It Shall Rain for 40 Hours and 40 Minutes

And then the voice said, "Take 2 each: outfielders, pitchers, catchers, and infielders, unto the ark."

Okay, really the umpires just said to put the tarp on the field last night, suspending game 5 of the World Series. The series isn't still on because the Rays forced a game 6, but instead because a deluge of precipitation fell on Citizen's Bank Park causing so much water pooling that Greg Louganis could have landed in one puddle off the high dive.

Play stopped in the middle of the sixth inning after the Rays had tied the game 2-2 on Carlos Pena's RBI single. It was clear that MLB was praying for the Rays to either tie the game or go ahead so that a possibly decisive game wouldn't be decided in part due to the weather. But it was clear, despite the protestations of MLB COO Bob Dupuy to Fox's Chris Myers, that the game would have continued had the Rays not tied the score.

The game likely won't be completed until Wednesday night, because tonight's forecast in Philly is calling for even worse weather than last night. The game could have been called prior to the fifth inning, but MLB was going to do everything they could to get the game in and they didn't want to get negative feedback from Phillies fans for calling the game with the Phils leading. Obviously no consideration was given to the health and well being of highly paid athletes who aren't used to playing baseball in a mud pit filled with water hazards. On top of everything else we had to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver use the word "hydroplane" countless times.

The stoppage has to favor the Rays since it means there's no way that Cole Hamels will continue in the contest. Though he wasn't as dominant as he had been in his prior post-season starts, he had still limited the Rays to just 5 hits over 6 innings and those 2 runs. On the other hand, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was awful, the weather notwithstanding. He lasted only four innings, walking 6 hitters and only gave up 2 runs due to the Phillies' continuing inefficiency with runners in scoring position.

There was good news in the game for the Rays as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria finally broke out of their O-fers. Pena had a pair of hits, scored the Rays' first run and drove in the second. Longoria's fourth inning single broke his shneid and brought home Pena.

The Phillies took advantage of Kazmir's control problems to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kazmir put two men on with one out by walking Jayson Werth and plunking Chase Utley. But after blowing a 94-mph strike three fastball past Ryan Howard, Kazmir walked Pat Burrell to load the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Shane Victorino. Pedro Feliz' single loaded the bases again, but Kazmir escaped further trouble by retiring Carlos Ruiz on an inning ending fly out.

Pena's one-out-double in the fourth brought some life to the Rays bench and Longoria capitalized with with his first hit and RBI of the series with a single to left. Hamels came right back though, getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a double play.

Kazmir was in trouble again in the home half of the fourth, issuing back-to-back 2-out walks to Jimmy Rollins and Werth to load the bases. But Utley grounded out to second baseman Aki Iwamura to strand all three runners.

Rollin's error on a wind-blown pop-up in the fifth gave the Rays a lead off man on base, but Hamels, with a big assist from Utley, got Jason Bartlett to hit into a double play. Utley tagged runner Rocco Baldelli as he went by and then spun around to throw out Bartlett at first.

Joe Maddon finally went to his pen in the fifth when Kazmir walked Howard and Pat Burrell to start the inning. Grant Balfour did the job, retiring all three men he faced to strand the runners. Then it was the Rays' turn to come back and in the process halt play. B.J. Upton reached on a 2-out infield single, and despite the sloppy turf, stole second base. It paid off when Pena singled to left and Upton just beat the throw home from Burrell to tie the score. Pena moved to second base on a passed ball, but Longoria flied to deep center to end the inning and the night's play.

Share

Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

Share

Around the Horn - 4/17

6-hours, 16 minutes. That's how long it took the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres to complete 22 innings of baseball. Troy Tulowitzki, in his 10th plate appearance, doubled in the game winner. The final out was recorded 1:21 a.m. PDT.

Jeff Francis (7 IP 0 R 7 K) and Jake Peavy (8 IP 0 R 11 K) started the pitchers duel off. No one scored until the 14th inning when both teams put a runner across home plate.

The Phillies belted 4 home runs in thrashing the Astros 10-2. Pat Burrell continued his hot start (.373-6-17) with a home run, single, and 2 RBI.

The Mets and Nationals went 14 innings before Joel Hanrahan wild pitched home the winning run.

The Brewers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings. Prince Fielder ended his month long home drought with a game winning 2-run blast.

Joey Votto homered and drove in 5 runs in the Reds 9-2 win over the Cubs. Ken Griffey Jr. slugged a 3-run shot, the 596th of his career.

Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in the 5th inning to propel the Braves past the Marlins 8-0. Jones went 4-4 with a pair of home runs as John Smoltz picked up his 210th career win.

In an AL Central battle of heavyweights, Fausto Carmona and the Indians outpitched Justin Verlander and the Tigers. The Tribe won 11-1 with a 13 hit attack. The game also featured some hit batters (Verlander into Garko's back) and clear retaliation (Carmona and Sheffield), but no ejections.

