Slippery when wet

What’s it like to try to pitch effectively in a pouring rain? To throw strikes with a wet ball? To not let the ball slip out of your hand and bean the batter? To not go down in a mud slide from the mound?

Ask Brett Anderson.

The Dodgers’ lefty had the unenviable task of trying to sit down Colorado Rockies’ hitters Friday night while also attempting to ignore pesky, steady rain drops. And yeah, he also had to maintain his footing and not slide of the slippery mound.

"You can't really think about that, or you'll be hesitant and you could hurt yourself worse," Anderson said. "But it was weird circumstances."

In this video (for some reason the video is not embedding on the blog), you can see Anderson struggle through the rain as he faced the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon. Anderson got off to a good start against Blackmon, tallying a no balls and two strikes count, but then threw four straight balls to walk the Rockies’s outfielder. Anderson, as you will see, slipped and almost fell as he threw ball four.

Give Blackmon credit; he also had to focus through the rain drops on some 91-mph heat from Anderson to draw the walk. And you know he had to be thinking about the possibility of a wet ball zipping toward his skull after slipping from Anderson’s hand.

Lousy weather conditions persisted and umpires called the game after five innings, shortly after Blackmon’s at-bat, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.

"It was difficult. Pretty poor conditions," Anderson said. "I can't believe we played through five innings of that. It's probably the hardest rain I've played through on the field.”

Rain postponed the following night’s action, and then… then came the snow, which covered Coors Field Saturday, prompting Anderson to tweet:

On second thought, that rain I pitched in wasn't so bad. pic.twitter.com/Rt89Y24Zqu

— Brett Anderson (@BrettAnderson35) May 10, 2015

Heavens can't wait!

Associated Press

Have you ever had one of those moments – pre-DVR, of course – where you had to run off from to the television during a baseball game to… um, take care of important business? You wanted to get through one more batter – your team is playing a rival in an important series – but you just couldn’t wait.

That’s relatable, I think, to the happenings in Detroit Sunday night. In a 1-1 tie, Miguel Cabrera came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with his Tigers in 1-1 tie with the Royals.

That’s when it happened. The skies couldn’t hold it any longer.

Rain delayed the game for an hour and 43 minutes, pushing the contest well past midnight and making me even more sleep deprived. When the game resumed, the homestanding Tigers loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but failed to produce a run. The Royals grabbed a run in the top of the 10^th and hung on for a 2-1 series-clinching win over its American League Central rivals.

Video

Derby rain

Chelsea and Derby County are going at each other today in a Capital One Cup quarterfinal match at iPro Stadium. 

At the moment, Chelsea holds a 2-0 lead on a rainy night in Derby.

UPDATE: Chelsea is through to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory. Here's the full report from the London club, complete with photos.

-- Rain --

Rodgers: Green Bay weather gives us advantage

Heading into December’s slate of NFL games, the Green Bay Packers find themselves a game in front of the Detroit Lions for the NFC North division lead.

At 9-3 and coming off an impressive win over the previously hot New England Patriots on a cold evening in Green Bay, the Packers are in position to grab the division title, particularly with two of their remaining regular season games being at Lambeau Field.

One of those games, the last of the season, is against the Lions, a team that has bested the Packers earlier in the season.

The Packers, led by super quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are also fighting for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Playing in those frigid Green Bay temperatures, and especially field slick from snow and ice, gives the Packers’ offense an advantage, says Rodgers, even against other cold weather teams.

“It doesn't really matter what team comes in; there’s an advantage based on the footing and the weather,” Rodgers said this morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike. “I’ve always found in the cold weather, it’s a little bit more difficult to rush the passer. And, the footing favors the offense because, much like on an icy field or a wet field, an offensive player knows where he’s going. You have a slight advantage there.”

We all know that from our days playing backyard football in the snow, right?

If you were running with the ball, you could easily put a move on a defender, who would have to react to your movement, and then slip right on his keister. Anyone who has experienced the joy of football in the snow with their buddies has more than likely been on both ends of that scenario.

