There's a famous scene in "Bull Durham" where Kevin Costner engineers a rainout so that his slumping team can get a night off from losing. If someone had proposed such a scenario before the Yankees took the field against the Twins on Tuesday, they may have gotten some takers. A rough week and a wounded roster make such things pretty appealing.
What the team didn't need is what they got, however. Rain started early in the Yankees' first outdoor game in the Twin Cities since 1981 and eventually caused the game to be suspended after five scoreless innings. The game will resume on Wednesday afternoon before the regularly scheduled game between the two teams gets underway. Better than a loss, to be sure, but hardly a good draw for the thin Yankee team.
A.J. Burnett was looking strong with five strikeouts through five innings, a welcome rebound from his rough start against the Rays in the Bronx that will end earlier than expected because of the suspension. That means extra work for the bullpen, always a risky proposition this season, and extra work for a group of position players that have shown an alarming propensity for hurting themselves.
Whose bright idea was it to get rid of the Metrodome anyway? The rain is bad enough, but this wildlife fun park they've built can't even keep squirrels from disrupting the game. What's next, Babe the Blue Ox?
We kid, because Target Field looks like a gem compared to the only building in history whose form was inspired by the sight of a garbage bag. And there is one upside to the rain delay to keep the Yankees from cursing the gods of the upper midwest. Scott Baker won't be able to continue his work on Wednesday, great news for a Bronx side that forced him to throw all of 50 pitches while shutting them out for five innings.
Perhaps a semi-double-dip on Wednesday will give the Yankee bats a bit of the life that our rodent friend showed on his jaunt across the field. Lord knows they need it because they aren't going to get saved by rain every night.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
