Hurricane Ike
by Flynbuy on Sep 8, 2008 1:25 PM CDT
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PrintI live down South having relocated from NW suburbs of Chicago 15 years ago. You learn to keep an eye on Storms......especially the ones that have names. I write this as IKE is very likely coming ino the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA does a great job of tracking Storms. They very accurate within tolerance limits of getting their " towards" right.....as we say down South. The variables involved in speed makes that portion of their forecasting difficult and highly unpredictable however.
Here's the issue: there is a very high likelyhood of Mr. Ike disrupting the Astros series this weekend. NOAA shows that the storm is tracking towards Houston. If this is indeed what happens, this event could put more games in a shorter duration for our boys in blue including a double header or possibly playing makeup series after regular season ends.
Is anyone aware of a baseball precedent that has moved games to another location including to the opposing team's home field?
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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I remember a FLA Marlin
homegame being played at US Cellular I think in 2005.
Formerly NO100
by jerry morales rules on Sep 8, 2008 1:28 PM CDT reply actions
Yes, there is precedent
The Marlins series was moved to US Cellular in 2004, I believe. There was also just the snow in Cleveland last season that forced them to move games to Milwaukee.
Selig will be very hesitant to do this, however. And not because he’s conspiring against the Cubs so the Brewers can win either. Simply because it would deny Houston home games. It would be a last minute thing, if it happened.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
My guess is...
… that IF this series has to be moved out of Houston, the most likely place to play it would be St. Louis, where the Cubs already will be for the upcoming series. The Cardinals are out of town next weekend. The Astros are home now; it’s a short flight from Houston to St. Louis.
As Josh noted, moving games due to extreme weather has been done at least twice in the last four years. It could happen again. Stay tuned.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
The Rangers are out of town too
I’d bet that would be the #1 location if they had to move the games. Houston would at least want to play in Texas if they could. Houston has some fans up there and some Astro fans could make it up there. (Heck, if the Houston area had to be evacuated, some of the Astro fans would head up to Dallas anyway.)
St. Louis would likely be a home game for the Cubs, as all the Cubs southern and central Illinois fans would swarm to Busch.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
Could the Cubs even get to Arlington?
I would think the Hurricane would disrupt air travel into Texas
"Aw, how could he (Jorge Orta) lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico." -- Harry Carey
by TheRiot Police on Sep 8, 2008 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Dallas
is 240 miles from Houston. The hurricane is just going to be thunderstorms if it gets to Dallas. It’s not going to be a problem.
Texas is a big state, as they like to remind us.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
Thunderstorms wouldn't be a problem?
Um, what about rain delays/rainouts? St. Louis is far enough away that they could get the series in.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Your misunderstanding me
My fault really. I meant that it wouldn’t be a problem to fly in and out of Dallas. And if they have to play Friday and Saturday in Dallas, they could fly back to Houston for a game on Sunday, assuming there is no widespread devastation.
I know you want the game in St. Louis, but the odds of that happening are slim and none. The Astros get to decide where the game is played and they’d play it in Atlanta before giving the Cubs a home-field advantage like St. Louis.
I just don’t see that happening.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
It won't be up to the Astros.
It’ll be up to MLB who will do this in the easiest logistical way. Consider: the reason the 2004 Expos/Marlins series was played in Chicago was because the Marlins were already there. The 2007 Angels/Indians series was played in Milwaukee because they wanted the closest place to Cleveland where they knew they’d get the game in. Milwaukee, obviously, is way closer to Cleveland than Los Angeles.
Same concept: the Cubs are in St. Louis. Why make BOTH teams travel somewhere, especially somewhere closer to the storm? St. Louis is a neutral site, although closer to Chicago than Houston, obviously.
Prediction: IF the series is moved — still not a given — it’ll be played in St. Louis.
One thing is sure: they will try NOT to have these games held till the end of the season. That could create a scheduling nightmare for the playoffs. They’ll do everything they can to play them this weekend.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
And I'll bet you
it’ll be Arlington.
