Nor’easters are never very pleasant, but this weekend, a nor’easter may be baseball’s worst nightmare. A new nor’easter is set to strike this weekend, though it’s the worst time for a nor’easter to strike the East Coast. New York and Philadelphia could be hit hard by the nor’easter – at least hard enough to ruin the baseball playoffs for a few days. Once more, Bud Selig, ESPN and sports pundits have to talk about the weather this October, as the nor’easter forms in time to wreck the NLCS and ALCS all at once.
For certain, the nor’easter could do damage to the ALCS, as it is actually starting in New York tomorrow. As for the NLCS, it won’t go to Philadelphia until Sunday, so the nor’easter could be gone by then. But cold and rainy weather could still hit Philadelphia to end the weekend, and be the latest bad weather to affect a Phillies playoff game.
Yet bad weather, in part, helped the Phillies win the World Series last year and beat Colorado this year. So a nor’easter might be the best thing for the Phillies, historically speaking. But the nor’easter might give less luck to the Yankees and Angels on Friday and Saturday.
The nor’easter is moving up the Atlantic Coast right now, as the rain may fall in the mid-Atlantic by tonight. Tomorrow could begin three straight days of rain in the East Coast, and in New York. Baseball hopes to have at least some relief by tomorrow night, as the Yankees host Game 1 of the ALCS against the Angels at 8 p.m. est. Game 2 is set for the next night at the same time.
If one of the games is postponed due to the nor’easter, Game 2 would have to be played on Sunday, which is supposed to be a day of rest before the series goes to Anaheim. If the conditions are so bad that they can’t play Games 1 and 2 before Monday, then Bud Selig and FOX will be under the spotlight again.
Selig and TBS already got slammed because of the weather last week, after the intense cold of the Phillies-Rockies games in Colorado, and how they still started at a late time. And if the effect of the nor’easter don’t go away by Sunday, both the NLCS and ALCS will be affected by the results.
Weather and bad umpires have marred the baseball playoffs so far, and much like bad umpire calls, the weather may not be done yet. At the least, the first two games of the Phillies-Dodgers NLCS are far away from any nor’easter. Those game will get in on time tonight and tomorrow afternoon, but beyond that, things are all too dodgy.
Sources
Bloomberg- “Nor’easter Will Soak New York Area, May Disrupt Yankees Games” www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Philadelphia Inquirer- “Mild or wild? Forecasts look toward winter” www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20091015_Mild_or_wild__Forecasts_look_toward_winter.html
