Friday night at New Scotland, the Silver Marlins beat the White Sox 15-1, in a rain soaked 5-inning affair. Last night the Silvers and Shasky's got together and beat the weather for a 5 inning game. The Marlins came out on top in that game 2-0. I would like to thank the umpires in both games, as they hung in when the field conditions were less that ideal. With only two weeks left on the schedule and 7 games to play, the Marlins needed to get both games in, if at all possible! The White Sox and Shasky's showed great sportsmanship in not complaining about the weather and field conditions. This manager thanks all involved, as it is going to be tough enough to play the five games we have scheduled in the next 8 days, without needing to reschedule two more. Thanks guys! Keep your fingers crossed for better weather over the next 8-9 days.
mike - i'm glad that you and your marlins teammates got one more game in. i saw going in your team had 14 games in the bag with a week to go. the wet summer has not been kind to most teams in this league, and i see that at least four or five clubs are in the same canoe you guys are in. shaskys was luckier than most: with last night's game, we completed our 20-game schedule.
that said, several guys at the field last night - from both teams, including me - felt the game should not have been played. it was raining at the start and pouring at the end, with the pitcher's mound and the batter's box thick with mud by the second inning. i can't think of any other time i've played in this league when a game so wet wouldn't have been called. i've never played in such a wet game.
the setting was also opportune for someone to get hurt - and someone did: phil gadomski pulled a hamstring. jim ansel said he was playing with a pulled hammy as was i.
beyond that, this was a game in which the elements were like a 10th man - interfering with the play. sure, it was a good, taut game, but was it a measure of what people can really do? is this the way to settle a tight game - calling it with the score 2-0 after 4 1/2 innings?
i would suggest the league take up the notion of what it means to get all the games in during a particuarly wet summer. we seem to have them about every five years. is it worth jeopardizing people's health - and cutting short good games - so that everybody can play their 20? or in these wet summers, maybe we should bow to the elements, play our one or two games a week and leave it where it lays?
and it doesn't make sense, even if next week's weather is good, that some teams will have to play four and five games in a week - that can hurt or thin out pitching staffs and make some of those games - when the third-base coach ends up pitching and half the team is down with one pulled muscle or another, every bit as much a laugher as ending a good game after 4 1/2 innings. baseball isn't football - it's not a game of attrition.
the good thing? our spikes are probably dry by now.
again, i hope the league visits this question in the winter.
-mike
-- Edited by mhart on Thursday 30th of July 2009 02:40:00 PM
