Let’s try this again, shall we?
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Well, anyone who quibbled with Major League Baseball’s decision to postpone Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday because of inclement weather likely had their mind changed when they woke this morning.
The weather is beautiful (sic) in New York, where the skies are bright and blue with just wisps of clouds on the horizon. It’s chilly, with temperatures in the 50s. And it will be colder at game time tonight, when temperatures will drop into the low 40s. But the forecast only calls for a slight breeze -- and no rain.
That’s quite a change from last night. Although the rain that began falling about three hours before the scheduled first pitch wasn’t torrential, it was steady and making the field slick. And though the rains let up in many parts of the city later in the evening, the field conditions certainly would not have been good. So baseball made a very early and wise decision to push Game 6 back to tonight; Game 7, if necessary, will be played Monday.
A lot went into the decision not to play Saturday. But, in my mind, two factors weighed heavily. One was the memories of last year’s World Series. Game 5 was begun in monsoon conditions that left the field unplayable -- but play they did. The puddles on the infield were large and deep enough to support their own sea life. It was hard enough to see the ball on television, much less in person. So baseball rightly took a lot of heat for starting that game, and they didn’t want a repeat.
Secondly -- and this is only a hunch -- I think the network TV schedule also played a role. Last week, when Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS in New York were threatened by weather, Fox, which has the rights to this series, seemed reluctant to move any of the games because it would affect their NFL telecasts. This weekend, however, Fox already had a baseball game scheduled for Sunday night. Whether that game was Game 7 (if necessary), as the schedule showed, or a postponed Game 6 didn’t really matter. At that point, it’s just a TV show.
Monday’s a bit more problematic for the network, which is already into its new fall lineup. But then, as the Yankees continue to remind us, there will be a Game 7 only if it’s necessary.
-- Kevin Baxter