UEFA Dishing Cash to Replace Soaked Pitch

First of all, the Reuters photo above is one of the best sports-weather photos I’ve seen in a while. As for the story behind the super cool pic, UEFA is shelling out cash to replace the pitch at Basel’s St. Jakob-Park following heavy rain Wednesday during Switzerland’s win over Turkey in the first week of Euro 2008 and ahead of Portugal’s quarterfinal match there Thursday. (Man, that was a long sentence.) The park will host another quarterfinal match and a semifinal. I could really get into this tournament if I didn’t have to be at work when the matches were being played. Stupid job… always interfering with my fun.

HOF Game Dies in the Rain

This year’s Major League Baseball Hall of Fame game was to be the last of an annual tradition that began in 1940. Turns out, last year’s game was the last. Does that make sense? Rain knocked out Monday’s exhibition game in Cooperstown between the Cubs and Padres. MLB announced in January that the exhibition game was ending because of scheduling conflicts. The decision was unpopular among many fans, and some are protesting to keep the game alive. Good luck to ‘em. Hell, I didn’t even know the game was scheduled until I heard it had been rained out.

Rangers Slip and Slide During Shea Delay

Turkey Plays Better in the Rain

I can't say I've seen much of the European Championships, but I did happen to catch of little of the soaker Wednesday between Turkey and Switzerland. Turkey won, 2-1 and, I think, eliminated Switzerland. I'd look it up, but I have to go cut the grass.

More Rain Delays at French Open

The French Open is acting a bit like its more popular cousin, Wimbledon, this week by allowing rain to interfere with the tournament. Six hours of action was lost Tuesday because of torrential rain. Above, workers at Roland Garros sweep water from a clay court in preparation for play.

I mentioned below that I’m about to pull the plug on The Rainout Blog, but also I think it’s worth mentioning that this is the 300th post to the blog since I began this nonsense nearly two years ago. I’ll have to check the rules, but I think 300 posts, like 300 wins for a major league pitcher, may get me extra consideration for the blogging hall of fame.

The Rainbow is Coming Into Focus

I haven’t completely given up on The Rainout Blog, but I can see the end from here. Oh, look. Is that a rainbow? In the meantime, as the blog rests comfortably and heavily medicated on the breathing machine that I’m reaching to unplug, I wanted to post this photo of the Yankees game against the Orioles in Baltimore Tuesday night. Yanks manager Joe Girardi – I gotta get on Joe’s diet and exercise program – argued with umpires that the game should have been delayed because of the pouring rain before Hideki Matsui lined out to right field to end the ninth inning. He’s probably right, but turnabout is fair play, I guess. Remember this from last year?

Wigan Rain Woes

Remember back to the NFL season when the Steelers bosses were criticized for poor conditions at Heinz Field after a number of high school and college games had been played there ahead of the Steelers Monday nighter against the Dolphins? Now it seems Wigan – no, not Chief Wiggum – is suffering from a similar conundrum.

Wet Sox in Pictures

Speaking of Monday’s game between the visiting O’s and the homestanding White Sox (see below), ChicagoSports.com has a neat 13-page gallery of the rain-soaked contest that was called after 11 innings with the score tied at 3-3. Knock yourself out. The picture posted here is not from Monday’s game, but from Friday’s first inning rain delay in Chicago.

Derby track is real... and it's spectacular

The 134th Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday at Churchill Downs and the weather forecast looks pretty good. There’s a 30 percent chance of rain with isolated thunderstorms predicted for the area with a high temperature of 72 degrees. Not bad, eh? And you can bet that those Kentucky Derby horses will be running on real dirt, not that artificial stuff that’s creeping up at tracks around the country.

Wimbledon, Wet Sox, Wet Birds and All Wet Rules Changes

There’s a new rule here at The Rainout Blog: Less Writing, More Photos. The rule goes into effect immediately, and… there I go writing again. So let me briefly tell you that the photo above is from Wimbledon 2007. The tournament is making news today, in April, about three months before the ’08 edition takes center stage, because Wimbledon officials have said they will not allow the tournament to be played on the middle Sunday, no matter how many rain delays the tournament suffers during its first week. Good for them. Every one who complains can suck it up. Right? Right.

In other rain out, rain delay news… the Mets and Pirates were rained out at Shea Stadium last night, and the White Sox and Orioles were suspended in the 12th inning because of persistent rain in Chicago. No date to resume the game has been announced. The start of that game was delayed more than two hours because of continuous rain that has plagued the White Sox home stand. The good news for the Damp Sox is that they’ll be playing under the roof in Minnesota over the next few days. Oh, and that Pirates at Mets contest will be played Aug. 11, which had been an off day for both teams. Don’t ya hate being called into work on your day off? At least they have a four-month notice.

All right, so much for writing less. I’ll try harder next time. I swear. Speaking of swearing, today is the 25th anniversary of this…

Oh, and can you believe I wrote about wet tennis and never mentioned Maria Sharapova?

