Braving the Rain

Before the Braves and Marlins could start the sixth inning last night, rain fell at Turner Field and delayed night's baseball game in Atlanta for an hour and 53 minutes. 

The photo above, on loan to me from the Braves Facebook page, shows Jason Heyward standing on deck as ominous clouds gathered. (Did I really need to write that sentence? You can plainly see what is happening.) 

Anyway, the Braves went on to thump the Miami Marlins 7-1 for their 10th victory in their last 13 games. The Braves hot streak inches them a bit closer – two and half games behind – to the N.L. East-leading Washington Nationals, who somehow was thumped by what's left of the last place Philadelphia Phillies last night. 

Cold, Frosted Coors

I’m in the minority here, I know, but I love playoff baseball games played in football weather. According to the forecast for Saturday night, that’s exactly what we’ll get when the Colorado Rockies host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Denver. Weather.com is forecasting – get this – a 70 percent chance of snow showers and temperatures to be in the mid 30s when the first pitch is thrown at 7:37 p.m. local time. The wind chill at game time will make fans at Coors Field feel like it’s about 23 degrees.

I know baseball purists hate cold weather baseball games, but I love the added drama that little snow and chill can deliver.

Best Series Action Yet

Say what you will about Major League Baseball’s handling of the World Series rain delay and postponement Monday night – it seems everyone has an opinion today – but you have to admit that the rain is the most exciting storyline of this lackluster Series. Several columnists, bloggers and radio personalities are chiming in today, and most are going hard after Bud Selig. I would link to a host of stories, but you people are smart. You know how to Google. Knock yourselves out.

Wait, I do want to link to a couple of items. Here are opposing opinions of the Commish’s actions.

Bud Selig makes a bad call for baseball – LA Times

And here’s the other side: (Actually, this is from MLB.com and is more of a skipping-through-a-field-of-daisies argument.)
Silver lining: Another day of baseball

By the way, in case you haven’t heard, the conclusion of Game 5 has been postponed until Wednesday night.

Pssssst! It’s me

I’m sneaking very quietly in the back door. Yeah, I know I wrote a few days ago that I was closing this blog, but I thought I’d post one more item. I’m allowed, right? Oh, and don’t think I pulling a Favre here. I just ran across this article on Philly.com about the storied history of Phillies rain delays. Uh, ok. This story comes in the wake the Phils’ 2 hour-and-50-minute rain delay against the Mets Sunday. Anyway, enjoy the story. I’m out of here… for good this time. I promise.

Rain Washes Out Bristol Qualifying

I'm getting so lazy. Actually, I've been super busy lately. So, here's another copy and paste from an AP story. This one about NASCAR qualifying at Bristol Friday:

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Rain washed out qualifying Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, giving Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon front-row spots when the field was set by last season's points.

As you know, Rainout Blog headquarters is not far from Bristol Motor Speedway, and I had planned to go to qualifying, but as Marcia Brady once said, "Something suddenly came up."

In other sports weather news...

Rain hit the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando Friday.

Fans suffered through a spring training rain delay Friday during a game between the Braves and Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. I love those Phillies ponchos.

Here's a cool pick from Rueters photographer Eddie Keoogh showing a race fan using a newspaper to shelter himself from rain on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival horse racing meet in Gloucestershire, western England, on Tuesday.

Schmidt A Hit With Seminoles

Rain washed out Florida State's opportunity to challenge the National League East champion Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday night at an exhibition in Clearwater, Fla. Heavy rains hit Bright House Networks Field at approximately 6 p.m. and poured for an hour and a half before the game was called at 7:45 p.m. The Seminoles, however, did get a chance to visit with Phillies players in the clubhouse and spoke with former Phillie and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

The photo above is of Schmidt – he's the fella with the jacket over his head – back in 2003 when he along with Gary Maddox, John Kruk, Bobby Abreu and Larry Bowa were recognized for being voted by fans to the All-Vet team.

Writing In The Rain

What do baseball players do during rain delays? One player, journeyman catcher Chris Coste of the Phillies, has taken time to work on his book during rain showers at the ol’ ballyard.

"When I officially sat down to begin writing, it was kind of intimidating, because I was wondering, 'How could I possibly find time to do this?'" Coste says. "But honestly, there's tons of down time during the season. There were times during rain delays that I'd pop open my laptop and get going. And it was easy to get in the baseball mindset. I was able to almost recapture the same emotions because it was during the season."

Coste’s book is about his journey through the minor leaguers that eventually landed him in the major leagues in 2006 as “The 33-Year-Old Rookie.” Read more here.

Coors Served Cold

Many folks around the country are experiencing an October heat wave, but as the weekend arrives, folks in Denver will have to deal with some pretty cool baseball weather as the red-hot Rockies try to handily dispose of the National League East champion Philadelphia Phillies. Saturday night at Coors Field is going to be a bit nippy, but if the Phillies can force a game four, Sunday night will be nasty with a chance of rain and even a slight chance of snow and low temperatures dipping into the 30s. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!