WARNING: IF YOU ARE A SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS FAN TURN BACK NOW. YOU WON’T LIKE WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ AND QUITE FRANKLY I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
OK, now that that’s out of the way here we go. If you couldn’t tell, I’m mad, real mad. MLB has thrown out the rule book and decided to cater to a team in the hunt for the playoffs. Why? Well, because, well I don’t know why. So let’s start at the beginning, last night’s [Tuesday] Giants-Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an absolute blast of a HR by Anthony Rizzo. It easily left Wrigley Field and then some finding a new home out on Sheffield Ave. beyond the right field wall. It’s measured distance… 466 ft. Goodbye baseball. See the video below. Also, not the way a team in the hunt should start a game against a team who was out of playoff contention two months ago.
OK, now that that’s out of the way here we go. If you couldn’t tell, I’m mad, real mad. MLB has thrown out the rule book and decided to cater to a team in the hunt for the playoffs. Why? Well, because, well I don’t know why. So let’s start at the beginning, last night’s [Tuesday] Giants-Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an absolute blast of a HR by Anthony Rizzo. It easily left Wrigley Field and then some finding a new home out on Sheffield Ave. beyond the right field wall. It’s measured distance… 466 ft. Goodbye baseball. See the video below. Also, not the way a team in the hunt should start a game against a team who was out of playoff contention two months ago.
OK that homerun was awesome. Anyways, moving on, the Cubs continued to keep the Giants off the scoreboard for five innings. Around the fourth or top of the fifth a light mist moved into Wrigley Field, nothing out of the ordinary for most baseball stadiums this time of the year. However, as the top of the fifth concluded, things got interesting. Out of nowhere a freak deluge appeared over Wrigley and began dumping gallons of water onto the field. Crew Chief Hunter Wendelstedt appeared hesitant to bring on the tarp waiting on a radar report from the grounds crew chief. Finally, he waves for the tarp and that’s when it gets really interesting. Apparently the tarp had not been properly rolled up after the last use and the grounds crew struggled mightily to cover the infield all the while the rain continued to pour and absolutely drench the infield. What was a 15 minute downpour then led to a 4 hour and 34 minute delay as the grounds crew tried tirelessly to dry the infield and get the field back to playing condition. Alas, they could not and when both coaches agreed that it would be dangerous to continue play, the game was called at 1:16 am CDT. See the video below
OK. It’s a really crappy way to end a game, I’ll admit that. The fans paid good money to watch nine innings of baseball and only got 4 ½. Both franchises agreed last night that they’d prefer the game to be suspended but the rules were clear (or so we thought) that since it was an official game (as the Cubs were in the lead and it was through the top of the 5th) and nothing mechanical had failed, the game could not be suspended and was thus ended granting the Cubs the 2-0 victory in 5 innings. Simple, this happens more than once a year due to weather so move on beat up on Edwin Jackson tomorrow [Wednesday] (they are…Jackson lasted 3 inning allowing 7 runs…can we please send him down to AAA Iowa?). Well then the Giants protested the result on Wednesday morning and for the first time since 1986 and only the 15th time in history the protest was upheld (somewhere Braves fans are like what about us?). Here’s what Joe Torre, Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations, had to say.
“An examination of the circumstances of the game has led to the determination that there was sufficient cause to believe that there was a “malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club” within the meaning of Official Baseball Rule 4.12(a)(3). Available video of the incident, and conversations with representatives of the Cubs, demonstrate that the Cubs’ inability to deploy the tarp appropriately was caused by the failure to properly wrap and spool the tarp after its last use. As a result, the grounds keeping crew was unable to properly deploy the tarp after the rain worsened. In accordance with Rule 4.12(a)(3), the game should be considered a suspended game that must be completed at a future date.
In addition, Major League Baseball has spoken with the crew chief, Hunter Wendelstedt, and has concluded that the grounds crew worked diligently in its attempt to comply with his direction and cover the field. Thus, there is no basis for the game to be forfeited by the Cubs pursuant to Rule 4.16.”
Alright, fine, Giants whine, get their way, and sure it seems like some justice is done. There is no doubt that something really wrong happened with tarp and that the crew struggled mightily to get it on and so sure let’s play 4 ½ more innings on Thursday before the series finale that night. I have three major problems with this though; I’ll start at the last paragraph of the quote. To me this reads that the Giants were pursuing Rule 4.16 and attempting to have the Cubs forfeit the game and to that I say !@#$%$#@#$%. Man up and play baseball. Maybe don’t give up moon shots to a bad team. I don’t know maybe score some runs instead of being owned by a rookie pitcher who debuted halfway through the season. I hope you lose every game from here on out and that your stadium collapses into that smug-polluted bay that Asterisk Bonds [Hank Aaron still holds the record in my book] liked to hit home runs into. Man that felt good. I guess I am turning into a Rockies fan (a fact that makes my girlfriend feel very accomplished and proud).
OK now to the second part with which I have a problem. The rule clearly states that “mechanical issue” must have occurred to lead to suspension of a game instead of a weather-shortened game end. Let’s have a look at the actual rule:
OK now to the second part with which I have a problem. The rule clearly states that “mechanical issue” must have occurred to lead to suspension of a game instead of a weather-shortened game end. Let’s have a look at the actual rule:
“4.12
SUSPENDED GAMES.
