There's Something All Wet in Philly at World Series

It was going to be a done deal.

All World Cole Hamels against the Rays' Scott Kazmir in Game Five of the 2008 World Series, with Hamels' home team, the Phillies, ready to close out a 3-1 lead and bring home the Phils' second World Series crown ever.

Then the skies opened up. Wow. In an unprecedented move, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, seeing no end to the rain, suspended Game Five of the World Series with the game heading into the bottom of the sixth inning and the game tied, 2-2.

Only one thing could have caused the event: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Consider: Bottom of the first and the Phillies load the bases. Shane Victorino comes through with a base hit to put the Phillies ahead 2-0. That should be enough for the Phillies against some teams. He has a 1.55 ERA in the post season leading up to Game 5 of the World Series. "The whole stadium is shaking," my buddy texted me as he saw the game from a press box at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.

The rain, moderate at first, turned heavy as the game played on. After the Rays pulled to 2-1 in the fourth inning, the teams battled on while the ground crew worked tirelessly to keep the pitchers mound, home plate and the bases dry with new dirt.

Top of the sixth, two outs and B.J. Upton hits a ball up the middle, which Jimmy Rollins fields. The reigning National League MVP usually eats these balls for lunch, but Upton is speedy and Rollins never made the transfer cleanly and drops the ball. Error on Rollins. Upton steals second, then Carlos Pena singles to tie the game, 2-2.

The ground crew then came out to cover the field as the umps finally got a call right,  covering the field.

Triple match point for the Phillies was turning into first serve, let.

Hamels will not come back on Tuesday, when play would be set to resume in the bottom of the sixth, and the Phils' Game Five advantage would be over. Ah-oh.

You will have to excuse me, but as a Phils fan and with Hamels on the mound, I envisioned nothing less than a Phils victory on Monday. So, with that being said, I will stop short of writing about Tampa Bay wins, in any scenario, and instead write, while covering my ears, la, la, la, la. OK? And if you don't like that, you can take my lolly pop and blankey away.

Here we go. Let me proceed with the following statement, which is true. Commissioner Selig said that play would be continued Tuesday and if it rained again, "we will play this thing until Thanksgiving if we have to."

OK, let's amp this thing up. Dateline Philadelphia:

"Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig awaited nearly the 14 consecutive day of rain to continue the World Series and sought another option from President-elect Barack Obama. Obama, who heard a voice from God, sought out defeated opponent John McCain, and asked him to be Noah and to collect animals two by two to board the Ark.

"Obama also made another decision: transportation of sorts would be available and Game Five of the World Series could be decided at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Baseball could not be played, so the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lighting agreed to play hockey in a five-round shootout to decide baseball's Game Five.

"The Flyers and Rays both had two goals, making it 2-2 in the shootout. Flyers captain Mike Richards missed the third attempt for the Flyers and Tampa Bay Captain Vincent LeCavalier took his turn, skating past center ice, approaching Flyers goalie Marty Biron, shooting and...la, la, la, la, la, la."

Seriously though, I have felt the momentum shift in the World Series. Carlos Pena and Evan "Eva" Longoria gave gotten out of their 0-29 slump in a big way. I am worried. Just goes to show, what appears to be certain, is not. Just look at Game Three.

You gotta play the game. Phillies still have a chance to close out the series at home. It may rain tonight, so it might be Wednesday. I do realize that something unfortunate might happen and the when series moves to Tampa Bay, have an all out battle (along with some more blown calls and outright cheating by the Rays) in Game Six, and then comes Game Seven and ah-oh: La, la, la, la, la.