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The field team members are working on the grounds of Citizens Bank Park before Monday night's game against the Nationals. (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA – The rain came when the Washington Nationals arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, but that was hardly the case. Their weekend was defined by hours and hours of rain-related delays, interspersed with sleeves in soggy baseball sleeves. Sunday's game, postponed to Thursday, is now threatened by Hurricane Florence. This team did not see the sun shine on it gently, literally and figuratively.
But when the Nationals settled in the visitors club on Monday, the rain calmed down. The forecast was clear. For the first time in days – and probably the last time, judging by the predictions – a match was likely to start on time. The Philadelphia Phillies field team then pulled up the cover, revealing a field that looked like freshly plowed farmland. They did not put the tarp on the field on Friday when the rain flooded the area while the Phillies were playing in New York.
The rain soaked the area all weekend, so the tarpaulin sits on a wet ground that has never been able to dry. By the time the rain cleared Monday afternoon, the technical crew did not have time to dry the field using traditional methods, and the Phillies acknowledged the possibility that the scheduled appointment at 19:05 has elapsed. start-up may have to be delayed despite clear weather. At 7:10 pm, the word is widespread. The game was postponed to be played as part of a real double start from 15:05. Tuesday. If the games are played, Erick Fedde will start the first match and Tanner Roark the second. Forecasts for Tuesday have a 90% chance of rain.
[[[[Nationals-Phillies series preview: Will it end up washing?]
"The field was not covered on Friday night because we had to get a very small amount of rain. If you cover the ground 24 hours a day, it will turn brown and it will die, so it's a stalemate, "said Howard Smith, a Phillies official. "We did not tarp it on Friday night. In retrospect, if I had known that there was going to be so much rain, we would have covered it. We have not done any damage and we are just catching up. "
In "catching up," Smith meant "blowing up the field with a fleet of emergency torches attached to propane tanks in wheelbarrows pushed slowly across the infield." The Phillies did not keep torches . This was a recent idea to sufficiently dry the top layer of dirt so that they could rake the field and add a drying agent.
"It really works," Smith said, inspiring questions about what ideas the Phillies were do not willing to try, they had adopted this one with some degree of skepticism.
As the word passes through the Nationals club house – whose inhabitants are no longer surprised at all – those who participate begin to share stories of drying methods in the field. General Manager Mike Rizzo spoke of his minor league days, as teams poured gas into the field and lit the fire, an approach that director Dave Martinez said he also observed. Martinez admitted a certain skepticism about this approach, as teams would bring in fire hoses and then spray those infested fields. But apparently, the process worked.
[What was with that crazy rain delay Friday night at Nationals Park?]
"I've seen helicopters come down," Martinez added, referring to a process by which hovering helicopter blades would be used to dry soaked fields. Other proven methods include the roof.
"At this point, we keep Major League Base informed of the situation," Smith said. "They know we are dealing with very wet terrain."
At around 6pm, Martinez, Rizzo and Deputy GM Bob Miller came out on the field to meet Phillies' manager, Gabe Kapler, the referees and the field team members. Martinez said they could immediately say that the field was soft, the torches effective only to create a thin crust that had not penetrated to dry the layers underneath. But both parties agreed to wait 45 minutes before making decisions.
"We gave them extra time to see what they could do," Martinez said. "I could see two or three sleeves trying to play and this field was simply becoming a big, big, big mess."
At various times, Nationals players intervened in the field and expressed skepticism. Stephen Strasburg touched one toe and tilted his head to the side. Adam Eaton cast a look of relative terror and later described the field as "cake" and "pudding", a nuanced take.
Referee Hunter Wendelstedt wanted the players to participate in the competition, so that the representative of the players of the Nationals, Max Scherzer, finally left the canoe to face the confidence of the brains. Phillies player Rhys Hoskins is also out.
"Hoskins and I both walked on it and said it was unplayable. And in talking to the field team, they did not think there would be enough time for the field to be playable, "Scherzer said. "We both looked at each other and said," If we started tonight and someone was hurt, we would both be guilty of doing it. "
"I think everyone has seen the flamethrowers," Hoskins said.
Now that the Hurricane Florence forecast reinforces suspicions that the hurricane will not only jeopardize Thursday's game, but will make it almost impossible for the Nationals to move to Atlanta for a series this weekend, it will be impossible to play this series at all – The nationals must hope to play the two games on Tuesday. The forecasts are as bleak as they have been in recent days, which speaks volumes, and could predict a lot of expectations and frustrations.
"Exactly," said Martinez, prompted with this notion. "But as I said, for the safety of players on both teams, I did not want to knock our players out … everyone agreed. So we will go back and try again [Tuesday]. "
By the time the Nationals got dressed and got out of the bus, the field team members pulled out the propane tanks and were breaking through the field. They hope to be playable here by the return of these teams on Tuesday morning, about when the rain is supposed to start again.
Learn more about nationals:
Boswell: Dave Martinez was the bad man for Nats' work. Now, it would be wrong for him to lose him.
The rain took away the first chance of Victor Robles to be the league's best hitter. It will probably not be the last.
At the Jayson Werth party, the former fielder reminds the nationals of the better days
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