OK. Back to Rodgers. He briefly mentioned the effect cold temps can have on the ball, saying “the cold weather does some different things to the football, and if you’re not used to that it can bother you a little bit.”

I was hoping Professor Rodgers would delve in how the elasticity of the ball decreases in the cold. It would have been great to get a cold-weather quarterback’s insight into how the frigid temps affect his grip and the flight of the ball.

Hey, you know what. Maybe I’ll give him a call.

Stay tuned.

-- RAINOUT --

Pray for rain?

San Francisco Examiner

There’s a slight chance rain could be a factor during Game 4 of the World Series Saturday evening in San Francisco.

At the moment, the extended forecast shows a 40 percent chance of precipitation at about the time Ryan Vogelsong fires the first pitch for the Giants. Rain chances increase to 60 percent during the 6 and 7 p.m. hours and dip back to 40 percent around 8 p.m. Temperatures should be in the mid to low 60s.

It’s not likely rain will cause a postponement, but we could see some rain throughout the contest.

However, according to this story, AT&T Park is equipped with a custom-designed SubAir System that, among other cool things, utilizes a vacuum mode that “quickly removes standing water, virtually eliminating the need for extended game delays or cancellations due to field conditions.”

Good to know.

Anyway, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is scheduled to pitch Game 4 on three-day’s rest. A rainout and postponement of Game 4 to Sunday would give him an extra day. If you’re a Giants fan, do you pray for rain in hopes of a fresher arm for Bumgarner?

-- rain --

All’s clear

Not a cloud in the sky.

Like most of you, my life is super busy. So much so, I rarely get a chance to update The Rainout Blog for the seven people who visit this blog. (That number may be a bit inflated.)

Often, a sports/weather event will occur or be forecasted – remember: Game 3 of the ALDS was rained out – and I’ll cringe just a little because there’s no time to grab the laptop and write a post and share a photo or two.

Today, I have a little free time. So, what’s happening? Nothing.

Weather in Kansas City for the first two games of the World Series have been perfect.

We have Thursday night NFL action in Denver, where it looks like there will be a better chance of Peyton Manning NOT adding to his touchdown record than there is a chance of rain drops or snowflakes – you never know in Denver.

The low in the Mile High city tonight will be around 48. It’ll be a little chilly, but it shouldn’t be enough to affect Manning’s performance. He’s not a cold-weather quarterback, ya know?

There are a couple of college football games scheduled for tonight. Miami travels to Blacksburg for an ACC showdown – more likely a “letdown” for the home team – with Virginia Tech. Temps will dip to the mid 40s, which is about as cold as the Hokies’ offense.

You’ll see about the same weather conditions in Greenville, North Carolina if you tune into tonight’s East Carolina home game with Connecticut. (Why would you do that?)

And you know what? Sunday’s NFL slate looks pretty unspectacular too, meaning no rain, no mud, no snow, no fog… no nothin’.

Nats and Marlins will settle things in the end (that's awkward)

Washington Post

If you're a Washington Nationals fan – count me in with that group – you probably were a bit disappointed Tuesday to learn the game with the Marlins that night had been rained out.

Bummer.

And moments later you were most likely thinking, "oh, they'll play two on Wednesday or make up the game on Thursday." Seems logical. Both teams have off on Thursday.  And on Friday, the Nats stay at home for an interleague matchup with Texas and the Marlins have a short flight back to Miami for a night game with the hated Braves.

Without any other knowledge of the logistics, that was my thinking… and I was wrong.

The two NL East squads will make up the postponed game as part of a split doubleheader on Friday, September 26. First pitch for the makeup contest is 1:05 p.m. The regularly scheduled game for that night begins at 7:05 p.m. (Just for fun, any guess who'll be the Nats' starting pitcher for those games?)

That weekend series will be the last time the Marlins visit Washington in the regular season.

So, what if rain pours in Washington that Friday and both games that day are a wash? Do we then have back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, the final day of the regular season?

And – let's get really crazy – what if it rains all day on Saturday and those games get rained out, and the Nats and Marlins need those game to settle the division race?

Do they play two on Sunday and two on Monday?

Let's hope!