...and in Texas

There's a 40 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms today in Arlington for the Rangers home opener with the Oakland A's. From Star-Telegram.com:

A Pacific cold front was moving Monday toward North Texas where it's expected meet an abundance moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in possible storms and thunderstorms on Tuesday.

"This isn't the best setup for thunderstorms," said Dan Huckaby, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. "But it's still a 40 percent chance, which is a decent chance.

"Anytime we get a cold front in springtime, with plenty of humidity ahead of it, you usually have a chance for thunderstorms."

Read the rest of the story here.

Royal Rain Clouds Hover Over KC

The Kansas City Royals are scheduled to play their 2008 home opener later today against the New York Yankees. The Royals and their loyal fans are hoping the rain stops in time for the 3:10 p.m. local time first pitch. They also are counting on the Yankees being a bit tired after the Bombers played and won a Monday night game in the Bronx. The Royals had Monday off to relax and watch the weather radar.

Now Back To The Not-So-Cozy Weather

Two English Premier League matches were played in snow on Sunday. The photo above shows Manchester United playing at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium as the white stuff falls to the pitch. ManU, the EPL leaders, played Middlebrough to a 2-2 tie. Here’s a shot from Goodison Park in Liverpool as Everton battles Derby. Everton blanked Derby 1-love. No wait. This is soccer, not tennis. That score should read 1-nill, right? I’m always confused when it comes to scoring. Just ask my… never mind.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Not all days are filled with ominous rain clouds here at the Rainout Blog. Today, the Pirates and Cubs have a picture-perfect day for baseball at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, as you can clearly see in this Getty Images photo of the first pitch from the Pirates Tom Gorzelanny to Cubbie Alfonzo Soriano. As of this posting, the Cubs lead 8-5 in the top of the sixth. It’s the home opener for the Pirates.

Danica Patrick Gets Wet

Every time I see images like this one of Indy cars racing through rain-slicked tracks, it makes me wish the NASCAR fellas could do the same. This pic is of Tony Kanan on his way to a third place finish in Sunday’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Florida, not Russia. Graham Rahal won the race. Danica Patrick, the only racer we ever care to see in a swimsuit, finished tenth.

No Rays of Sunshine at Birdland

In case you missed it, the rubber match of the Rays at Orioles three-game series was rained out Thursday. No make up date has been announced. The O’s are scheduled to open a four-game set today with Seattle at Camden Yards, but the forecast is not promising for that game. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. You can read more about Thursday’s rainout at the O’s official Web site. In this AP photo, Rays pitchers Al Reyes and J.P. Howell are seen throwing on the Camden Yards field after the game was called.

Rain on Spain's Getafe

Bayern Munich and Getafe played to a lousy 1-1 tie in a quarter-final match of the UEFA Cup in Munich earlier today, and Gatafe’s Ikechukwu Uche looks plenty upset. Perhaps he hates tie games as much as we do. But, there’s no reason to be angry. He and the other fellas got to play outside in the rain today and weren’t stuck in an office someplace.

Royal Treatment

Yesterday, I made mention and posted a photo from Umbrella Night in Baltimore at an Orioles game last year. This year, the Kansas City Royals are passing out golf umbrellas during a May 10 home game with the O’s. Here’s the description from an MLB.com story highlighting this season’s top ballpark promotions:

Kansas City Royals, May 10 vs. Baltimore, Golf Umbrella: There are lots of good golf courses in the Kansas City area, and also lots of rain, so what better tool to solve the occasional convergence of the two? One possible drawback: The umbrella won't help you with the lightning that often hits this part of the country. Maybe next year they'll have Rubber Suit Night.

Rare Delay in LA

Rain eventually hit Dodger Stadium last night, not long after I made the below post and jumped into bed. The result was a 74-minute rain delay and some maddening pitching decisions. You can read the full report at MLB.com. The quotes of the night came from Dodgers skipper Joe Torre, whose team lost 2-1 to the lowly San Francisco Giants.

"I thought I finished with the rain stuff in New York," said Torre.

And…

"We made a decision to go with 11 pitchers," said Torre, "but a night like tonight will change your minds in a hurry."

Rain Threat Forces Dodgers, Giants Hands

The Giants and Dodgers changed their scheduled pitchers just before Wednesday night's game because of the threat of heavy rain at Dodgers Stadium. I'll let Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News explain:

LOS ANGELES - The Giants scratched Tim Lincecum and started Merkin Valdez in his place because heavy rain was expected to fall at Dodger Stadium Wednesday night.
The Dodgers switched starters first, replacing Chad Billinglsey with reliever Hong-Chih Kuo a half-hour before the first pitch. The Giants followed suit a few minutes later.

Neither club wanted to use a starting pitcher for two or three innings, then force them to sit through what could be a lengthy delay. It was expected that Billingley and Lincecum would pitch at some point during Wednesday's game.

Here's the Los Angeles forecast from NOAA.gov:
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11pm, then a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Southwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

UPDATE: I'm not sure there's anything to this story now. I just caught highlights, and Lincecum is in the game for the Giants.

Good night everybody!