Game Today Cancelled (Snow)

[Bench]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4705362.html

Will be made up on July 12

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070411&content_id=1892287&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

[mihoba]

Now they scratched the July 12th and said 'at a later date.'

Hope it's tomorrow.

[remy]

Hope it's tomorrow.

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be.  The precip is supposed to be over with after today, and both teams have tomorrow off.  It'll still be cold of course, but imho just get the damn thing over with sooner rather than later.

[Bench]

Also, Alkie gets his wish: "Roy Oswalt will make that start as scheduled on Friday. Lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, who was schedule to start today, will be skipped a turn in the rotation."

[ValpoCory]

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be.  The precip is supposed to be over with after today, and both teams have tomorrow off.  It'll still be cold of course, but imho just get the damn thing over with sooner rather than later.

Will Roy O start on normal rest if they play tomorrow?

[ValpoCory]

I love the Chron's use of the word Cancelled and cancellation for a postponed game.

[mihoba]

Will Roy O start on normal rest if they play tomorrow?

It would be silly not to.

[remy]

I love the Chron's use of the word Cancelled and cancellation for a postponed game.

Hey, it's better than Aborted.

[ValpoCory]

Now they scratched the July 12th and said 'at a later date.'

Hope it's tomorrow.

"Today's Game Between The Astros And The Cubs Has Been Postponed Due To Snow. It Will Be Made Up On Thursday, July 12."

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/scoreboard

[Bench]

"Today's Game Between The Astros And The Cubs Has Been Postponed Due To Snow. It Will Be Made Up On Thursday, July 12."

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/scoreboard

I think that's a reflection of the old news, not the new news.

[Limey]

I love the Chron's use of the word Cancelled and cancellation for a postponed game.

C'mon!  How do you expect trained and paid journalists to understand the nuances of words?

[Jacksonian]

C'mon!  How do you expect trained and paid journalists to understand the nuances of words?

[whine]But english is hard.[/whine]

[pravata]

I love the Chron's use of the word Cancelled and cancellation for a postponed game.

I think they read the TZ, they've changed it to postponed.

[HudsonHawk]

I think they read the TZ, they've changed it to postponed.

I'm sure they do.  Anyone who's anyone in the baseball world reads the TZ.

[pravata]

I'm sure they do.  Anyone who's anyone in the baseball world reads the TZ.

Or the grammar world. 

[Noe]

Or the grammar world. 

Que? Nooooooo!

[mihoba]

Or the grammar world. 

We are the who's who of whoopass.

[MusicMan]

Or is that the who's whom?

[VirtualBob]

Or is that the who's whom?

non-transitive verb ... who's who.

[remy]

Speaking of bleeding brains...

[Fredia]

is the game going to be teleivised?

[pravata]

Why July 12 and not June 11?

The Astros wanted to keep their four-day All-Star break intact and play on June 11, a mutual off-day. But that would give the Cubs a stretch of 21 straight days with a game, an option not in their favor.

"We would prefer June 11 because we're playing in Chicago at the time and they're flying back," third baseman Morgan Ensberg, the Astros' player representative, told the Houston Chronicle.

"It doesn't seem to make any sense to burn one of those (All-Star break) off-days when we have a legitimate option earlier than that. We're both going to be in town [June 11] and it's sooner."
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0704120177apr12,1,1741890.story?coll=cs-sports-print

The Tribune thinks this "riles Astros".  No wonder Zambrano doesn't want to talk to these tools.

[matadorph]

Expect at least one postponement for the Phillies series. The weather forecast for Philadelphia doesn't look promising this weekend.

[BUWebguy]

Alright, das - how does this weekend look in Philly? I've got plans to attend Saturday.

[das]

Alright, das - how does this weekend look in Philly? I've got plans to attend Saturday.

Friday night, they'll get the game in but it will be cold and blustery.  Temps dropping thru the 40's throughout the game.  Saturday, they'll probably still get the game in but with maybe a delay or two for a passing shower.  Nicest game of the series as the temps may hit 50°F in the afternoon.  Sunday, can you say SNOW for the mid-atlantic?  Monster Nor'easter will absolutely *BOMB* off the Delmarva coast with the GFS forecasting the system to deepen to 972mb.  That's Hurricane-level barometric pressures, ladies and gentlemen.  Strong NE winds, high probability of precip and raw temps all slated for the 1:30pm gametime and lasting throughout the night.  Doubtful they will get the game in.  As always, the NWS is the best source:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?CityName=Philadelphia&state=PA&site=PHI
Click on the "Hourly Weather Graph" for details.  It's a bit dry but offers a great snapshot of the hour-by-hour forecast, is updated every 4 hours and is 1000% better than any media outlet or commercial weather tool.

