With the Phillies and Rays tied at two after 5 1/2 innings in Game 5 of the World Series, the decision was made to suspend the game until tomorrow night due to pouring rain and near-freezing temperatures. In reality, baseball rules forced the decision to come an inning too late, but a late decision is better than deciding the World Series in a driving rainstorm on a field made of mud.
Playoff baseball games are played under the same rules as regular season games, which means all games after five innings are considered complete (to the last full inning) if they have to end before the ninth inning (UPDATE: In his post-game presser, Bud Selig claimed he was going to suspend the game until tomorrow regardless of the score). The only exception is a tie game, which is allowed to be suspended at any point and resumed at a later date. This forced the game to press on an inning and a half too long, as the Phillies held a 2-1 lead after the top of the sixth and delaying the game at that point would mean it would be possible for them to clinch the World Series in the clubhouse after five innings. Everyone caught a break when Carlos Pena signled B.J. Upton home from second base, tying the game at two and giving baseball the chance to suspend the game should they be unable to resume tonight.
The fifth and top of the sixth innings were an absolute embarrassment for baseball tonight. Between the cold weather and driving rain, the pitchers and fielders were obviously strugging to play any sport that actually resembled baseball. Upton reached first on a weather-aided single, then scored on Pena's hit with a slide on base paths so muddy they might as well have been a slip 'n slide. I don't really understand why there isn't a rule that all post-season games must consist of nine innings and they're otherwise suspended until they can be completed, no matter what the score is, but I'm not Bud Selig. That's a good thing.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-27-2008 @ 11:35PM
Wade said...
Selig just stated in the post game press conference that if Tampa didn't score, the game would have went into a rain delay. He said the delay would have lasted as long as it needed to finish. That would have been fun to explain to Philly fans.
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10-28-2008 @ 12:01AM
Boney said...
umm... the rule changed like 7 or 8 years ago regarding rain shortened games in the playoffs. They would've suspended the game, either way.
It's an unusual circumstance, but it's not shocking that people that don't really know what they're talking about are complaining once again about Bud Selig
10-28-2008 @ 1:13AM
DOLORES said...
WHY OH WHY DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN? FROM THE BROADCASTING TEAM TO COACH MADDON, ALL WE HEARD WAS HOW THE RAYS WERE NOT BEING GIVEN A FAIR SHAKE. STRIKE CALLS WERE BEING CALLED ON THE RAYS AND THE SAME PITCHES WERE CALLED BALLS FOR PHILA. WE SAID IT FROM THE BEGINNING THAT WHEN IT COMES TO PHILA. THE UMPIRES AS WELL AS THE COMMISSIONER WERE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO HAVE THIS SERIES GO BACK TO ST. PETE. LET'S GET THE TRUTH OUT, THEY WERE SIDING WITH THE RAYS. WHEN PHILA. WAS IN ST. PETE THE FANS WERE THE MOST OBNOXIOUS I EVER WITNESSED.
GOOD LUCK RAYS FANS, THIS DELAY WILL BE YOUR END.,
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10-28-2008 @ 8:23AM
Dave said...
Umm Dolores, you may want to take off the Philly colored glasses. You can't sit there and type that kind of crap here, and not acknowledge the fact that the Home Plate Umpire was GIVING you the game! HORRIBLE calls! What should be strikes are balls for Kaz, and what should be balls are strikes for Hammels. How about that steal to second from Upton? That pitch that Cole threw was CHIN HIGH on Pena, yet a stike was called! I've NEVER seen a fixed game, be so damn obvious...
10-28-2008 @ 3:18AM
Dana said...
Until this year, I never watched MLB. But, my daughter moved to Tampa from Jacksonville, and that's when I began to follow the Rays. Thanks to the Rays magical season and the respect I have for Manager Joe Maddon, I'm now hooked on MLB. So, naturally, after reading the comment by DOLORES, I felt compelled to comment: "What kind of deranged fan base for a sport (any sport), would stoop soooo LOW as to THROW mustard packets at the small Grand daughter of the visiting team's MANAGER (Joe Maddon)??" PLEEEEEEZZZZ....! Fans like that bring discrace to everything the world series title stands for. Shame on all of you. I hope the Rays bring the game back home for a title win (at least the weather is better in Florida). Regardless of the outcome, the Phili fans have certainly shown the world what THEY are made of, and it resembles the muddy playing field Monday night. GO TAMPA BAY RAYS... I love you-guys!!
