Game 5 Suspended For First Suspended Game
Since The World Series Started In 1903

For the first time in the history of the World Series the game last night was suspended in the sixth inning.

Shane Victorino singled in two runs in the bottom of the first inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Then Evan Longoria singled in the first Rays run making the score 2-1 in favor of the Phillies. Longoria’s single was his first hit of the 2008 World Series and earlier in the inning Carlos Pena had doubled for his first hit and scored on Longoria’s single.

Pena would drive in the tying run in the sixth inning before the game was suspended. The decision to suspend the game takes Cole Hamels off the mound whenever the game is completed. Scott Kazmir allowed only four singles in four innings but walked six batters. His wildness accounted for both Phillies runs when Jayson Werth was walked and Chase Utley was hit by a pitch and both came around to score the only runs scored by the Phillies in the first inning.

Hamels may not be pitching tonight but the Phillies bullpen has dominated in the World Series this year with a 1.04 ERA while the Rays bullpen has a 3.38 ERA. The Rays have allowed 11 hits in 13 1/3 innings while the Phillies have given up 2 hits in 8 2/3 innings. The Rays have a strikeout to walks ratio of 13-9 while the Phillies have a 12-1 ratio.

Carl Crawford made a baserunning mistake when he slowed down for a second when he hit a grounder to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. His slowing down caused him to be barely out at first base after Rollins bobbled the ball.

I can’t see why a player like Crawford who is being paid $5.3 million this season is not running full speed all the way to first base regardless of what he sees is happening with the fielder. B.J. Upton continues to take his time when he has hit into an apparent double plays earlier in this World Series despite being called out earlier this season by manager Joe Maddon for dogging it.

Upton puts Maddon in a bad place since he knows Maddon will not take him out of a game in the middle of the World Series for dogging it.  Baseball fans deserve to see an all out effort by the players. Crawford and Upton are very good baseball players but their lack of effort on the basepaths is a slap in the face at the fans who pay to see them play baseball.

At 7:25 AM ET light rain is falling in Philadelphia according to weather.com. At gametime tonight there is 50 percent chance of rain in the forecast and 25 MPH winds are predicted. At 8PM ET on Wednesday there is a 20 percent chance of rain and winds of 15MPH are in the forecast.

Unless the forecast for tonight is changed I look for an early cancellation of this game because major league baseball doesn’t want a replay of last night’s fiasco.

The worst case scenario for Phillies fans would be to see this game completed in Florida under a domed roof but that is not likely to happen according to Bud Selig and there is always Miller Park in Milwaukee which would be a neutral site.

It would have been funny if you had only written half the article and stated that the rest would be finished at a time where the conditions were conducive to it being finished.

I see what you mean...I could say I couldn’t complete the article until it stopped snowing in Knoxville which was actually in the forecast today.

I am going to start off by saying that I think Bud did nothing wrong with what happened last night.  He made the right decision.  Granted if some rumors I have heard turn out to be true I will change my mind.  Anyway, Bud made the right decision last night.  However, in typical Bud fashion, he makes the statement, “ Since I have the authority, I think,… “ it is only a fragment of his sentence and I might have worded it incorrectly, but the meaning is identical.  You think you have the authority?  YOU ARE THE FRICKING COMMISIONER!!!!!  Of course you have the authority.  Even when he does somethign right,l he comes across as a boob.

Selig would be better off if he kept his mouth shut and let his flunkies do all the talking.

Unfortunately that is how he is.  There is no confidence behind anything he says.  He could be arguing that hte world is round and you would be convinced otherwise after hearing him talk.  He had every justifiable right to demand that the World series be won on the field on not on some technicality.  Yet he stands there stammering, stuttering and acting like a wishy washy fool about it and at the same time he was holding the rule book as if having it there justified his actions.  Do you think Stern or Goodell would have acted this way?  No.  They would have said this is the way it will be and deal with it.

This has now gone down as the “gayest” world series ever- why not have Ozzie due the broadcast

All we can hope for is that Selig is serious about retiring in 2012. I am dreading the next four years though. I am still upset with him canceling the 1994 World Series and then the All Star fiasco with the tie game. I will never forget him fidgeting while deciding what to do about the tie All Star game. He looked as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Niteowl049 - 28 October 2008 10:31 AM

All we can hope for is that Selig is serious about retiring in 2012. I am dreading the next four years though. I am still upset with him canceling the 1994 World Series and then the All Star fiasco with the tie game. I will never forget him fidgeting while deciding what to do about the tie All Star game. He looked as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Should have stopped that game right away- thrown it out- and started fresh today-- but nope he makes up his mind that the game will be finished and looked what happens-- shit, everytime that stupid fuck makes a decision it back fires on him-- stupid ass fucker-- I’m telling you tonight is just going to be F***tard-ed. I say erase the entire game yesterday and start fresh tonight… why not?

If you were going to call it, call it.  By doing it that way you wasted the efforts of the starting pitchers.  If you start the game, you finish the game.  IF you dont want to finish the game, you should never have started it.

Calling the game took Cole Hamels off the mound. That alone could make the difference in winning and losing the game. The Phillies bullpen is due for a bad night. Lidge is living too close to the edge in some of his relief appearances and it would something if he blew a save causing the World Series to go back to Florida.

Great article on Deadspin.

IlliniEd - 28 October 2008 11:59 AM

Great article on Deadspin.

I am the biggest wuss in the history of life, the universe, and everything.”

WARNING:
Whatever you do, if you click on Jamel’s link, DO NOT DOWNLOAD the Active X controler for video. It is a scam and a virus and you will spend lots of your hard earned dollars getting rid of that bitch.

Yes, one of my staff did it once and shut the office down for 3 days.

BigBadBill - 28 October 2008 12:12 PM

WARNING:
Whatever you do, if you click on Jamel’s link, DO NOT DOWNLOAD the Active X controler for video. It is a scam and a virus and you will spend lots of your hard earned dollars getting rid of that bitch.

Yes, one of my staff did it once and shut the office down for 3 days.

Fuck man then delete it!!!

Wow I really almost fucked that up AGAIN!- why do people do that?! I fuckin hate that!-
sorry to all- (it won’t be the last time I apologize)