Vincente Padilla outpitched Roy Halladay in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Halladay pitched his 2nd straight complete game.

The Mariners used a 5-run 3rd inning to beat the A's 8-1. Raul Ibanez (.343) and Jose Lopez had 3 hits each. After Kurt Suzuki (.327), the highest average in the A's lineup was Ryan Sweeney at .267.

The Orioles rallied from 2 down in the 9th against White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and Adam Jones stroked the game winning single in the 10th.

Eric Hinske homered and Jason Hammel picked up his first win in the Rays 7-3 victory over the Twins. Carlos Pena had to leave the game with a hamstring injury and has been listed as day-to-day.

Garrett Anderson drove in 3 runs and John Garland improved to 2-2 in the Angels 5-3 win against the Royals. David DeJesus already bothered by a bad ankle this year, had to leave the game with a jammed toe.

News and Notes

Evan Longoria has only played 6 major league games, but the Rays know what they've got. That's why they've signed him to a 9-year, $44 million deal.

Braves pitcher Peter Moylan may have to have season ending elbow surgery, but the Braves are still looking into all the options.

Miguel Tejada may or may not have lied about P.E.D. use, but he did lie about his age. Tejada admitted yesterday that he's 33 not 31.

Share

Kennedy's Star Crashes

Ian Kennedy didn't get the press that the other members of the Big 3- Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain- received last season, but his ascension to the majors was just as meteoric. Last night, the man know as Ike to his teammates, came crashing back to earth.

Saddled with control problems and a possibly tight strike zone, Kennedy couldn't make it out of the 3rd inning. The Yankees made a brief game out of it, but the Rays came away with a decisive 13-4 win.

Kennedy had beaten the Rays in his major league debut last September 1st, but he walked 4 batters and threw 70 pitches in just 2.1 innings. Already trailing 1-0, Kennedy allowed a lead off single to Aki Iwamura, who then moved to 3rd on a ground out and a wild pitch. After a walk to Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton singled off Alex Rodriguez's glove for a 2-0 lead. A walk to Cliff Floyd loaded the bases for Shawn Riggins, who was forced into the game when starting catcher Dionner Navarro cut his hand (he was later placed on the 15-day DL). Riggins blasted a shot over the head of Johnny Damon in center field for a bases clearing double that also ended Kennedy's night.

One more run was tacked on to Kennedy's pitching line when Jon Albaladejo gave up an RBI double to Eric Hinske.

The Yankees rallied against Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine in the 3rd. Hideki Matsui lead off the inning with his 1st home run of the season. Jose Molina followed with a double and scored one batter later when Derek Jeter tripled to center. Jeter would come home on Bobby Abreu's ground out, and the Yankees would add one more run on a single by A-Rod and a double by Jason Giambi.

Excellent relief by Albaladejo, Ross Ohlendorf, and Billy Traber kept the Yankees in the game, but the Rays blew the game open against LaTroy Hawkins in the 8th. Perhaps Paul O'Neill put a jinx on his number 21, which Hawkins became the first player to wear during the regular season since O'Neill retired.

The Rays scored 3 times including a solo home run by Cliff Floyd. Then Kyle Farnsworth came on to do what he does best- throw some grease on the fire. Pena took him deep for a 3-run HR and the end of a night not to remember.

News and Notes

Joe Girardi watched the game from the relative comfort of his office. Saddled with a respiratory infection and a fever, Girardi turned the managerial duties over to bench coach Rob Thomson.

Wilson Betemit was in the original lineup, but was removed when Jorge Posada had to be moved from catcher to DH due to his sore shoulder.

Shelley Duncan waived his 3 game suspension appeal and had reduced to 2 games, as did Melky Cabrera. Cabrera sat out last night and will miss today's game. Duncan will sit out Sunday and Monday. Jonny Gomes had his suspension reduced to 1 game and sat for last night's game.

Former Yankees traveling secretary Dave Szen avoided prison for tax evasion for income he earned in the 1990s.

Tampa Bay	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Iwamura, 2B	4	2	3	0	1	0	0	.308
Crawford, LF	5	2	1	1	0	1	4	.286
Pena, 1B	4	2	1	3	1	2	2	.250
Upton, CF	4	1	2	1	1	1	0	.364
Floyd, DH	4	2	2	2	1	1	1	.364
Navarro, C	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.333
a-Riggans, PH-C	4	1	2	3	0	0	0	.500
Hinske, 3B	5	1	2	1	0	1	1	.375
Haynes, RF	5	1	1	0	0	2	2	.222
Bartlett, SS	5	1	1	2	0	3	2	.167
Totals	41	13	15	13	4	11	14
a-Doubled for Navarro in the 3rd.
BATTING 2B: Riggans (1, Kennedy), Hinske 2 (2, Albaladejo, Hawkins). HR: Floyd (2, 8th inning off Hawkins, 0 on, 1 out), Pena (2, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 2 on, 2 out). TB: Iwamura 3; Crawford; Pena 4; Upton 2; Floyd 5; Riggans 3; Hinske 4; Haynes; Bartlett. RBI: Floyd 2 (5), Upton (3), Riggans 3 (3), Hinske (2), Bartlett 2 (3), Crawford (2), Pena 3 (5). 2-out RBI: Floyd; Bartlett 2; Crawford; Pena 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Navarro; Bartlett. GIDP: Crawford. Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING SB: Haynes (2, 2nd base off Hawkins/Molina), Crawford (3, 2nd base off Kennedy/Molina). CS: Iwamura (1, 2nd base by Albaladejo/Molina).

