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| Photo by USA Today |
[UPDATED 6:09 p.m.]
Tuesday's game between the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers has been postponed due to inclement weather with rain falling in the D.C. region throughout the day. The teams will make it up on Thursday, May 9 at 4:05 p.m. as both teams had a scheduled day off after the two-game series.
Postponing the game before first pitch allows both teams to keep the same starting pitchers for Wednesday's matchup. Jordan Zimmermann and Anibal Sanchez were both expected to start on Tuesday and will now pitch the following day. This moves Dan Haren and Doug Fister over to pitch on Thursday.
Nats manager Davey Johnson expressed hope before the announcement was made that the game would either be played or postponed before first pitch. He was concerned he would lose Zimmermann for the start if he pitched a few innings before the game was called.
"The worst thing that can happen is you have a window and they decide to start and there's a whole bunch of rain behind it. That's the only nervous part about the whole thing," he said.
A team spokesman announced the postponement just after 4:30 on Tuesday which helped Zimmermann adjust his day before getting too far into his pregame routine.
"Got out of my street clothes for 15 minutes and then they cancel the game so it wasn't like I was in game mode yet," he said. "I'll come back tomorrow and do it all over."
The one concern is Zimmermann's tendency to struggle in starts when he has more than four days rest. In his career he holds a 2.61 ERA when pitching on a normal schedule and a 4.33 mark with five days off or more. His last outing was May 1 at Atlanta, so Wednesday would give him five days in between starts.
It is a statistical contrast Zimmermann is aware of, but can't explain.
"I know my numbers aren't as good when I get more days off," he said. "I feel the same, I still feel good every time, it's just one of those fluke things that the more days off the worse my numbers are for whatever reason. Hopefully I can change that tomorrow."
The Nationals and Tigers are set to play on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., but the forecast calls for another day of rain with scattered thunderstorms.
27 comments:
Maybe we end up with a twi-night dbl. header on Thursday. Yeah, I know, probably not!
Well, a DVR game for me tonight.
So if they don't play tomorrow night, and do play two Thursday, I wonder if they will again do a true doubleheader and let ticket-holders from either game into both.
I am so glad that the Nats were good enough to cancel and give us a choice instead of having to go to the game, pay to park, spend 15 bucks for a dog and a beer and watch the rain, then decide at 9 to cancel.
In calling the Nats, backpacks will be given out on Thursday's game, saw some folks wondering. Called the Nats ticket line and they confirmed that fact.
So NOW what am I supposed to do?
(...twiddling thumbs...)
Mind your own garden?
I am going to watch Game 4 again
Two off nights in a row??? It's like the freaking All Star break! I hate it!
Thanks, Salvatore.Inquiring minds need to know.
Maybe I'll watch that Pirates fan get clocked by Moore's HR again...
I plan to watch Braves @ Reds flipping to Mariners @ Pittsburgh.
"Sec. 3, My Comfortability Sofa said...
So if they don't play tomorrow night, and do play two Thursday, I wonder if they will again do a true doubleheader and let ticket-holders from either game into both."
If they have to play two on Thursday, it will probably be a true doubleheader, not a day-night. Simply because it's getaway day for Detroit and if they do a split doubleheader they have to allow a couple hours in between games to clear the stadium, but with a traditional doubleheader there's only about a half hour between games. They will want to get the two games over with as quick as possible so the Tigers can get out of town.
Amanda just tweeted that there are no exchanges if you can't make the game on Thursday.
Are you fricking kidding me? So if you have to work Thursday you have to eat the cost of a ticket?
Not loving this year's ticket regime even a tiny little bit, I must say. Calls will be made tomorrow.
"Salvatore Johnson said...
In calling the Nats, backpacks will be given out on Thursday's game, saw some folks wondering. Called the Nats ticket line and they confirmed that fact."
This giveaway is sponsored by MLB Network, so they're probably the same MLBN string backpacks that were given away last year, not Nats backpacks.
Let's wait for a little clarity on this ticket exchange situation. I really doubt that the Nats are going to do that either STHs or single game purchasers. It would be crazy to reverse 100 years of raincheck precedent.
I'm hoping this is an incomplete and premature statement of the policy by folks who don't yet know how to deal with these electronic tickets.
I'm not impressed with the new system at all. Went through game-swap hell last week because there was no fixed policy for swaps & upgrades. I was told at least four different things about a game swap before I finally found someone who could fix my situation.
Hard to believe
Well, 222, we do know what calls we need to make tomorrow.
Ridiculous so do this so early in the season. It's one thing to limit exchanges in September, and if they're worried about the $5 tickets, the way to deal with that is to require people to pay the regular price for whatever tickets they get for the exchanged game (in other words, the difference between $5 and the face value of the other tickets). That's the normal policy for exchanges -- as you said, a century of rain check precedent.
My rep has confirmed that that is the policy, and it is new this year. No exchanges. With attendance increasing, they don't have the availability to allow exchanges. Wow.
Class action lawyers, start your engines!
It's not just STHs who are screwed by this policy. Anyone who bought a ticket has to show up at 4:05 on Thursday or eat the cost. Not an insignificant sum. I'll be they'll be forced to walk this back.
222 -- from your mouth to Ted Lerner's ear.
MASN is showing the Natitude Park game with the Phillies from last year in place of the rainout. On the down side, Johnny Holliday is on PBP.
That's a big downside.
My ticket rep just got an irate email. I will call tomorrow as well.
Season plan holders are not totally screwed by this policy. They can always exchange the unused rain check ticket for points on RCR. It's the single game purchasers, flex plans, etc, that are really screwed. I guess the Nats are trying to get people to wait and buy their single game tickets on game day, where they'll probably have to pay more.
True enough, Dominats. But SPH who miss it get RCR points, which are worth nowhere near as much as tickets.
On Twitter several people posted the spot deep in the Ballpark A-Z list where it says: "The ticket will serve as a rain check for that re-scheduled game."
My biggest beef is that the policy seems to have changed suddenly, and that people had to dig around on the website to find it. A lot of us have been around since 2005, and it's always worked one way. Now, on the day of the first rainout, we find out it's working a new way.
And yes, all those mini-plan people are totally screwed. As are single-game people.
Bah.
Raincheck policies from around MLB:
Yankees - exchange for any available equal priced ticket for next twelve months
Tigers - same as Yankees
Giants - use for rescheduled game or submit for a full refund.
Nats customer service - time to step up your game.
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