Posted on 09/06/2004 3:31:45 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
The New York Yankees asked the commissioner's office to award them a forfeit over Tampa Bay after the Devil Rays failed to arrive in time for the scheduled start Monday because of travel problems in Florida due to Hurricane Frances.
The doubleheader was changed to a single game and the start time, pushed back Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., was reset for 7 p.m. The Devil Rays, who reported to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg at 8 a.m., left the ballpark at 1:05 p.m., departed Tampa International Airport at 2:40 p.m., arrived at LaGuardia Airport at 5:25 p.m. and pulled up to Yankee Stadium in two buses at 6:05 p.m.
"The rule states that if your team is here and ready to play, and the other team isn't here and not ready to play, there should be a forfeit, and we believe there should be a forfeit," Yankees president Randy Levine said.
"There are no plans to reschedule any games until this issue is worked out," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Before we come to any hast conclusions, remember that this report was filed by AP!
I think it's pretty cheap of the flailing yankees to make this move, considering the circumstances.
Yeah -- maybe that Hays guy is now on the baseball beat for AP.
The rules do call for a forfeit under such circumstances, and I say give it to them. 1-0, Yanks.
the Dodgers arent the Dodgers anymore...IMHO
The hurricane was no big secret. Reportedly, the Major League office advised the Devil Rays to leave early so as to insure they would be in NY for the games. The Devil Rays disregarded the league's advisory and did not make contingency plans, they were thus delayed because of bad weather. Don't blame the Yankees, blame poor planning by the Devil Rays.
The Rays are going to play a few double headers in the comming weeks. The played one of three against the Tigers on wednesday and postponed the other two for a double.
Sandy Koufax, oh my Drysdale, Maury Wills
I love you so...
The Yankees can feel the Red Sox breathing down their neck, they just lost their top pitcher, and they're playing like crap.
The Ketchup Boy campaign can see Dubya pulling ahead, Tad Devine is an idiot, and Cabana Boy and Breck Girl can't even fill a diner.
So what do they do? They both ask for a freebie. The Yanks want a forfeit, and the RATS don't want anybody to mention Kerry's history beyond March, 1969.
Yeah, it's real easy to get 100 rooms in NYC the week after the republican convention, at the drop of a hat.
Don't sit there and act like the yankee's management wouldn't have acted differently if they were 8 games up.
My opinion stands.
Excellent point..
dubious source at best.
This thing smells from the neck down....and up.
Hell, give it to them 22-0; they need a little something-something to make things kosher again.
When you lose by 3 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion the week before, you win anyway you can - even if your opponent is 20+ games behind you and just went through a major hurricane.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.