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10-28-2008 @ 6:00AM
steve said...
First of all (Dana). This not only shows you judge people
by its cover in baseball, But every aspects of life.
I'm a Phillies fan, No matter if we win or lose. Lets see if your fan, When Rays have bad year after this. Second, I'm Disappointed at umpires bad calls against Rays. We don't want any excuses when we win. We will get job done here or in Tampa. Third, Bud is a coward. Playing in driving rain. Fourth, One of sports announced Cole will not finally win a start. Wrong, If Phillies score and hold on in bottom of 6th, He does win. GET IT RIGHT!!!!.
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10-28-2008 @ 7:12AM
butch said...
Bud Selig is the embarrassment to baseball
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10-28-2008 @ 9:34AM
Randy said...
How can any baseball fan regardless if your a NL or AL supporter say or admit there hasn't been some very bad calls at home plate you can't and still be a fan! No fan wants their team to win with bad calls. I know I wouldn't want my team to win that way! Then again, maybe there are fans that just don't care how they win.
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10-28-2008 @ 9:39AM
scjerseygirl said...
It doesn't matter who you are routing for - the outragiously bad calls were going both ways. The umpires need to be re-evlauated. Any game should not be won or lost because of bad calls. Both teams have great back stories and deserve to be here. Win or lose, we all want to see a great ball game. Let the bats and pitching settle it -not the umpires imeptness. Play ball!
May God Bless Baseball and America!
GO PHILLIES! : ) (sorry - I was born to it)
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10-28-2008 @ 10:12AM
LM said...
Oh PLEASE-they don't even have mustard packets at CBP. Umps have blown calls for both sides but last night was an absolute disgrace. Game should never have been started as all the Philly weather forecasters said once rain started it was NOT going to stop and guess what, it's 10am and it's STILL raining.
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10-28-2008 @ 12:51PM
southphillyphan said...
I think we can all agree that last night's game was a disgrace (from the commish on down everyone was too afraid to make a potentially boat-rocking decision and baseball suffered as a result), but I digress...
The officiating has been awful, but even as a Phils fan I admit that we have benefited from bad calls more often than have the Rays. I would prefer that my team win because of the play calling (i.e. getting it right such that you don't even notice the umps are there), not in spite of it. I know we could just as easily be on the losing end of bad calls, and that's why I would like to see the best officials umping post season games. Why shouldn't the umps calling the most important games of the season have to prove they deserve to be there, just like the teams do? That is something that i think should be getting much more attention, but instead we comfort ourselves with partisan complaints and act like spoiled sport cry babies, pointing fingers and ignoring the source of the problem (but why should i be surprised by that...?).
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10-28-2008 @ 4:40PM
Vince said...
Dana, As LM stated there are no mustard packets at CBP. Can Phillies fans be ruff? Absolutly! Have there been bad calls? Yes. On both sides? Yes. Is that what we call base ball? Yes. There is the human element that will always be a part of the game.
Now as far as game five goes, it was complete BS. The game should have never been started.
FACT: The game was allowed to go until the Rays tied it up.
FACT: Hammel was made to wait for 20 minutes in the top of the 6th while they prepped the field (so Tampa had the best chance to score.
FACT: Phillies did not get to come up and bat in the bottom of the 6th under the same conditions as the Rays did for a chance to score runs (they would have).
With the likes of Selig and FOX network at the helm it is all about the $$$ not the game. They didn't want a Rays - Phillies WS to begin with.
FACT: The Phillies will win the series. Tampa is a good team but their pitchers needs more work. The Phillies would have won the game just look at the numbers.
FACT: Hammel 9 pitches to get his first five outs against the Rays. A total of 67 pitches thru 6 innings.
FACT: Kazmir 103 pitches thru 5 innings and was in trouble in both the first and fourth innings.
GO PHILLIES!!!
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