Tampa Bay	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Sonnanstine (W, 1-0)	6.0	6	4	4	0	4	1	6.00
Wheeler (H, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Miller	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00
Dohmann	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	.143
Jeter, SS	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	.286
Abreu, RF	3	0	1	1	0	1	0	.462
a-Duncan, PH-RF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	.286
b-Betemit, PH-3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Giambi, 1B	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	.091
Ensberg, 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.067
Posada, DH	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Matsui, LF	3	1	1	1	0	1	0	.250
Molina, C	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.333
Totals	33	4	6	4	1	5	6
a-Grounded out for Abreu in the 8th. b-Popped out for Rodriguez in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Abreu (1, Sonnanstine), Molina (1, Sonnanstine), Giambi (1, Sonnanstine). 3B: Jeter (1, Sonnanstine). HR: Matsui (1, 3rd inning off Sonnanstine, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter 3; Abreu 2; Rodriguez; Giambi 2; Matsui 4; Molina 2. RBI: Matsui (2), Jeter (1), Abreu (2), Giambi (2). 2-out RBI: Giambi. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez; Cano; Betemit. Team LOB: 3. FIELDING E: Jeter (1, fielding). DP: 2 (Molina-Jeter, Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Kennedy (L, 0-1)	2.1	4	6	6	4	2	0	23.14
Albaladejo	2.2	1	0	0	0	4	0	0.00
Ohlendorf	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Traber	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Hawkins	0.2	6	6	6	0	0	1	31.50
Farnsworth	1.1	3	1	1	0	3	1	3.86

WP: Kennedy.
Pitches-strikes: Sonnanstine 84-60, Wheeler 4-4, Miller 15-9, Dohmann 11-8, Kennedy 70-32, Albaladejo 36-23, Ohlendorf 9-7, Traber 13-8, Hawkins 24-16, Farnsworth 25-18.
Ground outs-fly outs: Sonnanstine 8-6, Wheeler 1-2, Miller 1-2, Dohmann 2-0, Kennedy 4-1, Albaladejo 2-1, Ohlendorf 1-1, Traber 2-0, Hawkins 2-0, Farnsworth 0-1.
Batters faced: Sonnanstine 24, Wheeler 3, Miller 4, Dohmann 3, Kennedy 15, Albaladejo 9, Ohlendorf 3, Traber 3, Hawkins 8, Farnsworth 7.
Inherited runners-scored: Albaladejo 1-1, Farnsworth 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Doug Eddings. 1B: Dana DeMuth. 2B: Ted Barrett. 3B: James Hoye.
Weather: 50 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 2 mph, Out to RF.
T: 3:07.
Att: 49,255.

Share

Postage Not Included

The writing was on the wall. The Yankees had just completed a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox and now had to face the cellar dwelling Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sure enough, they were flat and mailed it in, and Phil Hughes was awful. Hughes (2-3, 5.65), looking more like Roger Rabbit than Roger Clemens, allowed 3 straight base runners reach to start the game and the Yankees were in the hole for good. The final outcome was a 9-1 Devil Rays victory. Luckily for the Bombers, both the Red Sox and Mariners both lost, so the Yankees still sit atop the Wild Card lead, and remain 5 back of Boston.

Trailing 3-0 in the 4th, Alex Rodriguez singled home Derek Jeter, who also singled, with the Yankees lone run. Andy Sonnanstine, who entered the game with an ERA near 7 (sounds like a game against Edwin Jackson not too long ago), allowed only those 2 hits in 8 innings to improve to 4-9. The usually patient Yankees only managed 1 walk, issued by Grant Balfour in the 9th.

Hughes pitched scoreless 2nd and 4th innings, but the odd number innings bit on the behind. Carlos Pena lead off the 5th with his 1st of 2 home runs on the night (numbers 32, 33). B.J. Upton followed with a walk and Delmon Young singled. When Brendan Harris sacrificed the pair into scoring position, Joe Torre sent for Chris Britton. Greg Norton's sac fly upped the score to 5-1 before Britton got the final 2 outs of the inning.

But the Yankees could must no offense, and Britton and Brian Bruney, who look like a WWE tag-team, gave up 2 runs each to put the game out of reach.

Share