Hurricane Ike: Cubs vs. Houston in Milwaukee for 2 games

[JGalt73]

From MLB.com:

 

The Astros are continuing dialogue with the Commissioner's Office and the Players Association to determine where the Astros-Cubs series will be played, and when. Miller Park in Milwaukee emerged as a possibility as a host site for the three-game set, which was supposed to begin at Minute Maid Park on Friday.

 

If the Astros and Cubs traveled to Miller Park, they'd likely play one game Sunday and a doubleheader on Monday, an off-day for both teams.

 

But the Astros want to play the games in Houston if possible, but while the ballpark is playable, conditions around Houston -- where more than 80 percent of residents have no power -- may make it impossible to play the series at home. Many areas of downtown Houston, however, appear to have power.

 

Should the series move to Milwaukee, the Astros may have a difficult time getting out of town, considering steady rain continues to blanket the city and may not subside for several hours.

A final decision is expected mid-afternoon on Saturday.

 

"If we had to play a game, we could play a game," Gardner said. "It is what it is. It's the situation downtown. You have to assess the whole picture.

 

"We've got Sunday and Monday. If we can get in one game or two games or even three over two days, it is possible. We'll keep assessing and make sure we make the right decision."

 

It appears too late to "make" the right decision. :(

Edited September 13, 2008 by JGalt73

[Schwarber Fan]

Baseball officials were anticipating that Sunday's series finale in Houston also might be postponed. One of the scenarios under consideration was to play a doubleheader Monday, and make up the third game on Sept. 29 if it's needed to decide a playoff berth. The Cubs and Astros have no common off days after Monday.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3585088

 

I can't go much longer without baseball, just move the damn series!!

 

If this happens, the last 5 days of the season are gonna be brutal

[big_shooter17]

Baseball officials were anticipating that Sunday's series finale in Houston also might be postponed. One of the scenarios under consideration was to play a doubleheader Monday, and make up the third game on Sept. 29 if it's needed to decide a playoff berth. The Cubs and Astros have no common off days after Monday.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3585088

 

I can't go much longer without baseball, just move the damn series!!

 

If this happens, the last 5 days of the season are gonna be brutal

 

Or we just take care of business and those last games, particularly the Houston game, are meaningless and we can let a Juan Mateo/Les Walrond type start the final game (I know they are both gone, but you get my point.)

[radarluv1]

a monday double header in HOU the day before the MIL series would give the brewers a bit of an edge, no?

[JGalt73]

Chase Tower 7 blocks from MMP downtown... this cannot bode well for Houston (or the likelihood of playing a game in Houston).

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004263/600xPopupGallery.jpg

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004293/600xPopupGallery.jpg

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004354/600xPopupGallery.jpg

Glass debris litter the street near the intersection of Travis Avenue near Texas in downtown Houston.

[radarluv1]

mclane's stall tactics may end up helping his team, but if he was only worried about the gate he would have them play at miller already. cub fans could fill up most of the park with a little notice on a weekend.

[bhogg]

my guess is that the 'stros will tell you that baseball will not be played on the glassy streets.

[JGalt73]

my guess is that the 'stros will tell you that baseball will not be played on the glassy streets.

 

Brings new meaning to "break out the brooms".

[Jehrico]

Chase Tower 7 blocks from MMP downtown... this cannot bode well for Houston (or the likelihood of playing a game in Houston).

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004263/600xPopupGallery.jpg

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004293/600xPopupGallery.jpg

 

http://images.chron.com/photos/2008/09/13/13004354/600xPopupGallery.jpg

Glass debris litter the street near the intersection of Travis Avenue near Texas in downtown Houston.

Are there any publicly traded companies out there who install windows in the Houston area?

[Laura]

From MLB.com:

 

But the Astros want to play the games in Houston if possible, but while the ballpark is playable, conditions around Houston -- where more than 80 percent of residents have no power -- may make it impossible to play the series at home. Many areas of downtown Houston, however, appear to have power.

