OAKLAND, Calif.
Kent Hrbek Twins Jersey . - Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon walked toward shortstop and his right foot sunk some two inches, causing him to turn his right ankle. That was minor, yet everybody involved in the postponed game between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics on Friday night feared the worst if they had tried to play on a rain-soaked field. Even the umpiring crew deemed the conditions too dangerous. McClendon had his doubts the field could be ready for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch Saturday. "Thats probably the worst conditions Ive seen in all my years in baseball. Its not safe," McClendon said. "It was just a safety issue more than anything. They made the right decision." David Rinetti, As vice-president of stadium operations, said the tarp was kept off the field overnight in an effort to let it dry out after a week of heavy rains in the drought-starved Bay Area but an unexpected downpour caused further problems and the grounds crew worked tirelessly on the infield dirt from 7 a.m. until the game was called about the time of scheduled first pitch at 7:05 p.m. A delay had previously been announced. "Unfortunate misinterpretation of the forecast," Oakland general manager Billy Beane said. The As use a weather consultant to help make decisions during the wet weather and regarding use of the tarp. Rinetti said one-third of an inch of rain hit the area and the infield was under water when officials arrived Friday. The tarp went back on at about 4:35 p.m. when a steady rain began again. "Over the last week weve had probably more rain at the facility than weve had as long as Ive been here, which is many, many years," Rinetti said. "The field has taken a significant hit all week, and weve been working with a weather consultant get as much up to date information as possible. We had information last night that there was going to be a break in the storm. And because of that we wanted to use that opportunity to help dry out the field. Unfortunately we were wrong on the amount of rain, and we got about a third of an inch of rain last night." Players on both sides decided to play one game Saturday afternoon rather than a split doubleheader, which will be played later. Felix Hernandez (1-0) will start as scheduled for Seattle against Dan Straily, who had been set to go Friday in his season debut. "Prepare to pitch tomorrow," Hernandez said. "That happens." Mariners athletic trainer Rick Griffin recalled a time in Chicago in the late 90s when Seattle played on a soggy field and lost one player to a groin injury and another to a pulled hamstring, prompting manager Lou Piniella to tell everyone, "Nobody run hard," Griffin said, quoting the former skipper. This marked Oaklands third weather-related game to be called off in seven days after the preseason Bay Bridge finale against the Giants was cancelled last Saturday. Tuesdays game was also postponed by rain and made up Wednesday as part of a day-night doubleheader. For the Mariners, it was another strange visit to the rundown Oakland Coliseum. Last June 16, a clogged pipe caused a sewage backup and flooding on the bottom floor of the ballpark that sent the Mariners and As scrambling around in towels. They headed for higher ground, to shower in the Oakland Raiders locker room. A hazmat crew inspected the affected areas for E-coli and a huge cleanup operation ensued — including the installation of new carpeting and the removal of some lockers in the visiting clubhouse to repair water-damaged walls with new sheet rock and wooden supports. In addition, new drywall was put in about a foot above the floor. New cabinets were needed in the visiting training room, and a new dining table and vanity in the nearby umpires room. Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik considers the incidents separate. He is more concerned with playing baseball. "Its a dated facility, what can you say?" Zduriencik said. "Its unusual. Very unusual. But they just didnt get the tarp down is what they said. They couldnt get the field ready. Well see what happens. They said theyll work on it all night and what that means, well have to see. But they have a lot of work to do to get it ready."
Rod Carew Jersey . Sections of the British media reported Friday that Brooklyn Beckham, the son of United great David, was invited to a training session at the club on Thursday.
Bert Blyleven Twins Jersey . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones.Every night of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan breaks down each goalies performance. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Carey Price, Montreal (3) - On the second Lightning goal, he overplayed the post and on the third, it went through his body. He was good when it mattered with good saves on Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat and, most importantly, the only number that matters is four wins, which Price was instrumental in delivering Anders Lindback, Tampa Bay (1) - He got the gate halfway through the game and Lindback certainly did not have a lot of help as the Lightning was grossly outplayed, but he got beat twice on straight shots that were stoppable and had angle issues on them. Lindback looked erratic and overactive. Kristers Gudlevskis, Tampa Bay (3) - He came in and was very good, especially on Brendan Gallagher and Rene Bourque and he helped change the tide for Tampa. The game-winning goal went through his body and was a squeaker. It was tough finish for a real nice performance. Tuukka Rask, Boston (5) - It was a solid effort. Rask wasnt tested too much, but he made big saves on Johan Franzen and Gustav Nyqvist in close in the second period and a monster save on Justin Abdelkader in the 3rd. Rask is playing so poised and positionally sound right now that he makes it look easy in the net. Jimmy Howard, Detroit (3) - The Dougie Hamilton goal was a shortside, stoppable puck. Howard didnt get a lot of help on the second Boston ggoal.
Bert Blyleven Jersey. He fought to find pucks through lots of traffic on the penalty kill and made big saves on Brad Marchand and Jarome Iginla. Ray Emery, Philadelphia (2) - Emery was not overly sharp this game. He gave up a bad rebound on the Derek Stepan goal and he was beat clean on the Dan Girardi goal from far out. He made a couple of big saves on Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis in close in the second period, but was lifted after the Dan Carcillo goal to give Steve Mason some minutes. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (N/A) Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers (4) He had no chance on the Mark Streit goal in what was a back door play. He fought hard in the crease tonight as Philly really crashed the net on him and made nice saves on Jake Voracek and Scott Hartnell. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles (3) - It was a seeing-eye shot that he didnt see on Patrick Marleaus OT winner. Quick let in three weird goals tonight. He over-pushed through the screen on the first goal and had no chance on the second goal because he was run into by Robyn Regehr. He made big saves, though, on Tomas Hertl, Brent Burns, Raffi Torres, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. It was a good response game from Quicks prior two, but not enough as the Kings go down 3 to 0. Antti Niemi, San Jose (4) - He made a big save on Jordan Nolan in the third and great saves on Mike Richards and Marian Gaborik in overtime. Niemi was outstanding in tight and found a way to keep the puck out at critical times.
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