Then again, the best bet is the series won’t be moved, so we may never never find out.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
You're on.
What shall we wager?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Some sort of Cub memorabilia
I don’t have what you’ve got though. Maybe my Iowa Cubs hat?
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Sep 9, 2008 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions
Not sure what I can get you either.
Maybe a 1988 first night game program?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
they would arrive before the storm...
…because they’d be leaving for Houston (or wherever) on Thursday night while landfall isn’t projected until, at the earliest, late Friday night. Still, the remnants of it might affect Dallas on Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks for posting this too, as it almost certainly will have some impact on this weekend’s series.
We sell spatulas...and that's all.
by LaddieRenfroe on Sep 8, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions
But if there are just remains
they’d play the final games in Houston. They’ve got a dome there. MLB could certainly have one or two games played in Arlington and then have them play in Houston on Sunday, unless Ike left some sort of Katrina-like devastation in its path.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
Putting the business hat on...
The Stros probably stand to make more money if the game is moved to STL. The gate take and the concession take would stand to be higher in STL as I think they could get more Cubs Fans to travel to STL than they could get Astros fan to trave to Arlington. Those who are local to houston will probably have bigger things to worry about and can’t believe that the Stros have a bigger following in Arlington than the Cubs would have in STL and surrounding area.
From a team perspective though, Arlington is the better choice since the Cub Fans would not make up the majority of the crowd.
"Aw, how could he (Jorge Orta) lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico." -- Harry Carey
by TheRiot Police on Sep 8, 2008 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions
you would be surprised...
dallas is a huge transplant city…i lived in waco for a while (hour and a half south of dallas) and all you can get is astros games on tv. there’s a massive astros following in dallas. it’s 50/50 at best astros fans to rangers when they play here..
Of course, I don't have any scientific proof
But I would still be willing to bet that Busch would be fuller than Arlington. The Cubs have a natiowide following plus STL is only 4.5 hours from Chicago and with the Bears not being in town next weekend, folks have the time to make the trip. I would contend that Friday Night HS Football and Saturday College Football could hurt the Arlington Scenario.
Of course, I am a little bias since I live in STL and would love a chance to see them in STL w/o having to listen to the STL fans chirp in my ear the whole game.
"Aw, how could he (Jorge Orta) lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico." -- Harry Carey
by TheRiot Police on Sep 8, 2008 3:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, except...
…the games are supposed to be Astros home games. Moving them to St. Louis, no matter how much money there is to be made there, would make them de facto home games for the Cubs. If a viable venue closer to Houston is available, Bud Selig has little choice but to go there in order to preserve the integrity of the schedule, especially since the Cubs are a playoff contender (as are the Astros, if you believe a few delusional Houston fans).
"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman
As I noted at the beginning of my post
I was putting on the business hat…not the schedule/fairness hat.
I would fully expect that the Stros want to play in Arlington if they can’t play in Houston.
"Aw, how could he (Jorge Orta) lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico." -- Harry Carey
by TheRiot Police on Sep 8, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
lol...
that’s true.. houston is 4 1/2 hours from dallas and we get a TON of people up here during huricane evacuations.
I think anybody evecuating from a hurricane
have bigger issues to take of care than going to a baseball game.
However, if the arlington scenario happened, the PR move for houston would be to offer free tickets to anybody with a valid state ID that indicates they are from the houston area…
"Aw, how could he (Jorge Orta) lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico." -- Harry Carey
by TheRiot Police on Sep 8, 2008 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, this assumes
that there is widespread destruction where they live. But if everyone evacuates Houston and the hurricane misses (or fizzles out in intensity) the crisis is averted. People are in Dallas and they can either go home or they could stay a day and do something.