[Amy]

I'm thinking about driving up for one of the games in Philly too.  I'm leaning towards Saturday because it's a day game so it should be warmer and also because it's a FOX game, so I wouldn't get to watch it on TV or internet.  I agree the forecast looks bad for getting the game in on Sunday.  Is there any precedent for rescheduling in anticipation of bad weather (other than hurricanes)?  It might be to everyone's advantage to play a doubleheader on Saturday.  We skipped Wandy on Wednesday, so there wouldn't be any problem coming up with an extra starting pitcher.  This is the 'Stros only trip to Philly, so I'm sure they'd like to get all three games in rather than find a day to come back to Philly.

[ValpoCory]

I'm thinking about driving up for one of the games in Philly too.  I'm leaning towards Saturday because it's a day game so it should be warmer and also because it's a FOX game, so I wouldn't get to watch it on TV or internet.  I agree the forecast looks bad for getting the game in on Sunday.  Is there any precedent for rescheduling in anticipation of bad weather (other than hurricanes)?  It might be to everyone's advantage to play a doubleheader on Saturday.  We skipped Wandy on Wednesday, so there wouldn't be any problem coming up with an extra starting pitcher.  This is the 'Stros only trip to Philly, so I'm sure they'd like to get all three games in rather than find a day to come back to Philly.

In college baseball it happens all the time.

[homer]

Is there any precedent for rescheduling in anticipation of bad weather (other than hurricanes)? 

See Jakes.

http://www.orangewhoopass.com/forums/index.php?topic=80.0

[Nate in IA]

Friday night, they'll get the game in but it will be cold and blustery.  Temps dropping thru the 40's throughout the game.  Saturday, they'll probably still get the game in but with maybe a delay or two for a passing shower.  Nicest game of the series as the temps may hit 50°F in the afternoon.  Sunday, can you say SNOW for the mid-atlantic?  Monster Nor'easter will absolutely *BOMB* off the Delmarva coast with the GFS forecasting the system to deepen to 972mb.  That's Hurricane-level barometric pressures, ladies and gentlemen.  Strong NE winds, high probability of precip and raw temps all slated for the 1:30pm gametime and lasting throughout the night.  Doubtful they will get the game in.  As always, the NWS is the best source:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?CityName=Philadelphia&state=PA&site=PHI
Click on the "Hourly Weather Graph" for details.  It's a bit dry but offers a great snapshot of the hour-by-hour forecast, is updated every 4 hours and is 1000% better than any media outlet or commercial weather tool.

Just wanted to say thanks for turning me on to the forecast discussions Das.  Been watching this winter storm blow up here in Colorado through that and it's been mighty interesting reading.  It's not started snowing yet but they're still predicting 6 to 12 inches of the wet stuff.  Fun.

[das]

Just wanted to say thanks for turning me on to the forecast discussions Das.  Been watching this winter storm blow up here in Colorado through that and it's been mighty interesting reading.  It's not started snowing yet but they're still predicting 6 to 12 inches of the wet stuff.  Fun.

No problem.  It can be quite interesting to see the internal forecaster discussion.  They are usually pretty candid amongst themselves, spill the beans about what drives their thinking, will often chat about events beyond the scope of a typical 7-day forecast and will basically act llike a bunch of kids when some excitinng event (like a 972mb Nor'Easter in April) is looming.

Looks like your upper level support has dropped further south than expected so I don't think your storm will yeild the totals they were suggesting last night.  4"-6" is more likely, especially the further east you go.  Are the Rockies playing there tonight?

[strosrays]

No problem.  It can be quite interesting to see the internal forecaster discussion.  They are usually pretty candid amongst themselves, spill the beans about what drives their thinking, will often chat about events beyond the scope of a typical 7-day forecast and will basically act llike a bunch of kids when some excitinng event (like a 972mb Nor'Easter in April) is looming.

You were recently cited on just this subject.

[Nate in IA]

No problem.  It can be quite interesting to see the internal forecaster discussion.  They are usually pretty candid amongst themselves, spill the beans about what drives their thinking, will often chat about events beyond the scope of a typical 7-day forecast and will basically act llike a bunch of kids when some excitinng event (like a 972mb Nor'Easter in April) is looming.

Looks like your upper level support has dropped further south than expected so I don't think your storm will yeild the totals they were suggesting last night.  4"-6" is more likely, especially the further east you go.  Are the Rockies playing there tonight?

The Rockies are in southern California playing the Angels tonight and the Sky Sox (Rockies AAA team here in Colorado Springs) are in Tuscon.   Pure dumb luck I think.   Anyway, I'm glad to see that we won't be getting the snow they had forecasted.  All those Californians living here now make it a nightmare to drive when there's a decent snow out.  Plus, my fiancée is flying in this afternoon and I want her to make it.

[austro]

The Rockies are in southern California playing the Angels tonight and the Sky Sox (Rockies AAA team here in Colorado Springs) are in Tuscon.   Pure dumb luck I think.   Anyway, I'm glad to see that we won't be getting the snow they had forecasted.  All those Californians living here now make it a nightmare to drive when there's a decent snow out.  Plus, my fiancée is flying in this afternoon and I want her to make it.

Yeah, but the poor fruit farmers on the western slope just got toasted.

[strosrays]

Plus, my fiancée is flying in this afternoon and I want her to make it.

