I'd hate to be stuck in a burning building with baseball commissioner Bud Selig as my only chance at rescue. The man's got no onions. He's a strictly nickels-and-cents kind of guy, with zero ability to think on the fly or to react decisively. He's done good things during his tenure but in the clutch he's got the instincts of a used car sales rep.
Last night's travesty recalled his inept response to the infamously tied All-Star game several years ago. Last night however was far worse. Selig suspended the game in the middle of the 6th inning, after the Rays had been able to tie the game thanks to horrendous field conditions. Worse, he then put the responsibility for the decision on everyone but himself.
I've got no problem with the game being suspended. There's no way a World Series should be decided by a suspended game. But it should either have been postponed in the first place or suspended in the 4th, when field conditions had already deteriorated to unplayable. Instead, the Rays got the opportunity to bat in the 6th with the Phillies fielders and pitcher at a distinct disadvantage. The Phillies never got the chance to come to bat in the bottom with the Rays pitcher and fielder forced to perform in the same dreadful conditions. That's what's not fair.
In his press conference afterwards, Selig stuttered and stumbled. First he threw the CBP groundskeeper under the bus, as if that guy were responsible for making the decision. The grounds crew did all that it could but there was water pooling at home plate, the outfield was slick, and the infield a sodden mess. Selig and his umpiring crew could see that as well as anyone. The field was not fit for a regular season game, much less a World Series game.
Next, Selig blamed the weather forecasters. Now, yesterday morning the forecasts had been for rain starting late and going into the night. By afternoon, Accuweather and the Weather Channel had changed their forecasts, and at least one Philadelphia forecaster was texting and blogging that the rain would build as the game went along, compromising it, and that it should be postponed. A couple of hours before game time, weather people were tracking how the rain would come and how steady it would be. Here it started raining late afternoon. It was raining in Philadelphia before game time. I listened to the game here with the wind howling outside and rain beating against the house. The Doppler showed the same band of rain blanketing all of eastern Pennsylvania. So what weather outfit does MLB use for its reports? And why was Bud Selig unable to process information that was right before his eyes? Muttering later about "the weather guy" was simply disingenuous.
Selig also praised the umpires for doing an "extraordinary job." Was he freaking kidding?
Bud Selig has just announced that Game 5 will not be resumed tonight. Good decision, Bud. It's pouring and windy. Wind, cold, and snow showers are in the forecast for Wednesday; Thursday is supposed to be fine. The game is now scheduled for tomorrow night at 8:37. Meanwhile, MLB assures us that it will "monitor the weather on an hourly basis." Uh, wasn't that being done yesterday? And how did that work out?
After the suspension, Charlie Manuel refused to attend the mandatory media conference. Pat Burrell, asked for his opinion, said, "I only talk after games." As Matt Stairs put it, getting the game tied took the big boys off the hook. It was not a happy locker room. Nor should it have been.
After Saturday's 91-minute rain delay, it's inexcusable that MLB and FOX had no plan in place to deal with another possible weather delay. The Phillies meanwhile have now lost their ace, who was reduced to using one pitch by the third inning but was still dominating. If the series is extended and the Rays, a beaten team on Sunday but now with life and hope, end up winning, you, Mr. Selig, will have turned the 2008 World Series into a sideshow. And you will have done a great disservice to loyal fans of the game of baseball. All I can say is, that sucks, Mr. Selig.
Am I bummed? Damn right.