-- rain --

Friday Football Forecasts

Getty Images

When it comes to bad weather football games, I’m more of a fan of rain than snow. I get it: snow looks nice and it’s sort of fun, for a while, to watch the players slip, slide and fumble around the field.

It’s all great. But to me, nothing beats a good gully washer of a rain storm. I love watching games were rain is pouring down on the players and fans are getting soaked.

It’s not likely well see anything that dramatic this weekend, but rain showers are forecasted for many of the NFL cities. And for you snow fans, there is mention of the white stuff for games in Kansas City and, of course, Green Bay, where if you look right now (2:20 p.m., Friday, Dec. 20, 2013), you’ll see Lambeau is already covered.

So, without further gibberish – I love that word – here are your forecasts for this week’s 14 NFL outdoor games.

Dolphins at Bills: High of 51/Rain

Colts at Chiefs: High of 25/Chance of light snow

Vikings at Bengals: High of 58/Rain likely

Cowboys at Redskins: High of 73 (Wow! In December?) / Showers likely

Browns at Jets: High of 64/chance of showers (And a good chance Geno will turn the ball over at least three times.)

Saints at Panthers: High of 73/Showers

Titans at Jaguars: High of 81/Patchy fog (I’d love to see another Fog Bowl, but not for the Titans and Jags.)

Broncos at Texans: High of 68/Mostly sunny (If Peyton Manning stinks this week –that’s unlikely against the two-win Texans – no one can blame the temperature.)

Cardinals at Seahawks: High of 48/Rain likely (Great! I love the look of the Seahawks playing at home in the rain.)

Steelers at Packers: High 25/Snow (The low for Green Bay Sunday night is -3. Burrrrr!)

Raiders at Chargers: High of 67/Sunny

Patriots at Ravens: High 71/showers likely

Sunday Night
Bears at Eagles: Low of 33/Showers likely (The high in Philly Sunday should hit around 71.)

Monday Night

Falcons at 49ers: Low of 48/Mostly clear

-- rain --

Sherman: Best game ‘can’t happen in the snow’

In a piece for SI.com, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman makes a good argument against playing the Super Bowl outdoors in a cold-weather city.

Sherman, who says he’s never played football in snow, writes:

“Snow happens, and that’s fine for a regular-season game or even an AFC or NFC Championship Game. A team in a cold-weather city can and should earn the right to host a game in conditions it’s familiar with. Baltimore and Pittsburgh built legacies and winning traditions on cold-weather football.

Yet the Super Bowl city is decided years in advance, and the game is supposed to be played on a neutral site. Teams that make it that far have played through the heat of training camp, winter on the road and in the comfort of domes. Whether their rosters were built for the snow or not, they probably overcame it at some point in the season. The Super Bowl should be a clean slate that showcases the athletes, not the stadium or the city they’re playing in.”

 You can read the entire column at SI.com.

A Rainout Blog Hall of Fame? Yes… let’s do this

How about we start a Rainout Blog Sports/Weather Hall of Fame?

Not just me, all of us. You, too.

I’ve been thinking about doing this project for a while, ever since I made a post about Rick Dempsey way back in July, 2007.

So, what makes a Rainout Blog Hall of Famer? I’ve been wrestling with that question for a while.

(Warning: Here goes a lot rambling…)

At first, I was thinking of individuals who have had outstanding performances in a bad weather games. While his performances did not happen while games were in play, Dempsey certainly made his mark performing on soaked tarps during rain delays.

To me, the notoriety Dempsey received for his acts make him a first-ballot Rainout Blog Hall of Famer. Also, I think we need to give Dempsey credit for the rash of rain delay antics we saw a few years ago by college baseball games. With those 1970s performances, we may not have seen those elaborate, choreographed acts performed by want-to-be thespian college ball players. 

So, we’ve established that qualifications for entry into the RoBHoF are not exclusive to great on-field game performances. If a player, or coach, or fan, or whomever – how about a horse? Sure! – performs in a manner that is widely recognized, then that person, or whatever, can be considered for induction. 

A performance that is good or bad, right?

Right.

That brings us to Leon Lett. 

