A "Thank You" to the Wrigley Field Grounds Crew and the Big Dodger in the Sky

During a fifteen minute rain shower at Wrigley Field last night, the Chicago Cubs grounds crew botched the placement of their tarpaulin so badly that they single-handidely gave the Giants a loss in the standings.  The Giants are angry.  The result was a 2-0 four and a half inning loss for them and a full game in the standings.  Perhaps this puts an end to their momentum swing in the past few days.  San Francisco is protesting the entire situation with MLB, but they have no recourse.

As much as they tried, the Wrigley Field grounds crew could not get their infield in playing shape after failing to properly cover it with their tarp, resulting in the umpires declaring the game official after 4 1/2 innings.  The final score: Cubs 2, Giants 0 (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

It is what it is.  The game was barely an official game, but an official one nonetheless.    There are no provisions in the MLB rulebook that would allow the game to be played the following day.  You can't change the rules mid-stream.  The Giants will have to accept their plight, whether you consider it fair or not.  Truth is, they got gypped.  

This was was an unforeseen and sudden downpour from the blue heavens that drenched the field.  So sudden that the grounds crew was ill prepared to get the tarp out properly.  So much water fell, that the tarp became too heavy to move after it obviously needed to be maneuvered to cover the whole infield.  It was almost as if divine intervention handed the Giants a loss.

Attempting to pull the tarp over to cover the whole infield was an exercise in futility.  I was weighted down with to much water.

These are the occurrences during the course of a season that point towards trends that produce the ultimate outcome.  Which is better said as "SOMETIMES YOU JUST GET LUCKY."

You can't tell me that the '88 Dodgers weren't lucky.  It happened a lot of times.  It all started with the collusion ruling that allowed the Dodgers to land Kirk Gibson.  Then they were lucky that Jesse Orosco pulled that prank in Spring Training to change the tone of the team that year.  They were lucky throughout the season a bunch of times.  Heck, they were even lucky that the players all bought Bruce Springsteen tickets, so they vetoed having to play a game in S.F. on a replacement day, because they wanted to see the Boss instead of play the game, ( resulting in a doubleheader that they swept...changing the course of the season).   I'm getting off topic here...so let me reel this back in.  My point is that in seasons of destiny, luck comes your way more times than not.

I'm not taking anything away from the successes of the San Francisco franchise.  They won fair and square, but you can't tell me that the Giants weren't lucky in both those championship seasons in 2010 and 2012.  They didn't draw superior opponents in the World Series like strong Yankees or Red Sox teams.  They had runs that kept their teams healthy that were uncanny.   

The saying that "it's better to be lucky than good" is very, very true.

So chalk up August 19, 2014 as a key date in the season.  The Gnats got the shaft.  The struggling and injured Dodgers gained a game and the season moved a date closer to its end.  All that stuff that Lasorda preached about the "Big Dodger in the Sky" hasn't played out for a lot of years, but maybe things are changing.  Remember this date in late September, that one game could be very significant.