Wild, Rainy (and not so rainy) Night

I hate admit this, but I saw no baseball yesterday. Blame it on the rain. (That's so cheesy. Sorry.)

When I got home from work, the Giants and Cardinals had already slipped into what would become a three-and-a-half-hour rain delay – the delay actually lasted longer than the game.

My wife and I are remodeling our bedroom, and when I finished painting the closet and installing light switch and outlet covers, the rain had stopped and the Cards had grabbed a 2-1 series lead.

In the American League, you all know by now that the Yankees, who are benching everyone these days, and the Tigers were rained out… sort of. Actually, it was the threat of rain that postponed Game 4, and possibly lengthened the hapless, hitless Yankees' season by a day. Today's game, which should have been Game 5, gets started at 4:07 p.m. From what I've heard and read, the ballpark was dry when the game was called at 9:15 p.m. Rain eventually hit the ballpark around 10 p.m., where it rained for about an hour.

Forecasters say that the wet stuff will be long gone from Detroit before today's Yankees-Tigers tilt. The NLCS Game 4 is scheduled for tonight in St. Louis, where it will be, according to forecasters, cloudy and cool with a low around 45 degrees with a chance of a spot shower or sprinkles. That forecast doesn't seem much to worry about, right?

Sprinkles

MLB.com has a story about the Cards-Giants rain delay, complete with Giants skipper Bruce Bochy talking about the delay.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch has some cool pics of a lot of wet fans in Busch Stadium last night… lots of umbrellas, which I love but never use. I love the image showing the weather radar on the ballpark's giant screen.

As a Nationals fan, I'm a bit sick of writing about the Cardinals participation in the playoffs, so let's move on to the Yanks and Tigers…

FanGraphs has a story detailing how Wednesday's postponement in Detroit could play havoc with the Yankees rotation and further damage the team's already dismal chances.

The Tigers have been through this playoff rain delay thing before… last year, and Max Scherzer is cool with it.

Not so cool with the rain out was this fella, who checked out his grandfather from a nursing to take him to Comerica Park for the game.

Not to be outdone by the Post-Dispatch, the Detroit Free Press has photos from the not-so-rainy night accompanying a Mitch Albom column. I love Mitch.

Speaking of sports writers I love, Tim Kirkjian took to Twitter during the delays to discuss his top 10 sitcom characters of all time.

Thunderstorms Forecasted for NLCS

It looks likely no fall shadows or sun monsters will be plaguing the participants in this afternoon's National League Championship Series Game 3 in St. Louis. First pitch between the San Francisco Giants and home-standing St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for 3:07 Central time in Busch Stadium, where the National Weather Service is calling for a chance of strong storms to hit St. Louis around 3 p.m. local time. That includes an 80 to 90 percent chance of rain and possibly lightning.

I was griping earlier today that, because of this work thing I have going on and my long commute, I'm going to miss most of the game. However, if the umpires can take one for Team Rainout Blog and delay the game for a couple of hours, I would be forever grateful. Spending Wednesday night switching the TV between the NLCS and ALCS would be right in my wheelhouse of laziness.

Sox Win, Helton Happy on Couch

Take a look at this picture. This could be your World Series. Snowy! Cold! Awesome! At least two games, and possibly three, will be played in frigid Colorado for this year's, um, Fall Classic. On Sunday, the Rockies were forced to practice indoors as they continued on their fall break while awaiting the winner of the American League Championship Series, which we now know is that team from Boston. The Rocks have been doing their best to stay focused by simulating game conditions, while the Red Sox have been playing meaningful games and building momentum while rallying from a 3-1 deficit to overcome Cleveland in seven games in the ALCS. According to a USA Today story on Monday, Todd Helton, isn't too concerned about the rest and relaxation the Rockies have been getting nor the fact that the team was snowed out of practice Sunday. "Good huntin' weather," said the Rockies first baseman. "It'll be a short day for us. Good day to sit on the couch, I know that." Sit on the couch? Holy cow, it's over. Red Sox in four.

Not The End of the World If Rains Fall in Cleveland

Game 5 of the American League Championship Series is tonight in Cleveland, and there is about a 40 percent chance of rain with a low of 65 degrees when C.C. Sabathia tosses out the first pitch at 8:21 p.m. If you're going to the game or watching at home and hoping not to have to sit through a long rain delay, remember this line from a story posted today on Cleveland's News Channel 5 Web site about Jacobs Field and its remarkable ability to not, uh, retain water:

"The drainage system under the field can whisk away 12 inches of water an hour."

That may be the stat of the day. Also, I don't think anyone doubts the ability of the Jacobs Field grounds crew. Remember what they did on Opening Day when a snow storm hit the ballpark? If not, watch this remarkable time-lapse video from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

Judging from tonight's forecast, there shouldn't be much to worry about as far as the weather is concerned. I'm no meteorologist, but I don't expect a rain out. But if there is a rain out, it's not the end of the world. Right, Manny?