Remember Lett’s gaffe in the snow during in the 1993 Thanksgiving Day game that snatched defeat for his Cowboys from the jowls of victory? Of course you remember. We all remember.

I’m not comparing the moment to far more significant historic events, but I remember exactly where I was when the play happened.

For that one play in the snow, an unusual snow game for Texas Stadium, Lett is a Rainout Blog Hall of Famer. 

First ballot? We’ll debate that later.

So, who else? Hmmm. 

We’ll, LeShean McCoy had more than 200 yards rushing to lead the Eagles to a win over the Lions in blizzard-like conditions a couple of weeks ago. Does that qualify? 

Maybe.

It was great day for McCoy, but is it his performance that stands out about that game?

No. It’s the snow.

Ok. So, do we induct events/games in to the hall of fame?

If so, the Ice Bowl has to be the leading candidate. And when I think of weather games, I immediately think of the Fog Bowl playoff game at Soldier Field in 1988. There are many, many others to consider.

If I’m going to do this, take the time for such an uber fun project as creating a sports/weather hall of fame, it’s going to take a lot of time, thought and research. 

Wanna help? 

If you have suggestions or creative ideas for the project, I’ll gladly accept. Send me an email or tweet (@TheRealChadOz).

Hail, United!

The weather outside is frightful at Britannia Stadium where homestanding Stoke is hosting Manchester United in a Capital One Cup quarterfinal match.

At around the 30^th minute, the teams were forced off the field by a driving hailstorm. 

Play resumed moments later, and the game is now at halftime with neither teams having netted a goal.

Update: Weather was a non-factor following the 9-minute, 47-second hail delay in the first half. Manchester United tallied two second-half goals for the 2-0 win.

-- hail --

All the elements

It's the time of year when we can see a lot of different weather types affect our outdoor (sometimes indoor) sporting events. 

Last week, when I was spending a little time recapping the snowy NFL games from the previous Sunday, my pal, Chad, sent me a link to this web page, which contains 30 superb photos of NFL games being played in snow, rain, mud, fog and... well, that's about it.

Premier weather conditions

I love waking up with Rebecca Lowe.

Let me rephrase that so my wife doesn’t bop me in the puss with a snow shovel.

 I love crawling out of bed on weekend mornings, tuning the telly to NBC Sports and watching the English Premier League, where during pregame, halftime and postgame, Lowe is the lovely brilliant and talented presenter.

This weekend, Lowe and her supporting cast will be talking about a slew of games taking place in locations around the UK where much of the weather will be rainy and windy. No monsoons, but the conditions could be a bit sloppy. 

Wind could be a factor, however, when Sunderland hosts Norwich. The extended forecast is calling for gusts of more than 40 mph.

The sloppiest of all, if the forecast holds up, could be the Arsenal versus Chelsea match Monday in North London. A lot is on the line in that match, where rain showers and wind are predicted.

-- rain --

Football Friday Forecasts

Photo: Hunter Martin/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images

Last Friday, I was trying to think of creative posts topics for The Rainout Blog and eventually a bright idea developed in mostly functional brain: "Hey, I'll post the weather forecasts for this week's NFL games."

Not a bad idea for a sports/weather blog, eh?

So, with three weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, I think I'll make it a weekly feature.

Better later than never, I guess.

Taking a gander at this week's slate of games, I see a chance of snow for only one game: Chicago at Cleveland. So, no repeat of last week's snow-filled Sunday, which I think we all can agree was fantastic.

Ok, let's get to the weather forecasts for this week's 10 outdoor games:

Bears at Browns: High of 26/chance of snow
Cardinals at Titans: High of 35/Mostly sunny
Patriots at Dolphins: High of 85/Slight chance of showers
Seahawks at Giants: High of 37/Mostly sunny
Bills at Jaguars: High of 66/Showers likely
49ers at Buccaneers: High of 76/Scattered showers
Jets at Panthers: High of 53/Mostly sunny
Chief at Raiders: High of 61/Sunny
Packers at Cowboys: High of 52/Sunny

Sunday Night
Bengals at Steelers: Low of 26/Mostly cloudy

There you have it, a mostly dull and boring forecasts if you’re looking for a little weather flavoring in your Sunday NFL watching experience. Now that I think about it, may be posting the forecasts every week – particularly in the first half of the schedule when the weather will not be a factor – is not such a great idea.

