I can understand if you made a case for the NFL starting the season on a Thursday — although Wednesday this year due to the Democratic National Convention — ahead of the usual slate of Sunday games.

It’s football. Teams play one game a week (aside from another Thursday game) and there are only 16 regular-season games.

There’s an anticipation, a buildup leading to the game, then the next game, whoever it may be.

Baseball, however, is not in the same boat. It only acts that way.

Has anyone enjoyed this year’s setup? The scheduling has been atrocious and it’s hard to determine what exactly is Opening Day.

• Was it the two-game series last Wednesday and Thursday between the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners — at the Tokyo Dome in Japan?

I have no problem with playing a series overseas. I understand Major League Baseball’s attempt to sell its product throughout the world.

The league would care less if more people across the world played the game, just so long as you buy some jerseys, they’re fine.

Still, the games were played at 6:10 a.m. EST on Wednesday (a 3-1 Mariners win) and at 5:04 a.m. the next day (a 4-1 A’s triumph).

Could there be a worse time for these games to be played? It’s either very early in the morning on this side of the country and the middle of the night on the West Coast.

• Maybe it will be Wednesday night, an ESPN telecast between the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins (try getting used to that name).

Made for TV, the first game in the United States for the 2012 season and oh, yeah, the only game scheduled for the night.

• Will it be Thursday, where — oh wait — seven games will be played or...

• Friday, when nine games will be played but only one of those games will be by teams which played Thursday.

• Maybe it’s Saturday, when all 30 teams — 15 games in all — will be in action before we drop back to a 14-game slate on Sunday.

Only Seattle and Oakland will not play Sunday. Those teams will have played Friday and Saturday in Oakland, on top of the two games last week.

For the record, Oakland was the home team for those games in Tokyo. Nothing like taking away a couple of home games away from Oakland. Last time I checked, that city could have used the extra revenue that comes with hosting a major league game. Granted, it may not have packed them in, but it’s still money that’s gone for the community.

Baseball needs to clear up a messy issue like this. Casual fans may be thrown off by a rag-tag schedule like this.

And, teams should have guaranteed Friday, Saturday and Sunday games. It’s the weekend, perhaps the best chance for your fan base, including children, have a chance to attend a game.]

Doesn’t that seem like an ideal concept?

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.