 

The Houston mayor has asked residents to stay indoors at home because emergency crews need to be responding to life-threatening emergencies and clearing downed power lines and debris from the streets. Also: White also asked residents to conserve water because the city's water supply was reaching low-pressure levels amid a power outage at a crucial pumping station. Using tap water to bathe or clean up could lower the pressure even further, he said.

 

Should the series move to Milwaukee, the Astros may have a difficult time getting out of town, considering steady rain continues to blanket the city and may not subside for several hours.

 

That also means that the Cubs may have a difficult time getting into town.

[JGalt73]

From BP...

 

With Hurricane Ike now having passed through Houston, the Astros and Cubs await a plan for playing the three games that were scheduled for Minute Maid Park this weekend. The options are quite limited: the sole remaining open date for the Cubs is Monday, and it’s an open question how much baseball can get played in Houston after the significant hit the city took from Ike in the next couple of days. That decision will be made today, with the possibility, reported by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that the teams will play the three games over two days, Sunday and Monday, at a neutral site such as Miller Park The Astros players and management were resistant to moving the games outside of Houston, but at this point, it’s hard to see what other option exists. It doesn’t seem likely that playing one game Sunday amidst a recovering city would be a good idea, and while the day after the season, September 29, has been floated as a possibility, there are so many problems created by it that MLB has to avoid that option at all costs.

 

Why, you ask? For one, it’s unfair to the Cubs to make them fly to Houston for a single game on an off day between the end of their season and the beginning of the Division Series. That would provide a competitive advantage for any better-rested opponent. Moreover, the Cubs would be forced into the awkward position of deciding between their own best interests—which would certainly involved leaving some players, especially pitchers, behind in Chicago—and the integrity of the race. As it is, they’re probably going to have to play out their schedule without playing meaningless games, as they play the Mets and Brewers in the last week of the season. That’s a tough spot to be in, especially for a team that has famously gone 100 years without a title and has had some ugly postseason moments in recent years. There will be little rest for them down the stretch no matter how big their lead, and all attempts to get rest for players will probably be met with criticism. Potentially adding two flights and a game that means everything for their opponent to the mix would make that even worse.

 

No, MLB has to move to get these games played this week, and if that means relocating them to Milwaukee, then it should be done. It’s not entirely fair to the Astros, but then again, neither is having a hurricane sweep through their city. This is an unfortunate consequence that MLB has to look to mitigate, even if in doing so they make a decision that displeases one team, or one owner

[erik316wttn]

I can't believe MLB is allowing the Astros to stall like this. This is unreal, unfair, and uncalled for. Grow a sack and make a choice, Bud. They've had plenty of time to make a decision and yet all they're doing is twiddling their thumbs, so you need to get off your ass and do something.

[Cubs08]

If this was a series between the Brewers and Astros would Bud wait this long to make a decision? Just saying.

[C.C.]

Bud's a joke! This was entirely predictable and entirely avoidable.

[erik316wttn]

If this was a series between the Brewers and Astros would Bud wait this long to make a decision? Just saying.

 

Probably not. Bud would have made a decision by now if it was any other team other than one the Brewers are in direct competition with. How long did it take for him to move that Anaheim/Cleveland series to Miler Park last April after that blizzard in Cleveland?

[ctcf]

Can they even move the series in time for Sunday at this point?

[erik316wttn]

Can they even move the series in time for Sunday at this point?

 

I doubt it. I sure hope we've wrapped up the division by the time we go to Milwaukee, because if those games are at the end of the year and we're still in a fight, it's gonna have a direct effect on the playoffs.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Latest update from Houston.

 

Link.

 

Even so, Astros owner Drayton McLane and baseball commissioner Bud Selig have tried to find another venue for the Astros' series against the Cubs. Those games had been set for Friday through Sunday in Houston.

 

The Brewers' Miller Park, which isn't scheduled to be used until Tuesday when the Cubs and Brewers open a series, could be used as a site for at least one or two games.

 

"We'd hate to play our game in Houston if there's still lots of suffering in the city," McLane said. "We could get out and play somewhere else."

 

McLane has had dozens of talks with Selig since Thursday.