One million, two million... $240 million

Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

By now, you’ve heard Robinson Cano took the money and ran to Seattle, a place CBS sportswriter Jason Keidel says is more known for “coffee and cold rain and bad baseball.” (Yes, the “cold rain” line is what lands this on The Rainout Blog.)

Keidel also suggests Cano’s agent, Jay Z, may have hustled Cano in the deal. Jay Z is good at math, you know.

Anyway, that’s an interesting word, “hustle,” when referring to Cano because it’s likely folks in Seattle, while sipping latte’s and waiting for Seahawks training camp to begin, will not see much of it from their new second baseman. Wait, is that the Yankees fan in me talking?

I imagine John Sterling is sitting alone somewhere in New York City shouting, “Robbie Cano, don’t ya know… you’ll never win a ring in Seattle.”

So, is this football weather?

Here we go, baby!

If you like your football with a blend of winter nastiness, this may be your weekend.

Take a look at the extended forecast for this week’s NFL action, and you’ll see “wintry mix,” “rain likely” and “chance of snow” mentioned more than a few times.

Here’s what we have, weather wise, for the outdoor games as of early Friday morning:

Colts at Bengals: High of 34/wintry mix

Bill at Buccaneers: High of 82/Patchy fog (The patchy fog is not referring to Greg Schiano’s cognitive ability to lead a pro football team.)

Chiefs at Redskins: High of 35/wintry mix (It’ll be cold at FedEx Field, but Mike Shanahan’s seat will be nice and warm? (That joke is so cliché. I can’t believe I wrote that.))

Vikings at Ravens: High of 35/wintry mix

Browns at Patriots: High of 35/Mostly sunny (Boring – just like the Patriots.)

Raiders at Jets: High of 36/slight chance of snow (and offense)

Lions at Eagles: High of 36/rain and/or snow likely

Dolphins at Steelers: High of 32/snow likely

Falcons at Packers: High of 19/snow likely (By the way, the low for Green Bay on Sunday is -2.)

Titans at Broncos: High of 16/chance of snow (Hey, have you heard? Peyton Manning is not so hot in the cold.)

Giants at Chargers: High of 56/mostly sunny (Of course, it’s San Diego)

Seahawks at 49ers: High of 47/Sunny

Monday night: Cowboys at Bears: Temperatures may dip to as low as 11 Monday night in Chicago under partly cloudy skies. I think we can refer to this as Bear weather.

-- rain --

Where the Saints go sloshing in

Do the New Orleans Saints really have a chance tonight against the Seahawks in Seattle?

We know the Saints are Super Bowl contenders as long as they’re playing in their comfy New Orleans dome, but when they venture out of their home city, it’s an entirely different ballgame. We need only to look at their sloppy loss to the hapless Jets in Jersey a few weeks ago for supporting evidence.

Tonight, in Seattle, nothing will be comfy or cozy for the 9-2 Saints. They will be facing a tough 10-1 Seahawks team which has Russell Wilson and his plentiful offensive weapons, not Gino Smith and his stable full nothing.

And, we know all about the noise level in the 67,000-seat, open-air CenturyLink Field. That’s tough on any team that ventures in.

And we all know Seattle has a little history of rain. (You knew I was getting to that, right? After all, this is The Rainout Blog.)

Well, guess what. A slight chance of rain and snow (30 percent) are forecasts for tonight’s Monday Night Football contest with a low temperature around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds could be 8 to 11 mph.

Over the past eight sub-40-degrees games, the Saints are an abysmal 2-6, including playoffs.

Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees may actually welcome a wet turf tonight if he finds himself in a situation where he’s running and needs to slide to avoid on on-coming linebacker:

-- rain --

Nats undercover?

See all that blue sky? The Nats brass want to block it out, like Mr. Burns
once tried to block the sun from Springfield.

