Nats catch grief for extended ‘rain’ delay
Francona won’t manage All-Stars
WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals have tried more than once to apologize for what happened Thursday night, when fans were given little information about why a dry, tarpfree baseball field could not accommodate baseball; about whether those circumstances might change; and about what they should do if they had already invested hundreds of dollars into food, tickets and parking but could not stay. (The immediate answer was: nothing.)
Many fans spent the night being extremely angry. And if they wanted a public voice for their frustrations, they could look inside the Atlanta Braves television broadcast booth, where Chip Caray and Joe Simpson repeatedly filleted the Nationals for their handling of the situation.
“This is a travesty, this really is,” Simpson said about an hour into the delay, when the field was dry and the tarp still ensconced in its wrapper. “I hope MLB looks into this, because this is a blatant abuse of gamesmanship by the Nationals, in my opinion. … We could have already played five or six innings by the time the rain might get here. … This is all about the Nationals fearing they might start the game and lose Gio Gonzalez and then have the game (resume) later and then have to go to their bullpen, which we all know is the worst in baseball. This is a horrible attempt by the Nationals to manipulate this.”
If that was the Nationals’ motivation, it sort of worked out (Gonzalez went six innings) and sort of didn’t (four relievers pitched, allowing five hits and two runs, and the Nats lost anyhow, 5-2).
The game ended at 1:20 a.m. EDT.
“For 15 minutes of rain, that’s unbelievable,” Gonzalez said.
The grounds crew didn’t even put the tarp on the infield until 74 minutes after the scheduled first pitch. Light rain eventually fell, but only for a couple of minutes.
After the delay reached 2½ hours, the Nationals posted a statement on the video scoreboard saying, “It is our sincere hope that we will be able to play tonight’s game. The weather system that we have been monitoring is beginning to reach the ballpark & should pass through shortly. … Thank you for your patience.”
By the time the teams started playing ball — after a delay that lasted as long as a typical game —most of the crowd was gone.
Dave Moser, who has two full season tickets, used his reward points to get 18 additional seats for families connected to his youth baseball team. His group waited until
the tarp came out, and then finally left around 9, hearing about the 10:10 start time during their car rides home. His reward points are gone, they spent something like $100 on parking and food and drinks, and they saw exactly zero pitches.
“Maybe they should use the money they gained from the evening to improve the pen,” Moser suggested.
FRANCONA: Cleveland manager Terry Francona will not manage the American League all-star team after undergoing a cardiac ablation procedure Thursday to correct an irregular heartbeat, the Indians announced Friday. He will be out of the hospital in a day or two and is expected to make a full recovery, rejoining Cleveland for its series in Oakland immediately following the midsummer classic.
Francona, 58, had experienced light-headedness and an elevated heart rate, the Akron Beacon Journal reports, causing him to miss Cleveland’s last three games, another on June 27 and parts of two others. After visiting the Cleveland Clinic, doctors discovered the arrhythmia. ALL-STAR REPLACEMENTS: Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano, Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer and Toronto reliever Roberto Osuna are among seven replacement players selected for Tuesday’s AllStar Game in Miami.
Houston reliever Chris Devenski, Minnesota reliever Brandon Kintzler and Detroit outfielder Justin Upton also were added to the AL roster Friday. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood was added to the NL All-Stars.
Three of the original AllStars are on the disabled list and won’t be active for the game: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, New York Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro and Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel.
Four pitchers on the AllStar rosters won’t be active because they are scheduled to start Sunday: the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, Texas’ Yu Darvish, Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and Detroit’s Michael Fulmer.
REDS: Hunter Greene, the high school right-hander taken by the Cincinnati Reds with the second overall pick last month in the amateur draft, agreed to a minor league contract Friday with a $7.23 million signing bonus — the highest since constraints on draft spending began in 2012.
Left-hander Brandon ■ Finnegan has had surgery after tearing the labrum in his right shoulder in an off-field fall. The Reds announced the surgery Friday before their series opener at Arizona
Finnegan has been on the disabled list since June 28 because of a left teres major strain. On Sunday, he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.