Brewers aren’t happy about rainout

Cloud hangs over Cubs’ postponement

CHICAGO - Just call it Weathergate.

Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns made it clear Sunday he was not happy that the Chicago Cubs postponed the game at Wrigley Field on Saturday around 11:30 a.m., only to see it stop raining shortly afterward for the rest of the day.

“Clearly, the Cubs were looking at a weather forecast that made them think it was going to rain,” Stearns said. “Our weather forecast did not indicate that. I think there were five or seven other forecasts that also did not indicate that. Ultimately, it’s the Cubs’ call.

“We were a little surprised the game was called as early as it was. I’m sure they had their reasons to do it. Obviously, it didn’t rain. So, from our standpoint, we would have preferred to play yesterday. I talked with some guys with the Cubs. They knew how we felt. That’s one of the earliest games I’ve ever been involved with that was called. That surprised me a little bit.”

Stearns noted that the home team controls decisions over the weather before game time. After games begin, authority shifts to the umpires.

“I’m not privy to their forecasting methods or what service they use,” Stearns said of the Cubs. “All I know is what they told us at the time they canceled

the game. They certainly knew we preferred to play. We’re of the opinion if there are playable conditions, we’d like to play. It was out of our hands yesterday.

“By the time most of us left here yesterday, it was pretty clear that we could have played baseball. But the Cubs felt, and had information that indicated it was not going to be the case.”

The weather significantly improved over the remainder of the day, to the point that the sun began to peek out by late afternoon, which led to a great quote by Brewers manager Craig Counsell.

“First time, for us, that we’ve had players treated for sunburn after a rainout,” Counsell quipped.

Stearns and Counsell stopped short of openly accusing the Cubs of gamesmanship or manipulating the weather forecast for some competitive advantage. Chicago

did cover six innings out of its bullpen Friday in a game played in much worse conditions – wind, rain, cold – that stopped play for two hours at one point.

The Brewers were fully expecting to play Saturday and recalled Tyler Cravy from Class AAA Colorado Springs to provide another arm in the bullpen. When the game was postponed, the decision was made to send Cravy back down and activate leftfielder Ryan Braun from the disabled list to play Sunday.

Braun, by the way, got on the field after the postponement to pass the final tests to be activated.

“He came out after the game was canceled. It wasn’t raining, so he came out and did some work,” Counsell said.

This was not the first time the Brewers have been irked at the Cubs this season. During Milwaukee’s visit to Wrigley Field in mid-April, Chicago pitcher John Lackey and pitching coach Chris Bosio made comments in interviews that questioned the legitimacy of

Eric Thames' power display. And Thames was drug tested the next day after another game at Wrigley.

“I stayed out of that,” Stearns said. “As you guys know, we have the toughest testing policy in sports. It’s been well documented that Eric has been well tested. And he’s more than happy to go through that process, so that doesn’t concern me. Speculation like that isn’t good for the game in general.”

Asked what motivation beyond the weather the Cubs might have for postponing the game, Counsell said, “You’d have to ask them what’s going on. I don’t know. I feel bad for their fans. A lot of people came to a game and expected good weather. We saw them walking all around Michigan Avenue yesterday afternoon.

“You think when there’s no rain, you expect there to be a game. They know what’s going on, so the theory should come from them. Because they know what’s going on.

“It was a nice afternoon. It kind of got nicer as the afternoon went.”

The Cubs left it to manager Joe Maddon to address the issue. He said he spent the afternoon in his apartment, taking naps and doing chores, and didn’t realize it stopped raining.

“I didn’t know that at the time because I was still in the apartment,” Maddon said. “But it’s just like the day before. Everything indicated it was going to be exactly like the day before.

“So, that’s the beauty of weather forecasting, and around here it’s very difficult.”

Apprised of Maddon’s comments, Stearns had an immediate response.

“Their explanation was the weather here is tough to predict,” Stearns said. “If that’s true, I’m even more confused as to why it was called so early, if the weather here is truly that tough to predict.

“It seems like it would have made a lot more sense to wait and see what actually happened with the weather. If there were other reasons the game was called, that’s something that MLB should look into.”