Oh, by the way..

If it weren't so gosh darn hot, I would try to find an animal spokesman to let you know how freaking hot it is in Clinton right now.

The temperature at this posting is 89 degrees.  The heat index is 101.

It's really, really, really humid, too.

But, Baseball awaits!  Game time is 7pm tonight!

Weather situation in Peoria for tonight

Hello, I am Telemachus, the Tarping Tapir.

Just letting you know that the tarp is on the field at O'Brien, um, Field in Peoria. And with good reason.

Here is the grounds crew putting the tarp on as the sky is bisected between Joy....pump it up pump it up. And pain, keep it comin. Like sunshine, what else what else. And rain.

Yes. Quite dark. Thank you.

I will try to keep you informed.And there may be a few more pictures later.

Weather Update in Beloit

The tarp is on the field in Beloit. We are in a rain delay.

Here is the weather for Beloit including the RADAR!



Correction, Telemachus the tarping tapir. I, Perry the postponement penguin, have an announcement.

The Snappers have postponed tonight's game. There will be a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one starts at 4:00pm. Game two will follow the conclusion of game one. Both games are scheduled for seven innings.

Windy in Peoria

Want to see how windy it is in Peoria tonight?

Look at the flags during warmups for the top of the first.


Here's a close up.

Fog

THE fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

It is a little odd hearing the work being done beyond the outfield fence, but being unable to see it. You can barely make out the figure standing at second base.

And -- all due respect to Mr. Sandburg -- but, this fog can move on ANY time now.

Look outside

Kent Brockman: Roads closed, pipes frozen, albinos...virtually invisible. The National Weather Service has upgraded Springfield's blizzard from "Winter Wonderland" to a "Class 3 Kill-Storm"!

Marge: I don't like the sound of that "class 3".

If you were planning on heading out to Time Warner Cable Field today...don't. It is still snowing outside and we may be looking at around 14" of snow in Northeastern Wisconsin.

The ballpark is closed today.

As for me...I need to find that episode on-line and get the graphic for the Class 3 Kill-Storm.

August 7, 2009: Play Ball!

PLAY BALL!

Today's twinbill is made possible

Remember me? I'm The Sun! Today's doubleheader is brought to you by me, The Sun! I'll be keeping the clouds away all day today and tomorrow, too. It's a great day to do what, Ernie?

It's a great day to play TWO today, Sun.

Just a follow up

I thought the story about the Chiefs and Snappers suspension of play that is linked below was interesting. So, here is again with a few of the pertinent facts that are in play when teams are deciding what to do when there is bad weather in the area.

“They were just hoping that the rain would move through,” Chiefs president Rocky Vonachen said of play continuing and then waiting more than an hour to suspend it. “I don’t think any of us thought it would rain that hard, that long.”

The game started 42 minutes late after a rain-anticipation delay.

“I thought we should have started on time,” Beloit manager Nelson Prada said. “I know they worry about starting pitchers and I understand all that.”
...
We get together with (Chiefs manager Marty Pevey) and the umpires and we look at the weather and what’s coming and we try and make the best decision with what we’ve got,” Vonachen said. “We saw the front coming so we thought, hey, let’s wait an extra 15 minutes to see if it was going to hit us. When we looked at that, we thought it might slide by us.”

When it appeared that the system was not sliding by, just moving slower in the approach, the decision was made to start since Peoria’s Chris Archer and Beloit’s Daniel Osterbrock had begun to warm up.
But the rain started falling in the top of the first and turned harder by the bottom of the inning when the Chiefs scored their run behind a throwing error, a walk and three wild pitches.

Still, for umpires Luke Hamilton and Charles Billington it was not enough to stop play.

There must have been something that made them decide to stop play, no?

Finally after Peoria catcher Michael Brenly dropped a bunt that stuck, literally, to the third baseline for a single was play stopped.

“It was like a truck tire. You could see the mud building up on the ball,” Pevey said. “When the third basemen came and picked it up his shoes stuck six inches in the ground. That’s when they said, ‘Oh that will be enough.’ ”

That would do it, yes?

