(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Mother Nature was unleashed in Boston last night and the Red Sox and their fans quickly retorted.

After an afternoon full of rain and a start delayed by five minutes, the Boston Red Sox failed to solve the enigma that is Ricky Nolasco and his 7+ ERA last night.  Five innings of baseball ended up being played; a Kevin Youkilis home run, and a David Ortiz crawl to first base on the ever-typical Marlins' error later, the rain came back with a vengeance and sent the game into and two hour and twenty minute delay before being called in favor of the visiting Florida Marlins.

Red Sox fans are known for their passion—well, the ones that are not there for social status—and they are ever more present since "the curse" was broken back in 2004.  Their players, most of whom make more than the average Marlin, are known for their talent.

Following last evenings game, the other side of each came out.  To say the atypical Boston summer weather was not present along with the dominating ball club is an understatement.

BostonDirtDogs.com, a faction of Boston.com and the Boston Globe, has a headline reading "SHAME ON THE RED $OX FOR CASHING IN ON SELLOUT No. 501," a reference to the longest running hoax in baseball (but that is a topic for another day).

Below it you will find a link to an article on the game, where Mike Lowell, a fan favorite in South Florida, complains that the game should never have been played, while the Sox skipper pleads uselessness, and Jason Bay states the truth: weather, rain outs, and cancellations are a fact of life.

Perusing the comments section of the Lowell article will have you believing the world is ending for most Red Sox fans. 

Posters accuse the Boston Front Office of greed, though a rescheduled game would have brought them more money if nine innings were played. They also accuse the team of a lack of communication to players and fans as to what was happening with the day, because it is so unethical to try to squeeze a full game in.

Posters also cry poverty, which I am more apt to agree with, after living in Boston for four years and not being able to afford a single game, only to see prices rising again the next. 

When a fan goes to a stadium located in the heart of a city, they not only pay astronomical prices for tickets and ballpark concessions, but parking and entertainment outside of the park does not necessarily come on the cheap if you want to enjoy the atmosphere instead of the Subway or McDonald's around the corner.

There is one thing that Lowell, Terry Francona, and the fans forget—neither Major League Baseball, Jerry Crawford (the crew chief), the Florida Marlins, nor the Boston Red Sox control the weather; the Red Sox do control the game start though, and Crawford does control it ending.

The Florida Marlins were scheduled to depart Boston right after the game to take the Yankees on at 7:10pm tonight, while the Sox remain at home.  A rescheduled game for them costs an airplane charter, a night at a hotel, and a well-earned off day later in the season.  They did not ask for your pity though, while sitting in their clubhouse wondering what time they may arrive at home tonight.

Truth be told, Red Sox fans and their players have become spoiled.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?