But I like your idea of free tickets to people from the Houston area. Good PR move and besides, they’d make all their money on parking and concessions anyway. Usually when they have to move a game like this, they sell the tickets as general admission for $10 or so. Giving out 10 or 15 thousand free tickets wouldn’t cost them much, and lots more people would attend if the game were free than if they charged ten bucks.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
i pray this happens....
i like in dallas and was going to drive to the games in houston… the ballpark in arlington would be 15 min away.
You probably are right Al
Play the games on the “neutral site” of St. Louis. Not exactly fair to Houston, but life is a bitch. At least I assume they would collect the gate receipts after Busch Stadium recoups its operating costs.
This isn't 1969...is this 1969?...this isn't 1969, is it?
They try to use a ballpark in the other league, if possible,
so that both teams are playing on “foreign turf”. (Cleveland/Seattle in Milwaukee; Florida/whoever at the Cell.) My guess would be Arlington.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
They used the Cell because it was available.
During that 2004 week, the Cubs were home. Had the Cubs been on the road and the Sox at home, they’d have probably used Wrigley Field.
The Cleveland/Angels (not Seattle) series was played in Milwaukee not because it was in the other league, but because it was the closest domed stadium to Cleveland — where they could be guaranteed getting the games in. If there had been a dome in Detroit, they’d have played there.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
It's just a suggestion
but like Al said, the series could be moved up north, though I propose
Oklahoma City perhaps? It’s a neutral site. A good baseball town that I’m sure has both
Astros and Cubbie fans. There is a nice Triple A park. Forgot the name though.
Big XII had their baseball tournament there.
If moving North is out of the question, move the series West, to like Tucson
Cuz I doubt Phoenix or the Dbacks would share their space.
Heck, why not play the series in Mesa at HoHo Kam? (just kidding…that would
be cool though wouldn’t it?)
Oklahoma
is at home in the PCL Championship series this weekend. They beat the I-Cubs, remember? :-)
If Ike hits Houston, it will probably be raining in Round Rock, so they’d be out, although that would be a more likely possibility otherwise.
If they have to move it, I’d be pretty sure they’d move it to Arlington.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
I think it'd be St. Louis.
Oklahoma isn’t an option — there’s no way it’d be moved to a minor league park.
Plus, both the Cubs and Astros are somewhat familiar with St. Louis, as they play several games there each year. The Astros play in Arlington every year — the Cubs have played there only once (in 2007).
The point would be to play in a place where one of the teams is already situated — i.e. St. Louis. Why make BOTH teams travel?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Because
the Astros aren’t going to give the Cubs home field advantage like that. And we all know a Cubs game in St. Louis without the Cardinals playing is a home game for the Cubs. Why not just play at Wrigley Field if that’s what you’re going to do?
And besides, unless Ike flattens Houston like Katrina did to New Orleans, they’d play Sunday back in Houston. They’ll move as few games as possible.
In fact, if they have to move at all, I’d bet a rainout on Friday, a game in Arlington on Saturday and a double-header back in Houston on Sunday.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
Oh
And the fact that the Astros are familiar with Rangers Stadium and the Cubs aren’t is a reason they would play in Arlington. The Cubs don’t get a vote in this unless what they want to do would violate the CBA. This would be decided between the Astros and the office of the commissioner.
The Astros aren’t interested in doing us any favors.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
As I said above...
… it’s not up to the Astros. It’d be done by the commissioner’s office. Again, they don’t care about “home field”; they want to do it with the least disruption. That’d be by shifting it to a place where the Cubs already are — St. Louis.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I'd disagree
I think the Commissioner’s office will bend over backwards to make the Astros happy.
MLB did look at moving the Cleveland games to Anaheim and Houston, but chose Milwaukee. It was the decision the Indians wanted.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
It wasn't necessarily only Cleveland's decision.
Read this paragraph from that article:
Milwaukee wasn’t the only option the Indians and Angels considered when talking about a move. On Sunday, the two clubs were floating the idea of moving the series to Anaheim, though that would have presented the logistical concern of having the Tribe make a cross-country flight on short notice and the Angels making a cross-country flight Thursday night for a scheduled Friday game in Boston.
