Alright, so we had to wait one more day to watch the Phillies take on the Rockies in game three. It’s not like we haven’t waited before. As matter of fact, it was our waiting that really set the precedent for the major league, when it came to moving around playoff games to better suit the weather.
Let’s face it, 29 degrees with snow on the ground is not baseball weather, it’s barely late season football weather. However, when baseball decided to expand it’s league to markets like Denver, this is what you get. The reverse of the weather quandary was seen in places like Miami in mid-July. To combat this problem, many teams in cold(or hot) weather cities, such as Milwaukee and Seattle(as well as Houston and Arizona) decided to build domes for their ballparks. The folks in the Mile-High city must have never envisioned their team in the postseason, or else the brain-trust of the Rockies also would have added a dome to their park as well.
In the end, the Phillies were the team that made out best by this postponement. First off, game-time temperatures tonight is expected to be 41 degrees as opposed to 29. Still, not quite the ideal weather for a ball game, but much more comfortable. The high temperature today should allow the snow to melt, although field conditions will most likely still be wet.
The second advantage it gives to the Phillies is the Phillies get one more day to adjust to the thin-air of the city on a mountain. It may sound trivial, but there is a reason the Rockies, historically, have been so good at home. Same with the Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche. An extra day to adjust to the air up there will do the Phightin’s some good. It also gives them time to adjust to the stark change in temperature.
Third, and probably the most important advantage the postponing gave the Phillies, was it gave them the ability to set their rotation how they wanted to finish the series. Pedro Martinez was originally scheduled to get the ball for last nights game, now the rookie, J.A. Happ gets the ball. This allows the Phil’s to go with another lefty against a line-up who tends to struggle against them.
Martinez is still available of course, but, if the Phillies win tonight’s game, it’s likely that Joe Blanton or Cliff Lee will get the start in game four on Monday night. On Monday, Lee will be on his regular rest and is probably the best option, whether the Phillies are up a game or down a game. The only down-side to starting Lee is that he then would not be available until game three of the the NLCS if the Phillies happen to make it that far. But let’s not worry about that now, we’ve got to win this series first.
And with the game being postponed last night, the commissioner Bud Selig just gave us a better chance at doing so.
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