 

Several neutral sites have been discussed with a preference for domed stadiums, but the Metrodome in Minnesota was ruled out because of college football and an NFL game scheduled there.

 

"We couldn't get to the Rangers," McLane said. "One of the options was to go to Minnesota. We're looking for a domed stadium because of all the rain that is out there. We're trying to deal with all that. Milwaukee is one of the few places that there is a roof.

 

"(The) Tampa (Bay Rays' Tropicana Field) was one, but they have a game Monday. It's one of the most difficult (scheduling) things I've ever dealt with."

 

[Old Style]

There are rumors that they will play tomorrow and Monday in Arlington now that the Dallas/Ft. Worth weather looks clear for the next few days. The Rangers would have to move their next series back a day, but word is that they are willing to do it to accomodate MLB. Truth be told, the Cubs-Astros games would probably draw better than a Rangers game. I have a friend that works in the Rangers ticket office. He hasn't heard anything yet, but I should know something right away if he does hear any updates. This move would make my old man and me very happy.

[BCVM22]

It's one of the most difficult (scheduling) things I've ever dealt with."

 

Then you should have consented to the right decision 48 hours ago, you soapdropping idiot!

 

When the Cubs have played some soaped-up schedule over the final two weeks of the season, we know who to blame: Jackass Storm McLane.

[Cubs08]

"We'd hate to play our game in Houston if there's still lots of suffering in the city," McLane said. "We could get out and play somewhere else."

It took him a week to figure this out?

[Guest]

Selig should be fired immediately over this idiocy. Completely unforgiveable.

 

If the games aren't played before the end of the regular season and the Cubs have clinched by then they seriously should just forfeit the games and be properly rested for the playoffs. It's not their responsibility to tire themselves out to accommodate other teams when the situation could easily have been prevented.

 

I was thinking about this last night, and is there anything that Selig or MLB could do if the Cubs just said they didn't want to play the games at the end of the regular season and would gladly forfeit? Has a team ever forfeited a game before?

 

Not that I have a problem with it - I actually think it would be hilarious if the Cubs just gave MLB the finger - I was just curious about it.

[UMFan83]

There are rumors that they will play tomorrow and Monday in Arlington now that the Dallas/Ft. Worth weather looks clear for the next few days. The Rangers would have to move their next series back a day, but word is that they are willing to do it to accomodate MLB. Truth be told, the Cubs-Astros games would probably draw better than a Rangers game. I have a friend that works in the Rangers ticket office. He hasn't heard anything yet, but I should know something right away if he does hear any updates. This move would make my old man and me very happy.

 

Ugh, Jason Marquis and possibly Ted Lilly pitching in Arlington does not sound like a fun option. Hopefully with it being September, the humidity that causes the ball to coast out of that park will have died down some.

[UMFan83]

Selig should be fired immediately over this idiocy. Completely unforgiveable.

 

If the games aren't played before the end of the regular season and the Cubs have clinched by then they seriously should just forfeit the games and be properly rested for the playoffs. It's not their responsibility to tire themselves out to accommodate other teams when the situation could easily have been prevented.

 

I was thinking about this last night, and is there anything that Selig or MLB could do if the Cubs just said they didn't want to play the games at the end of the regular season and would gladly forfeit? Has a team ever forfeited a game before?

 

Not that I have a problem with it - I actually think it would be hilarious if the Cubs just gave MLB the finger - I was just curious about it.

 

There is no way that would happen, especially if it causes the Astros to win or tie the Wild Card. There would be numerous MLB interests that would be livid at the Cubs. I would imagine a lawsuit isn't out of the question.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

There are rumors that they will play tomorrow and Monday in Arlington now that the Dallas/Ft. Worth weather looks clear for the next few days. The Rangers would have to move their next series back a day, but word is that they are willing to do it to accomodate MLB. Truth be told, the Cubs-Astros games would probably draw better than a Rangers game. I have a friend that works in the Rangers ticket office. He hasn't heard anything yet, but I should know something right away if he does hear any updates. This move would make my old man and me very happy.

 

This would be cool for me as I could get to Texas and have a free place to stay there as well.