Baseball in the rain

When it rains, it pours they so and in baseball that could not be more true. About two weeks ago the Atlanta Braves played the San Fransisco Giants in San Fran. The game was delayed because of rain for almost two hours. The San Fran ground crew who was not prepared for the bad weather cleared the feild as safe to play on and the game began. Chipper Jones, the all-star thrid baseman, and the Braves' go to guy went to catch a simple ground ball. While coming up to throw the ball, Jones slippd on the wet grass and twisted his knee. The viewers at home held their breath as Jeff Porter, the Braves' trainer and Coach Bobby Cox ran out to field as Jones winced in pain on the ground holding his knee. Since then he has been on the disabled list and is scheduled to return on Tuesday against the Brewers. I told you that story to tell you this one. Yesturday the Braves were scheduled to play a game against the Washington Nationals in Washington. The game was on a two and half hour rain delay and when they removed the tarp it was obvious that this field was not safe for playing. Later in the game as the rain poured down, Braves reliever Mike Remlinger threw a pitch, the ball slipped because it was wet, it went all the way to the fence and the runner on thrid scored causing the Braves to lose in the ninth inning 4 to 3. I have three points to make about this:
1) Rain delays should only go as long at 90 minutes. After that, cancel the game and reschedule.
2) Wet fields cause many problems. In the case of Jones, the potential for injuries is higher and the injuries can be substantial putting essential players on the Disabled List for days even months.
3) It is unfair to both teams because a wet ball, wet cleats and muddy base paths can cause errors that would not have happened otherwise.