Major League Baseball owns October.
The league says it's the month when legends are made and they are right. It is also a much colder and harsher month when it comes to weather, especially compared to the summertime when the majority of baseball games are played.
Game 3 of the NLCS series between the Cardinals and Giants was delayed by rain for over three hours in the seventh inning. The Cardinals eventually won, defeating the Giants 3-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game 4 of the ALCS did not even get started on Wednesday night due to the threat of rain. With the Yankees down 3-0 in the series, a day off could be good for the team. But there are downsides as well. The delay scratches the idea of starter C.C. Sabathia starting a Game 7 (if the Yankees can force one) and adds to the pressure of busting out of an offensive slump for New York.
The game was originally delayed for over an hour when bad weather was anticipated, but the MLB eventually called off the game due to the possibility of a bad storm later on. From the press box an announcement went through the stadium. The game was postponed "to preserve the integrity of an uninterrupted contest."
The idea of an "uninterrupted contest" became an issue in the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays when rain forced the teams to play Game 5 over two days.
"They kept saying it was going to come and it never came," Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer said. "So, go figure."
The game will now be played on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
''It's definitely not going to hurt by any means,'' Curtis Granderson said to the Associated Press. ''We haven't played well to this point. Who knows? Change is always a good thing.''
The Yankees are down 3-0 and face nearly insurmountable odds. The team has forgotten how to hit and now has to win four straight to keep their season alive.
"Just win one game," Joe Girardi said to the NY Post earlier in the day, "and then you can win another game. And you take it from there."
It would have been a disaster for the Yankees if the game started and then it rained and got called off. The team would have lost Sabathia for that start and for the series without even finishing a game.
''A lot of people were pretty upset that Verlander didn't get to finish his start,'' Detroit catcher Alex Avila said. ''So, I think people would be pretty upset if they didn't get to see Scherzer and Sabathia finish their starts as well. Major League Baseball is trying to protect not only the pitchers, but also play a clean game without having to stop and stuff like that.''
This has been a problem for the MLB for many years and there aren't many easy solutions. One big idea that many writers and fans have thought about includes reducing the amount of regular season games. While owners would not be happy about losing the revenue, the league could benefit from this.
Baseball spends the majority of the season playing in warm weather. Then the playoffs start and teams are forced to play games differently due to the harsh cold, wind, and even sometimes snow (talking to you Colorado Rockies circa 2007).
While some might say that less games would cheapen the regular season; baseball has done that to itself already. The league added an extra wild-card team, basically saying that a team with a lesser record could enter the playoffs and eventually win the World Series. For example, the Cardinals had 88 wins this season while the Giants had 94. They are playing in the NLCS
Even further, the Cardinals had 88 wins this season and the Braves had 94. Atlanta locked u
The point is, fewer games would not make the regular season any less important than Major League Baseball has already made it.
While it obviously could still rain in September, the chances of delays and bad weather is at least slightly less likely.
Mother Nature may wreak havoc again this playoffs, but only time will tell.
