July 17, 200620 yr http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sport...ll/15034778.htm From the article: Just when a veteran sports-writer believes he has seen it all in his long, checkered career, there comes a time when -- against all odds -- he is able to write a sentence he never, ever thought possible. At last has come that time. And here is that sentence: The Marlins squandered a strong start by Dontrelle Willis and lost to the Houston Astros here Thursday night 5-1 in a game delayed by an umpire's nose. The retractable-dome stadium that various Marlins owners have been unsuccessfully trying to get built around here since the late 1800s would be all but guaranteed to prevent rain delays. We learned Thursday that nothing yet invented prevents a game from being delayed on account of a broken blood vessel in the proboscis of home plate umpire Rick Reed. We saw him trot suddenly into the Marlins dugout in the midst of the second inning, and soon after that Astros players were ordered off the field, and for a long time nobody knew what was happening. Had the game been canceled for a lack of attendance? No. Or else that would be routine. Finally, after a 14-minute delay, the game resumed. There was no spare umpire, or spare nose, so a three-man crew finished the game. Still trying to confirm with Elias Sports Bureau that a major-league record was set or at least tied in the category, Most Umpires Leaving Game, Nose-Related Illness or Injury. Apologies here for not getting into much detail about the game itself; then again, a Marlins fan might wish to avoid reliving Randy Messenger's bad relief pitching and that boneheaded defense in much the same way a Vietnam vet would prefer to avoid flashbacks. You really do want to come out to the ballpark every once in a while and just write about the dad-blasted baseball game for a sweet change. Honestly. You want to ignore the crowd, or lack of. Ignore the payroll, or lack of. Ignore the franchise's future, or lack of. Ignore the umpire's nasal health, or lack of. But everything is so ridiculous. How can one be surrounded by this much dysfunction and pretend it isn't there? The intimate gathering doing business as a crowd numbered 8,216. That had to be the smallest of the season -- and would have been, if not for the 13 even smaller.
July 19, 200620 yr Had the game been canceled for a lack of attendance? No. Or else that would be routine. Hmm. :mischief2
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.