I spent most of yesterday morning preparing for a hurricane or tropical storm. Â Getting the basement ready in case we take on water, tying down things in the yard that we couldn’t bring inside and bringing things inside that we could, digging out the candles and flashlights…I got a lot accomplished. Â Having a noon baseball game to watch as a reward was exactly what I needed. Â Little did I know that my afternoon treat would turn into just about 11 hours of on again off again baseball that would end in two wins for the Red Sox.
The day felt long and grey and wet and I watched both games from the comfort of my home, so I can’t even begin to imagine how the players and especially the fans who hung around felt after that marathon day. Â It worked out perfectly (for the team anyway) though, they won both games and now they get today and tomorrow off to recover before the Yankees show up on Tuesday. Alls well that ends well.
Far be it from me to defend the New York Yankees but even I have to admit that having them make up one of the games from this weekend on their off-day before a west coast trip seems a little unfair.  (They’ll be home for three games versus Baltimore and then they have to travel to Baltimore for the makeup game and they have to be in California the next day for their series against the Angels.)  On the other hand, the Orioles have the same two off-days in September that the Yankees do and while I suppose they could have chosen the later day when they would be staying at home after the game and the Yankees would be going to Toronto…but, really, I don’t see how it’s their responsibility to give their opponents a break.  (Although, the Yankees are in Seattle the day before that second off-day…so either way it isn’t really convenient for them.) I also don’t fully understand why the Yankees didn’t have  a say.  But, ultimately, the Yankees are in contention so these games have to be played.  I think the Yankees didn’t do themselves any PR favors by whining about this publicly instead of just going privately to MLB and the Orioles.  The O’s are still reeling from the news of Mike Flanagan’s death.  A little courtesy isn’t such a terrible thing.
The Red Sox are up by two games right now but the Yankees have four games in hand (two after today’s double header in Baltimore). It’s going to be one heck of an entertaining September.
If you’re in the path of the hurricane this weekend, I hope you are safe. Â I’m most concerned about losing power and a little flooding but so far so good here. Â Stay safe, people, we want you around for the rest of the season!