The White Sox just lost their game from April 28 today by a score of 4-3 to the Orioles. I have no problem with the score. Every team loses games. It's part of the season.What I do have a problem with is how the events unfolded to make this unique game happen.
The original game was played in Chicago. The resumption of the game was played in Baltimore. What? Why on Earth would the end of a game started in Chicago be played in Baltimore? Well, the Orioles were not coming back for a series against the White Sox. So, instead of flying in special for the continuation of the game, they decided to play the rest in Baltimore when the White Sox came there.
OK, I can see that. But wait, there's a catch.
The Orioles were back in Chicago to play the Cubs on June 24. They were coming in from playing the Brewers in Milwaukee on June 22. That means that they had a day off on June 23.
The White Sox played the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 22. They were scheduled to be in Los Angeles on June 24 to play the Dodgers in a night game. The White Sox had a day off on June 23.
This means that the White Sox and Orioles were both in town at the same time, with a shared day off. The game should have been scheduled to resume in the afternoon of June 23, 2008.
The clear advantage would be the home crowd and the home field. As I watched the resumed game, it was clear that an Orioles crowd was watching this White Sox "home game". Cheers of "LUUUUUKE!" permeated through the crowd meant for Luke Scott on the Orioles. It couldn't have been for Luke Appling, since he's been deceased for 17 years. I watched as bunt attempts were faltered by a Baltimore field substituting for a Chicago home field. This is a huge disadvantage to the "home team".
If this ever happens again in the schedule, to any team, I would hope that MLB would force them to suck it up and sacrifice part of each team's day off to finish their job.
I'm sure many of you are thinking that this is coming out because the White Sox lost the game. A tiny percentage is, but I would have written the same opinions about the resumption of play in Baltimore, even if they won the game.
There is something broken here and it is MLB, for allowing this particular game to be played in Baltimore.
2 comments:
My condolences. I'll admit that I'd have been pissed off if this had happened the other way round.
The Sox had their chances in that resumed game, but couldn't capitalize. I'm fine with that. The entire game should have been played in Chicago. Thanks for the condolences.
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