Bleed Cubbie Blue

UPDATE: Game 6 postponed to 7:20 pm CDT on Sunday.

This forecast doesn't look very conducive to playing baseball tonight in New York:

Late Afternoon: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. High near 71. South wind around 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers between midnight and 2am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Low around 55. South wind 10 to 16 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

If there is a rainout tonight, the Angels might consider bringing John Lackey back on short rest for game seven Monday:

"Yes, we've talked about a lot of different scenarios," [Mike] Scioscia said. "I think we're going to let this thing unfold a little bit and see how the weekend goes. If there is an opportunity to look at bringing a guy like John back, it's something we would certainly consider. We've talked about a bunch of different things."

Finally, the umpire behind one of the most famous bad calls in history (the one that might have cost the Cardinals the 1985 World Series), Don Denkinger, says video replay review's time has come: (hat tip to our SBN friends at Pinstripe Alley for the link)

Denkinger has an unwavering opinion about instant replay: Its time has come.

"I'm in favor of getting all the calls correct, whatever it takes," he said by telephone Wednesday. "I don't see how [commissioner Bud Selig] can get away with not [introducing instant replay]. It makes no sense not to. There's nothing better than getting every call right."

That's an excellent article, incidentally, and worth reading in its entirety. Denkinger has been retired since 1998, but I can't imagine any active umpire not being in favor of replay review, if the rules are codified properly and it results in the hiring of more fulltime umpires (to be the "fifth umpire" in the press box available for review). That press box umpire could also serve as official scorer, taking the job away from retired sportswriters (who shouldn't have it in the first place).

My proposal: give each manager two "red flag" challenges per game, to be used before the 8th inning. In the 8th and 9th innings, review would be automatic, similar to the NFL's "last two minutes" policy. All calls except balks, interference/obstruction and balls and strikes would be reviewable (so we're talking safe/out on the bases, home runs, fair/foul, and catch/trap).

Wake up, Bud, and get it done.

Yankees at Angels, 6:57 pm CDT. Yankees lead series 3-2. TV: Fox. Announcers: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Angels site Halos Heaven and Yankees site Pinstripe Alley.

Discuss amongst yourselves.