Looks like BOTH clubs were consulted, and part of the consideration was logistics. My contention is, why make BOTH teams travel in the situation we may have this weekend, AND send them to another place (Arlington) that might also be affected by the storm?
I still believe that IF the series is moved (and as you correctly point out above, it might not be), the most logical place is St. Louis. (It’s more like the Marlins situation in 2004 than the Indians situation in 2007.)
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
MLB probably wouldn't move a game to a minor-league park
This despite the fact that, if they move a game, they can expect minor-league-like attendance numbers.
Personally I think that if the series is moved, Arlington seems the most likely destination, unless the weather forecast for the Dallas area is prohibitively bad.
"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman
right now...
the weather is supposed to be good all through next week. on the other front, bricktown ballpark and the surrounding area is VERY ill equipped to handle a mlb game
They wouldn't move the games to a non-ML ballpark on such short notice.
All ballparks have to be approved by the MLBPA (for safety issues). MLB had to jump through hoops to get San Juan approved, and they worked on it for several months.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
Thanks for posting this...
With a major hurricane heading for the gulf coast, the local weather will dominate coverage of the series, even if it isn’t moved from Houston.
I agree that Arlington is the most likely candidate if the series does have to be moved. Houston and the Cubs are both off next Monday, so extending the series an extra day for a makeup game is possible, either in Houston or Arlington.
We sell spatulas...and that's all.
I hear ya
I have tickets for all three games, and I’m traveling to Houston from Oklahoma. Any idea how they will handle the ticket situation?
Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."
My guess is: Poorly.
"I see the playoff schedule posted in the paper, and that stuff makes me nervous because you can't take anything for granted. We have a great team. We have a really good team. We're playing well, but we haven't won yet." - Jim Edmonds, 8/31/08
I was afraid of that
Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."
Poorly is likely right.
I’d guess that if they actually have to cancel the games, they’d really have no choice but to refund the tickets. I’m not sure, though. Common sense and MLB sense often run contradictory to one another.
I’d be coming from Austin, not as far as OK, but it still blows.
another okie
I’m driving down from Oklahoma (10 hours) for the Sat and Sundays games! BUT I will be staying in Dallas thursday so if they move the games up there I will be a happy girl!
where in OK?
Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."
Me too
Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."
so..
are you still planning on going down to Texas? since they are starting to evacuate some people in Texas and have already changed times of the friday game?
I'm not going to Houston
I guess I’m going to miss the friday game, so if anyone wants tickets in the crawford box….. Maybe if they move the next two somewhere else I’ll go. Like St. Louis. What about you?
Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."
I'm going to
dallas on Thursday and deciding what do to from there, if the Cubs are playing in St. Louis I would like to go there too…but stupid hurricane ike is in control of my week off….
We shall be at the mercy of Bud the Dud Selig...sigh
This isn't 1969...is this 1969?...this isn't 1969, is it?
I don't care where they play the games
Just win a couple of them.
Current temperature in hell: 44 degrees F - and falling!
i had the best view in minute maid last year....
https://www.yousendit.com/download/bVlERFFaMHd3TGhMWEE9PQ
a little 10 second movie from the 5th row :D
my stuff is filthy
Arlington
I can’t see them moving to Arlington. If Ike hits Houston, Dallas will almost certainly get rain and the Ballpark doesn’t have a roof. I would think Cincinatti, Atlanta or Kansas City would be better alternatives in addition to St. Louis and they are all on the road as well. In any event, it pretty much sucks for me.
"I'm petrified of nipple chafing. Once it starts, it's a vicious circle." Andy Bernard
I don't think it would be Arlington
There would be heavy rain most likely as the storm breaks up and starts to move north. Also, with people evacuating there would be some logistics issues. MLB would be better served to move the games away from the immediate area. I work for a trucking company, I remember the awful mess that Rita created with evacuations of Houston. MLB should move the whole thing out of Texas if Ike is going to hit anywhere from Houston to the Louisiana line.
