Game 5 postponed -- again

Resumption of Game 5 of the World Series has been postponed again due to continued bad weather in Philadelphia. The latest plan is for the game to be resumed at 8:37 on Wednesday, weather permitting.

That means if the Rays win, Game 6 at Tropicana Field has been pushed back to Thursday, and Game 7 would be moved to Friday.

Rain continued to fall in Philadelphia on Tuesday, with temperatures in the 40s and wind gusts up to 40 mph. Some forecasts call for rain and snow flurries this afternoon before the skies begin to clear Wednesday.

"While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening," commissioner Bud Selig said in a conference call. "We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."

The Rays found hotel rooms in Wilmington, Del., about a half hour from Philadelphia, and manager Joe Maddon said they were handling it fine, crediting travel director Jeff Ziegler for his quick work. "It was really organized despite all the chaos in front of us,'' Maddon said.

Tuesday, most of the Rays were hanging around the hotel, creating what could be another situation that brings the team together. Maddon compared it to "a snow day" where people can't go out so they get together, explaining that when he went down to the lobby this morning there were Rays personnel, and their family members, all hanging out. "It's one of those moments when a whole organization gets to come together,'' he said.

Maddon said he spoke to the team after the suspension on Monday to make sure they understand the situation, and he felt good about their chances when play does resume. Plus there is the added benefit of having Phillies ace Cole Hamels out of the game.

"Getting him out is important,'' Maddon said. "Us coming back like we did and sitting on it for a day or two possibly could work in our favor a little bit. I'm not sure yet. Both bullpens are rested so there's no telling what will happen at this point."

Game 5 is tied 2-2 with the Phillies -- who lead three games to one and can clinch the championship with a win -- about to start batting in the bottom of the sixth inning. Reliever RHP Grant Balfour is pitching for the Rays; the Phillies are expected to start with a pinch-hitter for pitcher Hamels, who likely would have remained in the game had it not been suspended.

Maddon didn't want to discuss his strategy, such as whether he would also have a lefty warming up in case the Phillies use a left handed pinch-hitter. And while he said the remaining 3 1/2 innings would be played as a normal game, he did acknowledge the odd circumstances: "It's kind of like overtime in a sense.''

Maddon also said they had no issues with the way MLB handled the process, with an original plan to play through the rain and then deciding to suspend play. "For me, I had no problem with it, and I mean that sincerely,'' Maddon said. "It just got to the point where it became unplayable. When they called it I thought they did it at the right time.''

Marc Topkin, Times staff writer

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Comments

[Pemo]

The game on Wednesday night will likely start around 9 eastern as the rain dies off into the night. If MLB decideds to postpone Wednesday's game, which is unlikely, the weather will be ideal in the mid 50's with few to no clouds. hip hip hoo Rays!

[Mike S.]

Let's say the the young female horses happen to win the Series... do ya really think there will even be a Broad St. left after the young female horse fans get done destroying the city? If there's a parade, it'll be after martial law has been revoked.

[Philanthropist]

I've got a bad feeling about this for da Phillies.

talk about ugly crowd,did you take a look at your own crowd,looks like they bussed in the senior citizens home,and that wanabe dome you play in is rediculous,most stadiums put the tarp on the field not the upper deck to hide the lack of fan support,put your cow bell away and dont forget to watch the greatest parade in history down broad street.thanks phils .

[SJ]

Jimbo wins MVW for this series (Most Valuable Whiner).

Waaaah I can't trick or treat! Waaaah! Do what I say! Waaaah!

You can tell the weather in Phil is ****, the entire population has nothing better to do than troll out-of-state blogs out of jealousy.

Finish game 5 in Clearwater. That way, Jimbo can go ahead and terrorize his neighbors for cheap candy guilt free! (Boggles at the thought someone would trust their kids with this guy.)

[Mike S.]

I heard that Philadelphia voted themselves the best sports town in America.

[Go Rays]

Don't you mean tubesteak wrapped in cheesesteak?

u people didnt even relize you had a baseball team until september,so go ahead to your little halloween party after you jump off the bandwagon.phils in 5,best sports town in america.go phils.

[Tom Philly Loves Cheesesteak wrapped in cheesesteak]

Tom Philly - You just sound like fat beast.

Please, for Pete's sake; tell FOX not to pan the Philly Crowd. What a freak show.

Do you people own mirrors??

To the one hot chick, come see us. The rest: stay in Philly and rob eachother, burn cars, hate - you know -the normaal stuff.

[Mike S.]

Why would us "numb nuts in Tampa" want to go to Philly? Oh yeah... the weather is great there... lol

[Tom Philly]

To all you numb nuts in Tampa, stay out of Philly with your bigoted attitudes. Must be nice to have tickets to games 6 & 7. Probably not hard to get and now those games won't happen. Rays S****....Go Phils

[R D]

Did anyone catch the report on the way the UMPS are pick for these games? America gets to see the 2 teams play for the World Series with UMPS who DO NOT DESERVE TO CALL THESE GAMES!!!! Union rules say they can only call one round a year and if they call the World Series they are NOT able to do the next year, NO MATTER HOW GOOD or BAD THET ARE. No wonder they can't figure out twhat the stike zone is... Players and UMPS !!!

Cole Hammels will not pitch again this series. There is a 4 pitcher rotation...GO RAYS!

