Monday: A Different Kind of Week

Saturday ended what was a bizarre week in baseball-for the Rangers in particular. There were four strange occurrences that come to mind, and they started on Wednesday, when the Rangers were set to play against the Blue Jays. Now of course, the game was canceled due to rain, and for most that doesn’t seem too strange, but for me, it was because I happened to be in attendance. That was the first game I had ever been to that had been rained out. When we got to the game, the skies looming overhead looked ominous and threatening. It was nice because the sun was gone and the overcast sky kept us from having to deal with the sun, but it was also slightly unnerving, because rain seemed evident. It wasn’t until we were in the confines of the stadium that the wind picked up and clouds grew ever darker. We knew that the game wasn’t going to be on time. Then rain started sputtering from the sky, as the large open windows of the park allowed water to spray in, forcing everyone to move back against the wall. Looking out at the storm I was reminded of something from ‘Shutter Island.’ The upper deck was closed, so all the fans (I’m guessing it was around 25,000) crammed together in the lower concourse. By the time I caught a glimpse of the field, it was pouring, and I knew that the game would probably be delayed. Standing under cover and looking out at the field as the rain came down in rapid sheets was a sight to behold, even though we ended up not getting to see the game played.

The next two instances that piqued my interest took place on Friday. The first, as most know, concerned Milton Bradley. He actually had a pretty good game offensively, but that was overshadowed by his blunders on the base paths and the in the outfield, with the latter being the only people really cared about. In case you didn’t hear, Bradley caught a fly ball for the second out, thought it was the third out, posed, and then fired the ball into the stands. There are plenty of embarrassing things a player can do in a game, but is there one worse than that? Bradley just stood in the outfield as if nothing had really happened, but it was obvious he was humiliated. However, as Tom Grieve said, Milton came up with a very solid comeback after the game. The next instance came the same day, when the Indians were playing the Royals. Shin-Soo Choo hit a line drive single to center and it looked as if Coco Crisp would field it as normal. But it just so happened that a flock of seagulls had decided to camp out in center field, and the ball ended up ricocheting off one of the birds and getting past Coco Crisp, allowing Mark DeRosa to score. That’s not as classic as Randy Johnson hitting a bird with a pitch, but it’s pretty darn close. I’m just glad that the seagull wasn’t killed.

Finally, perhaps the most bizarre event of all was when the lights failed on Saturday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Tom and Josh spent about ten or fifteen minutes talking during the delay, and it was obvious they were struggling to find things to say. Thankfully, when it was announced that the delay might be a while, they were able to go off the air. According to T.R. Sullivan, (on the humorously titled ‘light delay theatre’ on KRLD) that was the first time a game had been delayed due to light failure in the history of the ballpark. However, he did say that it happened once during a game at the old stadium. Unfortunately the game didn’t end with a win, but results aside, one has to admit that this was one of the more unusual weeks of the baseball season.