Whoa! UPDATED

Just a quick update on the weather.

The skies just opened up over Fifth Third Field in Dayton and it is pouring...pouring down like a tap at OktoberFest in Germany. But, the sun is shining, too.

Looking at the RADAR, this may not last long, but we may be dodging raindrops all night long.

Fun night in Dayton ahead.

Carl may be making an appearance later.

UPDATE 4:20pm: The tarp is now off the field. Carl is standing by in case he is needed.

CORRECTION: 4:31pm (CDT): The tarp is folded up on the infield. It is ready to be rolled up and put away or placed back on the infield at a moments notice.

UPDATED 5:31pm (CDT): Tarp all the way off the field. Fame scheduled to start on time. Pre-game show starts in a couple of minutes.

The latest from Cedar Rapids (UPDATED)

Just got word from the Kernels front office.

They believe that the rain will be out of the area at 7:00pm. The field will be ready for play 30 minutes after the tarp is pulled from the field.

Now...pay attention...this is where it gets tricky and I hope that I am reading this off my hand -- where I wrote the information down -- correctly.

There will be no doubleheader tonight.

When the baseball action starts this evening, there will only be one 9-inning game...at least we hope it's only nine innings.

The doubleheader has been pushed to tomorrow...weather permitting.

I will be updating this post from here on out.

7:00pm UPDATE: Still raining. Still waiting.

7:23 UPDATE: It has stopped raining. The tarp is coming off the field and we have been told to prepare for an 8:00pm CDT start time. There is still some standing water in foul territory, but it appears we will have baseball tonight! Wooo-Hoo!

The Tarp is on the Field! (UPDATED)

So much for giving Brick complements.

It is raining in Cedar Rapids and the Rattlers just had their batting practice on the field cut short.

When I checked the radar before heading over to the stadium this afternoon, it was clear to the Nebraska line.

But, within the last 45 minutes, a band of Thundercats....HOOOOO!...sorry...a band of thunderstorms popped up between here and Des Moines. They appear to be heading this way.

It is still a little over 60 minutes to the start of game one, but we may at least be delayed. Check this post for updates.

For now, here is the song that is stuck in my head now because it was just played on the PA system at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids.

Extreme - New Music - More Music Videos

UPDATE:

There is a walk of fame at Perfect Game Field. The panorama of the shot didn't work out, but here is one Brewer fans may like.


Here is the shot of the visiting team radio booth from the door. Notice I do not sit in the seat that exposes my back to the door.


Here is the view from my window about 10 minutes ago.


Still waiting.

UPDATE #DOS: Question: Is the sky supposed to be dark...I mean really, really pitch black at 5:52pm in mid-May? Answer: I really didn't think so.

UPDATE # 3: Check out the post above for the latest information.

Update on the weather (Um, Updated...FINAL UPDATE

The rain has stopped in Davenport for now. However, the field here is notorious for its poor drainage system.

The grounds crew is out looking over the field, but they have not taken the tarp off the field.

The game will not start on time. But, they are going to try to get this one in because there is a decent pre-sold attendance.

Stay tuned. I'll update this post when there is more information.

UPDATE 1:06PM

They are still in the process of taking the tarp off the field. A rough guess is that if we play, it probably won't be until after 2:00pm.

UPDATE 1:26PM

Good thing I didn't go with that first time they told me. In a fit of Optimism that you really have to admire, the first time they told me for a projected start time was 1:45pm. Optimism is nice...until reality slaps you upside the head. Trust me. I know.

Latest word is a 2:00pm start time. So, we'll go with that for now.

UPDATE 1:41PM

Yeah. 2:00pm. Not going to happen. The field conditions are -- how can I put this politely -- crummy? I was just told that the start time is now indefinite. So, hang in there, I guess.

UPDATE 2:00PM

GAME CALLED. Two games tomorrow. First game starts at 11am. Second game will follow...Maybe...The weather forecast doesn't look that good.