Exactly.
That’s why St. Louis is the most likely choice.
That also assumes that the Astros, who are home on Thursday night, could fly out Friday morning to get to St. Louis. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
To St. Louis?
That’s quite a bus ride.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
They could take a bus out of Houston
to a airport somewhere else.
"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"
Wrigley Field
The question I asked really was intended to make readers understand that the games could be moved to Wrigley field. The gate $$$ can be figured out with Houston. The important question is could we get another 3 home games…..against a red hot team?
My sources tell me if they can’t play in Houston, the games will be at Weegham.
As AL said, stay tuned.
Fat bottom girls they make the rockin world go round.......
That would really surprise me...
… to play the games at the other team’s park. There is precedent for this, too — the Expos and Cubs played two games in Chicago, that were originally scheduled in Montreal, when concrete panels fell off Olympic Stadium in Montreal and forced it to be closed for the rest of the season.
Here’s the Expos’ schedule for 1991. The games in question were played as a doubleheader on Sunday, September 22, 1991 — note that the Expos had just been at Wrigley a week earlier!
The difference here is that the Cubs are in first place. In ‘91 both teams were awful, so where the games were played was irrelevant, and they had more than just one weekend to deal with. 13 Expos home games had to be rescheduled for the other teams’ parks.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
So if this happened
would the Cubs be the road team at Wrigley? i.e. would we bat in the top of the inning and not the bottom? Would the Cubs were thier road unis?
"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5day?large#contents
Fat bottom girls they make the rockin world go round.......
Right now
Ike is a Catagory 1 storm with sustained winds at about 80 mph and is skirting the southern Cuba cost.
The prediction is that Ike will continue to track west northwest and head into the gulf probably in about 24 hours or so.
When it reaches the gulf, Ike is expected to re-intensify possibly back into a Catagory 3 storm. Current projections have Ike tracking just south of Houston by Friday or Saturday. But at this point its still really early to project where the storm will make landfall and how strong it will be. One thing is for sure. Ike will certainly be something that needs to be taken seriously.
"I guess you had some lean years, and didnt have to beat it hard" - Craig Sager
SORIANO WATCH: AVG: .291 27 HR 69 RBI
Another worry
Ike may track far enough south of Houston to not disrupt the series there. Time will tell. But I also worry what it will do once it turns into a big messy rain storm over land. Will it track up to Chicago the following week (like Gustav) and disrupt a game or two at Wrigley? We’ll have to stay tuned.
I dont think the remains of Ike would make an impact in Chicago
With Gustav, the remains of the storm followed a northly flow essentially into the Great Lakes. Ike most likely will not follow this same pattern. Especially since we are being influenced by Northly flow right now. This all could change of course by the weekend.
BTW: Flow means a jet stream, jet streams of course are high altitude upper level winds that push weather systems across the contient.
"I guess you had some lean years, and didnt have to beat it hard" - Craig Sager
SORIANO WATCH: AVG: .291 27 HR 69 RBI
This whole discussion is probably moot...
… appears now that Ike is going to take a path more south and west of Houston. But it still bears watching.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Yes
It’s looking like Ike will hit Corpus Christi, not Houston. With the dome in Houston, there would be no need to move it.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Sep 9, 2008 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions
It's not so much the dome as...
… the fact that if the storm made a direct hit on Houston, evacuations and other things would take priority over baseball.
If the storm goes 200 miles south, it’ll be windy and rainy in Houston, but they could play.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I live in Houston
and I’m really looking forward to this weekend because I was out of town when the Cubs were here last time. The latest storm models show it hitting the coast closer to Corpus Christi, in which case Houston may get some wind and rain. Minute Maid has a roof so it shouldn’t be a problem.
The best storm info comes from this guy at the Houston Chronicle. http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/
If you look at this map...
… posted on that Houston Chronicle page on Tuesday afternoon, there are still some forecast models that bring it closer to Houston. It may be a couple of days before the storm track becomes clear.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
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