[Ray]

Both teams should be brought back to Florida and the game resumed at Clearwater. The Stadium there is identical to the Phillies home field in terms of dimensions amd field surface so there would not be a loss of HFA. Give the fans at the game up there vouchers to get in to Bright House Field - then finish that game.

Then if you need additional games 6-7 there are no travel issues to get back to the Trop.

[Kevin]

Yes, prolonging the series is so much better than moving it here for a game or two...BRILLIANT! And, Jimbo, stop complaining!

[Brian J]

Jimbo, didn't you send your personal schedule to MLB to work around?

[Jimbo]

No, Krystle, definitely forced to choose. I'm not trick or treating; I'm covering for someone who is with his kids. And since I have tix to both 6 and 7, and no one can cover, I either have to choose my job or the WS. I guarantee I'm not the only one who has this problem, and that's why MLB should do the right thing and make Friday an off-day, no matter what.

[Brian J]

I had a joke lined up about a flood and and an ark and a motive . . . but I thought it may be taken the wrong way when read.

What a wacky season.

I am nervous about how a sustained delay will bring Hamels back into the mix.

[Simon from Indy]

I think they would play the games as soon as possible, so I think the travel day would be off. Don't expect this game to be played tomorrow either if the weather forecast is any indication.

[Matt]

Rays fans...this Bud's for you!!! Go Rays!

[Etan]

Marc -

Do you know for sure that Games 6 and 7 would be pushed back until Thursday and Friday? Or are you just assuming that is what would happen?

They wouldn't need a travel day?

[Simon from Indy]

This is the World Series that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. The Rays started playing it, mostly in rain and mud. Now they'll be playing it forever 'cause of Bud, this is the World Series that never ends....

[Josh]

Dear Saint Pete Rob,

Trust me, I understand the difficulty of forming complete sentences. And your telling confusion of "your" and "you're" speaks to one inescapable conclusion: you enjoy life enough that you don't even have to worry about trivialities like grammar. As a Philadelphian, I am envious of you. As a human, I honor you. And when our Phillies beat your Rays, it will give me pleasure, yes, but I will always know in the back of my mind that I am only a "pig" who is stupid for living in Philadelphia. Have you ever been here, though? I must say (and I'll try to be objective here), it's actually quite a beautiful city. Much love. And here's to an exciting rest of the Series.

[Krystle]

Bob you are just too clever. So many comedians out of work and you are (trying) to be funny for free! And Jimbo, no one is forcing you to do anything. Go on about your plans! I'm pretty sure you can get in trick o treating and still catch most of Game 7 if it happens to be played on Friday. People please remember there is no crying in baseball!! Suck it up! And lets go Rays!! Bring this thing home to the dome!!

[SAINT PETE ROB]

Philly = Hell on Earth.

Get it done Rays, and come back to a place where people actually enjoy life. Say what you want about Tampa Bay Phat Philly Phan, we live here on purpose. You pigs live in that mess because your too stupid to know better.

Losers - GO RAYS!

Wash you hands, get some rest, and be selective at the plate.

[Helene]

"The latest news on game 5 of the World Series is that MLB is looking into moving the remainder of the game to a neutral indoor stadium where there will be as many Phillies fans and Rays fans. Their first choice is Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg FL."

*bored rimshot*

Jimbo, I'm with you on the Halloween thing, and I don't even have kids or tickets to the Trop. I have plans I can't get out of at a place where they may not have the game on, though. :(

[mrbaseball]

The World Series has never had a suspension/delay like this. It's a sign, God hates Philadelphia.

It makes you appreciate Florida's weather, how can anyone live in that dump w/ a fictional sports hero?

[SJ]

So here's what they do:
Bring everyone back to FL. Play the rest of Phils game in Clearwater (no complaints about losing home field advantage) then finish the series as planned in St. Pete.

[Mike S.]

Better get the game in soon or we'll have to wait until spring training. Wait... in a week or two the field will be iced over, maybe we could get the Lightning to finish the game. On second thought, maybe not.

[searching for rays girl 11]

where is rays girl 11? I heard she is hot.

[Karl Nurse]

A roof on a stadium doesn't seem so dumb now does it! There have been 5 world series games and 3 of those had rain. We discovered it was raining when we left the Trop in St. Petersburg.

[Simon from Indy]

Not a big surprise. I doubt it will play until Thursday, which will make this game all the more exciting for everyone involved.

[Bob]

The latest news on game 5 of the World Series is that MLB is looking into moving the remainder of the game to a neutral indoor stadium where there will be as many Phillies fans and Rays fans. Their first choice is Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg FL.

[Jimmy Mack]

This just gets better and better... Tommorrow, it is supposed to snow in Philly. I bet the Rays are singing, Dome Sweet Dome"... If we wait long enough, Saturday's game could go into the wee hours when they turn the clocks back, and we will all get lost in the space/baseball/time continum!

[Jimbo]

Unbelievable! So, now since we're catering to the whims of the execs at MLB and Fox, we're forced to cancel all our Halloween plans, now, too?!? This is an absolute disgrace, and if Bud has any sense of self-dignity left (ha!), once this game resumes, be it tomorrow or Thursday, Friday would be an off-day so families can spend time with their kids as was already planned, NOT being forced to go to a game they spent $100s on per ticket!

[Randy Ramsey]

This brings Hammels back into the picture for a game 7.

[Mike S.]

Bud Selig wasn't kidding... it may just be Thanksgiving before this game get's restarted. Must be going to snow... makes it real tough seeing the ball. :) Go Rays!!!