A tradition like no other

If it's a Sunday on the road, it must be raining. The last time the Rattlers were on the road for a Sunday game was last Sunday in Clinton. That got rained out.

This Sunday, we are in Quad Cities and the tarp just went on the field. It's raining pretty hard here. It may be raining for a while. If there is an update, I will pass it along.

For now, the game notes and today's pitcher posts will be next.

Carl may be along at some point, but only Roudha knows.

Quick Weather report (FINAL UPDATE)

It's raining in Clinton, Iowa. The tarp is on the field.

The rain is just a slight drizzle right now, but if you look at the radar here, there is a blob of green with some yellow in it.

Plus, I'm not a weatherman, but is it good when the weather is coming back at you from the Southeast?

I'll post updates as they come along, but right now the best course of action is to be ready to have the game.

UPDATE: 11:00am
Yeah, um, it's raining heavier now. A lot heavier. Radio broadcaster heavy. I'll keep this post at the top update when I have more information.

UPDATE: 11:35am
Just got word that we are in a holding pattern. From the broadcast booth, I can see standing water on the warning track behind home plate and in front of both dugouts. More later.

UPDATE: 12:05pm
Still raining. Sounds like there should be a decision soon.

UPDATE: 12:15pm
POSTPONED. Game will be made up at Time Warner Cable Field as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, May 17. Game one starts at 1:05pm.

I'm pretty sure that this backs up the pitching rotation for the Peoria series. I'll check with the coaching staff and let you know -- if possible -- before we get on the bus home.

Just pointing this out....

From Weather.com....

12 pm:
Temp: 54° F
Precip: 0%


1 pm
Temp: 56° F
Precip: 0%

2 pm
Temp: 57° F
Precip: 0%

3 pm
Temp: 58° F
Precip: 0%

Can you think of something going on between noon and three, today? Something going on outside?

Something for which you may need a ticket?

No Effect

I thought about linking to a few stories about the 6" of snow...I repeat...6" of snow that fell yesterday.

I will not.

It's 70 and partly cloudy in my mind. The weather outside is does not bother me. The weather outside does not affect me.

31 dies insquequo Oris Dies!

Channeling

As I was driving home from the Oshkosh Business Expo last night, I began to have a few thoughts. It began when it took me about ten minutes to scrape the snow/ice hybrid off the car.

I take that back, it actually began during the Expo when I received a call to let me know that the Appleton East at Oshkosh North basketball game I was scheduled to work had been postponed. This was to be the last broadcast on TWC Sports 32. But, now we won't be doing the game.

After the car had been mostly cleared, I started on the trek home. What normally would have taken 20 minutes, took over an hour and 15 minutes.

The snow had finally gotten to me and as I pulled into the carport of the trailer, I began channeling a speech from an 80's movie with a few alterations.


I'm not going to stand up here and give you a lecture about the values of snow and the change of seasons. I just have two simple words for you: No More.

As long as I'm here, I can promise you one thing: That I will do everything in my power to enforce my painfully simple rule of NO MORE!

I know what you're thinking. You gotta live with me and I gotta live with you. Well, it will be a whole lot simpler if you all join with me and say:

NO MORE!

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go to the corner bar and build a pyramid out of shot glasses. Or go in to the ballpark and sell, sell, sell.

41 dies insquequo Oris Dies!

Drawing nothing

Good morning, all.

I've been looking in the usual places for something to post, but I've got nothing today. It must be something to do with the weather. Right, Captain?

Here's a little winter haiku to get you through the day:

The snow on the ground
freezes and baseball seems far
HOLY SMOKES it's cold!

83 dies insquequo Oris Dies

Weather

The rain has cleared out of the Davenport, Iowa area. Judging by the forecast at weather.com, the first pitch temperature would be 51 degrees.

Saturday looks even better with 64 as the expected high and no threat of rain.

Meanwhile, the look at Monday back home at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium....High: 48; Low: 34; Chance of rain: 20%. See you there.