So, the Nationals want to build a dome over Nationals Park, you know, because it rains so much there. If they do so, I don't think I can be a fan any longer. Call me old school or non-progressive or whatever, but I just don't like indoor baseball. If the Nats' plans come to fruition, the dome will be retractable. But still, why ruin a neat ballpark with a roof, right? 

And, really, do the Nationals need a roof? Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post provides the below figures, which don't seem to justify the need for a huge umbrella over Nationals Park:

2008: Nats had six delays and two postponements (Throughout MLB, 155 games were affected by weather — postponements, delays, called games).

2009: Nats have seven delays and three postponements (MLB-wide: 210 games)

2010: Nats had six delays (MLB-wide: 130 games)

2011: Nats had 10 delays and four postponements (MLB-wide:180 games)

2012: Nats had seven delays and three postponements (MLB-wide: 127 games)

2013: the Nats had four postponements because of weather (The 2013 numbers provided by MLB are incomplete.)

-- rain --

Mae West is topless while rain falls in the "Bottom of the Sixth"

How steaming mad would your wife be if each year, a super hot movie star, let's say Scarlett Johansson in this instance, offered up to you her best holiday wishes via a Christmas card that included a photo of her, you know, totally buck naked?

My wife would pop me with the sweet spot of a Louisville Slugger.

But you know whose wife, or so she claimed, did not get ticked off?

Beans Reardon's wife, Eugenia, that's who.

I've been researching through a bit of baseball history recently and came across Beans, a National League umpire from 1926 to 1949. He was known for his beer drinking (not on the diamond, I hope) and strong language (you bet that happened on the diamond). He was behind the plate when Babe Ruth hit his 714th and final home run.

Scarlett Johansson, not Mae West

From what I gather from a little research, the Boston native – yeah, tha's how he got the nickname Beans – lived a spectacular life.

You may not know the name Beans Reardon, but you've seen him.

You remember the Norman Rockwell 1949 Saturday Evening Post cover and paiting "Bottom of the Sixth" featuring three umpires standing together under a slight rain? Beans, with his face all scrunched up, is the umpire in the middle.

In addition to appearing in Rockwell paintings, Beans owned an Anheuser-Busch beer distribution business – he later sold it to Frank Sinatra – and he appeared in several movies.

That brings us back to Mae West.

Beans and West were friends, and according to rumors or whatever, West was said to have sent nude photos of herself to Beans each year at Christmas.

Reading about Bean's life, all of his accomplishments and what not, this is the item that piqued my curiosity, as you can imagine.  

So I dug a little deeper and found an interesting Los Angeles Times story from way back in 1988 about Bean's wife, Eugenia, who in the interview confirms Mae West annually sent nude photos of herself, or as Eugenia suggest in the article, the same photo each year, to her husband.

Mae West

And apparently, Beans enlarged the photo and hung it on his den wall.

The last paragraph of the aforementioned L.A. Times story places Eugenia in the den, describing the room's contents"

"And Beans, who also was an actor, can be seen with Gary Cooper and other movie stars on a wall dominated by a large nude picture of Mae West. 'She always sent him a copy of that picture every Christmas,' Eugenia said. 'No, I was never jealous.'"

McCann’s first Yankees rain out… in November?

Yankee fans are waiting (in the rain) for McCann.

If you’re a Yankees fan, you’re excited and thankful to have a new catcher. But, if you’re looking to see Brian McCann in pinstripes at an introductory news conference before Thanksgiving, it’s 

likely you’ve grabbed the short end of the wishbone.

Our boy Wallace Matthews reports on ESPN New York that McCann’s trip to the Bronx for a physical and press conference is likely to be postponed by severe weather. Matthews writes:

“According to a Yankee source, the club would like to fly McCann in from his Atlanta-area home either today or tomorrow, but forecasts of a severe rain-and-wind storm later this afternoon may well push everything back to next week. The concern is that once McCann arrives here, he will not be able to return home in time to spend the holiday with his family.”

Matthews also quotes the Yankees source as saying, "The odds are we won't see him (in New York) until next week.

-- rain --