I was watching it rain (on TV) last during Game 5 of the World Series between the Phils and the Rays, and I thought to myself, “How much longer can this go on – it’s really raining. And then I thought to myself (the Phils we winning 2-1 at the time), “Wait a minute, if the game is delayed, can they restart in this mess?”

This ultimately led to me eventually connect the dots enough to realize that if the game is halted, delayed and then ended, the world Series is over. After five innings, a game is considered complete. It’s a good thing B.J. Upton can run like the wind even on a sloppy track, or baseball would have another black eye to deal with.

Has any World Series ended early due to rain with the outcome in doubt? A one-run game in a deciding game is no shoo-in for a winner. And teams have come back from 3-1 before. This would have been worse for Selig & Co. than the tie in the All-Star game in Milwaukee.  

And perhaps I got a little too slap-happy over Longoria. The poor guy has gone cold in baseball’s biggest stage, and scouts are taking notice how the Phils are pitching to him. Expect, perhaps, a bit of a cooling off period for Longoria in 2009. Of course, he could be doing some adjusting, as well. Stay tuned.