For some reason, this immediately reminded me of the old Bread song, "I Want To Make It With You", which is now stuck in my head.  So, thanks for that.

BTW, I watched a show the other night on NGC about lightning.  There is an annual tradition in the CS area to go on top of some butte or mesa out there and drive golf balls off a cliff to a hole down in the valley below.  Only one day a few years ago, lightning struck and knocked out 19 people (none fatally.)  Just an FYI, if you were thinking of entering.

[das]

You were recently cited on just this subject.

Well, lookee there.  I'm a bon-a-fied celebrity.  I like your description of my job.  I'm gonna have to print out that title and put it on the door to my office.  And then kill anyone that reads it.  It's not often that I miss one of your previews and, after reading this one, I'm sorry I did.  Top notch, Mr. Rays.  Thanks for linking to a real weather source at the bottom instead of a McForecast from weather.com.

If you are doing this preview, feel free to include the forecast above for Philly.

[Nate in IA]

For some reason, this immediately reminded me of the old Bread song, "I Want To Make It With You", which is now stuck in my head.  So, thanks for that.

You're welcome...

BTW, I watched a show the other night on NGC about lightning.  There is an annual tradition in the CS area to go on top of some butte or mesa out there and drive golf balls off a cliff to a hole down in the valley below.  Only one day a few years ago, lightning struck and knocked out 19 people (none fatally.)  Just an FYI, if you were thinking of entering.

Honestly, I've never heard of this.  We've got plenty of golf courses in the general area that undulate like mad though so perhaps it was merely on a regulation golf course??

People are generally stupid about lightning out here for some reason.  Summer weather is particularly cruel to the ignorant as a thunderstorm can blow up out of nowhere.  Blue sky one moment, lightning and heavy rain the next.  Mind you, you can still see blue sky on either side of said thunderstorm, it's just nasty underneath.  Now imagine being caught on a peak in one of those and you can understand why we have several lightning fatalities every year.  They don't expire spectacularly enough for a Darwin award but they do expire.

[mihoba]

The Rockies are in southern California playing the Angels tonight

formally known as the D'Backs of Phoenix?

[Nate in IA]

formally known as the D'Backs of Phoenix?

I swear I saw Angels on their site this morning but you're right.  Must've been a snow-induced hallucination because those new D'backs caps look an awful lot like an Angels cap at a glance.   Mea culpa.  I've got other things on my mind...

In other news, Willy T is featured in their plays of the week video section for going back to get a fly ball.

[BUWebguy]

Thanks, as always, das.

[strosrays]

You're welcome...

Honestly, I've never heard of this.  We've got plenty of golf courses in the general area that undulate like mad though so perhaps it was merely on a regulation golf course??

People are generally stupid about lightning out here for some reason.  Summer weather is particularly cruel to the ignorant as a thunderstorm can blow up out of nowhere.  Blue sky one moment, lightning and heavy rain the next.  Mind you, you can still see blue sky on either side of said thunderstorm, it's just nasty underneath.  Now imagine being caught on a peak in one of those and you can understand why we have several lightning fatalities every year.  They don't expire spectacularly enough for a Darwin award but they do expire.

Comes on again this weekend, and next week.

Struck by Lightning

It wasn't a regular golf course.  The participants were standing on a pallet with Astroturf on it to drive.  They had to drive SUVs up to the top of this thing, and they had set up a fake green and hole below.  They were basically driving off the edge of a 300-ft. cliff.  I wish I could remember the name of that outcrop, or whatever you call it.  Up-thrust, maybe.  I like the sound of that one.  I probably need HH to vet my terminology, though.

At one point it was pointed out that Colorado is the most likely pplace in the U.S. to be struck by lightning.

[Nate in IA]

Comes on again this weekend, and next week.

Struck by Lightning

It wasn't a regular golf course.  The participants were standing on a pallet with Astroturf on it to drive.  They had to drive SUVs up to the top of this thing, and they had set up a fake green and hole below.  They were basically driving off the edge of a 300-ft. cliff.  I wish I could remember the name of that outcrop, or whatever you call it.  Up-thrust, maybe.  I like the sound of that one.  I probably need HH to vet my terminology, though.

At one point it was pointed out that Colorado is the most likely pplace in the U.S. to be struck by lightning.

Thanks.. I'll watch it and get back to you on where that is.  I'm really curious now.

Florida actually has more lightning than Colorado but NCAR is here for a reason (probably more to do with politics than weather however).  Also, people tend to be outside more here and as I said, thunderstorms can sneak up on you here.  In Florida they're pretty much a regular occurance.

[mihoba]

Also, people tend to be outside more here and as I said, thunderstorms can sneak up on you here.  In Florida they're pretty much a regular occurance.

I was fishing for rainbow trout on the Grand Mesa one summer and almost got zapped. I didn't see the storm coming until it was "almost" too late. The strike was probably 100 yards from me, but it was enough to knock me off my little stool I was sitting on.

Probably the loudest instant sound I've ever heard. Scary.