Category Archives: Cincinnati Reds

Rain, schmain

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Associated Press

Associated Press

I’ve been writing The Rainout Blog for a little more than nine years, and a few times I’ve crafted posts stating something like “Hey, it may rain at the baseball game tonight,” or “Look out for snow at Sunday’s football game” only for the predicted precipitation to be a no-show.

For the sake of fans who attended those events, like last night’s Home Run Derby in Cincinnati, I’m happy the wet stuff stayed away.

However, rain was the big story leading up to the Monday night long ball contest. There were countless stories, including the one on this website, about the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms. There even were reports of tornado sirens.

And then last night… the only objects that fell out of the sky – that I’m aware of – were baseballs blasted from the bats of sluggers like Todd Frazier, Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson.

It was a great night – judging from my comfy seat in the man cave – and a great show. But the empty threat of the whole darn thing being potentially shut down because of rain, and then it didn’t happen, has led me to this decision: I’m never, ever writing another story about a sporting event potentially being affected by bad weather.

Never!

Now, I know the All-Star game is tonight in Cincinnati, and yeah, there’s potential for thunderstorms around an hour before the game starts and then a chance of rain, according to Accuweather.com, an hour after the first pitch, but I’m not writing a post about it.

Forget it!

Chicago rain… and more reign

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Wrigley-Game-ppd-06-15-2015I love baseball.

However, if tornado warnings (See video) are being blasted in the area of the ballpark, that’s a good sign to call it a night and try again tomorrow.

That’s the decision the Cubs and Indians were forced into Monday night at Chicago’s Wrigley Field About an hour and a half before the two teams were to play the first of a four-game series, heavy rain and threats of severe weather forced a postponement.

Monday night’s scheduled game will be made up Aug. 24 in Chicago. However, the two teams will play tonight in Wrigley before trekking to Cleveland for two games at Progressive Field.

Tornado warnings continued through Monday evening, but those warnings didn’t deter fans of the newly minted Stanley Cup champions from celebrating their team’s win in the city over the aptly-named-for-the-moment Tampa Bay Lightning.

For the Blackhawks, it’s their third cup in six years. (Can we call that a dynasty?)

As for fans of the Lightning — the hockey team – many were forced indoors Monday to eyeball game six after a watch party was cancelled because of heavy rain and, you know, real lightning.

Back to the Cubbies for a moment, the team has been plagued by rain since the weekend. On Saturday, Chicago was leading Cincinnati 3-1 in the top of the sixth when rain delayed the game for two hours and 48-minutes.

Cue the tarp crew…

Immediately following the long delay, the Reds tied the game at 3-3 on a Eugenio Suarez two-run homer in the top of the sixth, but the Cubbies – my son’s favorite team, by the way – won it 4-3 when Starlin Castro’s walk-off single scored Kris Bryant in the bottom of the ninth.

Let’s watch:


Stuff that probably interest only me…

I’ve always been a fan of game notes produced by teams’ media relations offices, and I occasionally like to sort through daily notes from MLB clubs. Buried at the bottom of the Cubs’ notes – I assume it’s there for every game – is the team’s record at Wrigley when the wind is blowing out, blowing in and when there is a cross wind. As of today, June 16, the Cubbies are 11-7 with the wind blowing in and 4-5 when it’s blowing out of the park. They’re 3-1 with a cross wind.