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Rays' Postseason Fate Up To The Weather

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: October 28, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Game 5 of the World Series began in the rain Monday night, but it might not be concluded until tonight or possibly even Wednesday.

A steady downpour finally forced Major League Baseball to suspend the game in the middle of the sixth with the score tied at 2. The game will be completed from that point, but no one knows when that will occur.

"I can't tell you tonight when we'll resume," Commissioner Bud Selig said at a hastily arranged news conference. "We'll resume, weather permitting, when the health and welfare of our players is protected as much as it can be."

The first attempt likely will come after 8 p.m. today, as Selig said the game would be played at night regardless of when it occurs. But more rain is forecast for today and tonight in the Philadelphia area, so everyone might be kept idling indefinitely.

Selig was asked if he might consider moving the completion of the game to Tropicana Field at some point and immediately waved off the suggestion. "No, we'll stay here," he said. "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here."

The game went into a rain delay at 10:40 p.m., shortly after B.J. Upton had scored on a Carlos Pena single to tie the score, and was suspended 30 minutes later. Though the game already was official at that point, Selig had decided that it would be played to completion regardless of the score.

"The World Series shouldn't be decided by weather," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "It was determined before the game that it wouldn't be determined by the weather, but the tie game eliminated a lot of the potential controversy."

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