Bob in My Brain

I was watching MLB Network late Wednesday and heard Bob Costas talking about Arizona pitcher Wade Miley's masterful performance that night against the Texas Rangers. The rookie left-hander gave up only a run to the potent Rangers lineup, but received no run support from his Diamondbacks teammates and lost the game 1-0.


Anyway, as I'm watching the highlights, I see a shot of Miley walking off the mound in the pouring rain. My brain immediately went into daydream mode and, in my mind, I heard Bob say," this is the sort of thing that needs to be featured on The Rainout Blog." Ok, had Bob actually said those words, he would have much more eloquently. He is Bob Costas, after all.

So here ya go, Bob, a brief mention of Wiley's performance – it was halted by a 29-minute rain delay in the fourth inning – just like you asked for… if only in my mind.

Now, I didn't find an image of Miley pitching in the rain, but I did find this cool Associated Press shot of the Rangers' Adrian Beltre walking back to the dugout after striking out against Miley in the second inning as ominous storm clouds gather above the ballpark. Eerie!

I Thought This Was Winter League

The Rockies did it. They finished off Arizona Monday night in four games and clinched the team's first ever World Series appearance.

Wonderful! But wait.

The Series begins Oct. 24, and is still eight full days away. That's a lot of downtime. If you heard Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio Tuesday morning, you may have heard the duo offer suggestions to the National League champions on what they can do during their down time. Visit Britney Spears kids, apply for the Yankees managerial job and print out a roster of their own team and try to figure out who the heck they all are were among the suggestions.

Funny. But what will the Rockies really do?

Baseball guru Seth Everett said on Steve Czaban's radio show – wow, that's two days in a row I've mentioned the Czabe – that the Rockies may move Rocktober Fest to some winter league location to practice where temperatures will be a bit warmer than those on Rocky Road. (Man, I'm getting in all the new Rockies bandwagon slogans, aren't I?)

The weather in Denver over the next eight days isn't exactly summer-like, but it's not too bad. According to The Weather Channel's extended forecast, the best day for the Rockies to practice in their home city is Saturday, when temperatures are expected to reach 75 degrees. The worst days will be Wednesday (60 degrees, chance of thunderstorms) and Thursday (54, morning showers and windy) of this week.

By the way, my pal told me this blog might actually get some readers if I posted photos of Stephanie Abrams of The Weather Channel. So, there ya go. Now, how can we work Erin Andrews on to this blog?

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks... and a Poncho

I love October baseball. Most people I talk with say they hate when cold weather comes into play during the playoffs. "It's just not baseball weather," they tell me. I, of course, disagree. The cold, rainy playing conditions at Coors Field last night, and every other time the weather has come into play in the MLB playoffs, creates an entirely new challenge for the teams embarking on the grand prize. It's a beautiful stage that blends perfectly with the emotions of the games. And you can't tell me the fans at Coors last night didn't just absolutely dig it that their team is kicking the frozen snot of a Diamondbacks team that hails from Arizona and plays in a ballpark with a retractable roof. I'm sure the folks in Denver believe the cold weather is to their team's advantage – they're probably right – and cheer louder with each drop on the thermometer.

A look at the weather-related sports headlines in the Denver Post today gives insight into how into the mindset of the Colorado faithful. Here are a few of those heads:

- Rockies fever keeps away cold
- Almost on Ice
- Rockies Right As Rain
- Arizona Gets Lost in the Fogg (Referring, of course, to Josh Fogg, but still…)
- Rain, Snow, and Base-brrrrrr (This headline actually was in Sunday's Post, but it is my favorite.)

In case you missed the game last night, the Rockies defeated the D-Backs 4-1 at Coors as temperatures dipped into the 30s and cold rain fell before the game during the early innings. It was a beautiful sight. Tonight's Game 4 weather forecast calls for temps in the high 30s, but with mostly clear skies. It’s Broncos weather in Denver, but as their team sits one way away from reaching the World Series, fans in the Mile High City are hot for the Rockies.

Meanwhile, the ALCS moves to Cleveland tonight with the Indians and Red Sox tied at 1-1. Folks at the Jake should be fairly comfortable with low temperatures expected to be in the mid 50s with a slim change of precipitation. Tomorrow night, however, could be a different story. Rain is being forecasted all day with a chance of thunderstorms at night during Game 4.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Full disclosure: I'm a Yankees fan, so I need not explain to you why I want the Red Sox to be eliminated from the MLB playoffs as soon as possible. Also, I still have bad memories of the Diamondbacks beating Mariano Rivera and the Yanks in the Fall Classic a few years back. All that said, you can probably gather that I'm rooting for an Indians-versus-Rockies World Series. The above reasons withstanding, I would love to see how the weather plays a factor for late October baseball games in frost-brewed Coors Field. I hope, good golly I hope, we see something resembling the above photo. Go Tribe! Go Rockies! Go Snow!!!

Is It Open Or Not?

This is hardly news or anything other than what you might expect, but the retractable roof at Chase Field will be closed for tonight's National League Championship Series opener between the homestanding Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Why? Because it's going to be hot as the third layer of hell outside the ballpark, with high temperatures there expected to hit around 97. Temperatures will be a very cozy 72, I assume, inside Chase. Temps hovering in the high 90s are forecasted for game two, so don't expect to see any daylight in this series until the two teams depart for Coors Field. I can’t wait to see what kind of weather we get for those games in Denver.



UPDATE: According to a story today in the Pueblo (Colo.)Chieftain, the Chase Field roof will be closed for tonight's NLCS opener, as I wrote above. However, I just now discovered that the Chase Field Web site states that the roof will be open tonight and also for Game 2. So who do we believe? I guess we'll just have to tune in tonight and see for ourselves. The Chase Field site does list a phone number – it's not toll free, by the way – that gives out roof information. I haven't had time to call it, but I may at some point today. If you want to call, the number is 602-379-7663.

Wrigley Blows

Speaking of weather, ballparks and the baseball playoffs (see below) there will be at least one game played at Wrigley Field. And you know what that means: Wind. Most likely wind will blow at Wrigley – and so will the Cubs -- but the bigger question is which direction. Dusty Baker appeared on Colin Cowherd's ESPN Radio show today talking about how the wind factors into almost every game at Wrigley. Baker didn't really say anything we didn't already know, but he did say that if the wind blows out or across the field, it's in the Cubs favor since they have the bigger bats. However, Arizona, which has a two-game lead and could sweep the short series with a win Saturday, has the advantage with the wind blowing in because of its superior pitching and defense.