(a) A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons:
(3) Light failure or malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club. (Mechanical field device shall include automatic tarpaulin or water removal equipment)”
Last time I checked the tarp that that poor grounds crew had to haul out onto the rain soaked field was not a mechanical device (it sure isn’t an “automatic tarpaulin”). So to me, it appears that MLB is reinterpreting this rule. Also, do they have video that shows it being improperly rerolled after last use? Clearly, something was horribly wrong with the tarp because that grounds crew prides itself by being able to deal with the awful weather in Chicago. However, the wording seems pretty clear to me, and so it definitely appears that MLB has applied a new interpretation to the rule. You know I guess the seasons almost over so why not just start changing things now. It’s not like the Cubs are title contenders anyways (lot’s of sarcasm here).
Finally my third issue with upholding the protest. Back on July 23 The Yankees beat the Rangers 2-1 in a 5 inning rain shortened game after the grounds crew failed to cover the infield due to heavy rain and winds. Yankees won, nobody questioned it. Teams moved on. So why change course now? Is it because the prevailing team is a basement dweller instead of a contender (the Yanks are hanging on by a thread and the Rangers are and were the worst team in baseball at the time in the video below). The Giants are in the hunt; that fact was said last night and was brought up again today. I'd like to point out that one of the best parts of being a fan of a team out of the hunt, is watching your team play the spoiler. My point, though, is that this happens, rainstorms like this happen and if you let it go a bit (like Wendelstedt did) before signaling for the tarp the field is going to get really wet, the tarp isn’t going to be easy to drag and more and more water is going to pile up on top of it and God forbid they make a mistake while trying to hurry to get it on the field because the umpire waited so long. I think MLB has now set a dangerous precedent and will almost certainly have to update this rule in the future because this has now happened twice and each time has had a different outcome. While I think it’s good that the game will be resumed, I’m not convinced that the reasoning for it is sound.
Finally my third issue with upholding the protest. Back on July 23 The Yankees beat the Rangers 2-1 in a 5 inning rain shortened game after the grounds crew failed to cover the infield due to heavy rain and winds. Yankees won, nobody questioned it. Teams moved on. So why change course now? Is it because the prevailing team is a basement dweller instead of a contender (the Yanks are hanging on by a thread and the Rangers are and were the worst team in baseball at the time in the video below). The Giants are in the hunt; that fact was said last night and was brought up again today. I'd like to point out that one of the best parts of being a fan of a team out of the hunt, is watching your team play the spoiler. My point, though, is that this happens, rainstorms like this happen and if you let it go a bit (like Wendelstedt did) before signaling for the tarp the field is going to get really wet, the tarp isn’t going to be easy to drag and more and more water is going to pile up on top of it and God forbid they make a mistake while trying to hurry to get it on the field because the umpire waited so long. I think MLB has now set a dangerous precedent and will almost certainly have to update this rule in the future because this has now happened twice and each time has had a different outcome. While I think it’s good that the game will be resumed, I’m not convinced that the reasoning for it is sound.
One last final comment to the San Francisco commentators, have you ever been on a grounds crew and had to haul a heavy tarp while getting dumped on? I highly doubt it. So there’s no need to be _________ (insert synonym for jerks here). To all future commentators reading this, there’s never a need to be a pompous _________ (same synonym or new one your pick) when on the air (or really ever). When you are everybody except your small population of fans hates you. It’s OK to love your team with all your heart but you don’t need to be an arrogant ________ (woohoo Mad Libs with Those Sports Guys) in doing so, especially if you’re not the one getting completely drenched. For an example of being a bad commentator see the Reds commentators on FS Ohio/FS Indiana. Brian and Taylor will agree with me on this point.
Just to summarize, I'm not so mad that the game is being replayed because it sucks that a game had to end like that. I'll be a little more mad if the Cubs end up losing tomorrow. What irks me the most is that MLB bent the rule.
Alright, I’m done ranting. Thanks for stopping by on this Thursday. We haven’t publicized it much this week or at all for that matter, but last week Those Sports Guys turned 2! I would like to thank every one of our readers who stop by every day, each week, or even just from time to time. We enjoy expressing our opinions about the sports we love and really hope you guys enjoy our opinions, ramblings and rantings. Have a great Thursday and great rest of the week. If I’m able, I’ll have another post up on Friday so come back for another round. Also, if you haven’t followed us on Twitter or Facebook then you should (click the links, do it, I triple dog dare you). We’ll post a lot of our pictures from our different sporting events and travels on these sites. For those of you that do…I apologize for going crazy on Instagram on Sunday. Not really. Have a great one!
-The Briefing
Just to summarize, I'm not so mad that the game is being replayed because it sucks that a game had to end like that. I'll be a little more mad if the Cubs end up losing tomorrow. What irks me the most is that MLB bent the rule.
Alright, I’m done ranting. Thanks for stopping by on this Thursday. We haven’t publicized it much this week or at all for that matter, but last week Those Sports Guys turned 2! I would like to thank every one of our readers who stop by every day, each week, or even just from time to time. We enjoy expressing our opinions about the sports we love and really hope you guys enjoy our opinions, ramblings and rantings. Have a great Thursday and great rest of the week. If I’m able, I’ll have another post up on Friday so come back for another round. Also, if you haven’t followed us on Twitter or Facebook then you should (click the links, do it, I triple dog dare you). We’ll post a lot of our pictures from our different sporting events and travels on these sites. For those of you that do…I apologize for going crazy on Instagram on Sunday. Not really. Have a great one!
-The Briefing