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Rays Season Opener Postponed Until Tuesday

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 6, 2009

Updated: 04/06/2009 11:37 am

BOSTON - Opening Day is on hold until Tuesday.

With heavy rain in the forecast this afternoon, today's Rays-Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston has been postponed until Tuesday at 4:05 p.m.

Rain and strong winds are expected to continue throughout the afternoon and into tonight.

"After consulting with our weather service and other professional meteorologists, it became apparent it would be extremely unlikely, if not impossible, that we could get a complete game in today so the decision was made to postpone until Tuesday," Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino said in a prepared statement.

The Rays were still at the hotel when the postponement was announced, but the team will take a bus to Fenway Park and try to take batting practice before the rain arrives early this afternoon. At 10:15 a.m., Red Sox players had begun trickling out of their dugout to warm up for batting practice.

Tuesday was a scheduled off day designed to accommodate situations just like this. Though the weather is supposed to remain cold into Tuesday, precipitation is supposed to taper off early.

James Shields, the Rays' Opening Day pitcher, said he ran into Manager Joe Maddon this morning as he was picking up some coffee at the team hotel and heard then that the game had been postponed.

Because Shields found out so early, he said he didn't expect being pushed back a day to have a detrimental effect.

"We're going to watch all the other teams play tonight and we're going to be sitting in a hotel," he said. "But there's no real disadvantage. ... Hopefully we'll get it in tomorrow and start the season off right."

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

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