driven by power. When closed, the dome is a concrete power dampener. The air stills and thickens. The ball does not travel off the bat. Outdoor home runs become indoor shots to the warning track.

In the 13th inning of Game 2, Josh Donaldson hooked a ball to the second deck in left field. It curled foul by a few metres. If the dome's open and the wind is swirling, that's probably a home run and the Jays aren't playing Wednesday. They're resting up, waiting for the winner of Kansas City-Houston.

Instead, they got small-balled to death and here we are.

The numbers are unequivocal. Toronto had one of the best home records in baseball this season, but there was a profound disconnect between how the Jays did with the roof open (38-14) and with it closed (11-14). That is too big a spread to be an anomaly.

That roof-closed record has worsened by two losses in the playoffs.

This spat between fans and officials has been framed largely as an issue of aesthetics – Rogers Centre is a claustrophobic, humid pillbox when sealed.

But there is the very real potential that an engineering issue may cost the fan base its overdue postseason celebration. The numbers certainly suggest that. Is ownership really going to let that happen if there's even a small chance it might affect the outcome?

Teams spend many millions on players who don't work out, and think nothing of it. But the idea of having to replace a motor or pull out a few seats is an economic bridge too far? Seriously?

Rogers stands to make a significant sum from another playoff round. That profit effect will echo through next year. What's that worth when weighed against the risk of a roof malfunction?

Isn't this why people get into business? To take risks? This seems to be a rather low one.

One of the virtues of having means is that you can pay for new toys. I'm sure you've noticed your phone bill; Rogers can afford to refurbish something it bought for a nickel on the dollar.

The bottom line is this: It is the responsibility of the people who maintain the building to safeguard it. That's why they draw a cheque.

As the people who provide the means for that cheque, fans have no similar responsibility.

A lot of people have paid a lot of money to watch mediocre baseball over the past 20 years. They've paid for Rogers Centre several times over. They've earned the right to break it. And once broken, it can be fixed. Because everything can be fixed.

Absolute worst-case scenario – the Jays play a World Series in High Park. I'm up for it.

This year, Jays management took several imaginative leaps to transform the team. Trading away a zillion prospects for Troy Tulowitzki, David Price et al looks like genius now.

It most certainly would not if the Jays had folded up in the last couple of weeks of the regular season. People would be getting fired. Instead, they're heroes.

It's time for their employers to be as bold.

On an accountant's spreadsheet, it isn't a good idea to open the dome on Wednesday. But sometimes it's fun to be bad. It's even more fun to win.

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