Prepare to pitch tomorrow

OAKLAND, Calif. - Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon walked toward shortstop and his right foot sunk some two inches, causing him to turn his right ankle. That was minor, yet everybody involved in the postponed game between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics on Friday night feared the worst if they had tried to play on a rain-soaked field. Even the umpiring crew deemed the conditions too dangerous. McClendon had his doubts the field could be ready for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch Saturday. "Thats probably the worst conditions Ive seen in all my years in baseball. Its not safe," McClendon said. "It was just a safety issue more than anything. They made the right decision." David Rinetti, As vice-president of stadium operations, said the tarp was kept off the field overnight in an effort to let it dry out after a week of heavy rains in the drought-starved Bay Area but an unexpected downpour caused further problems and the grounds crew worked tirelessly on the infield dirt from 7 a.m. until the game was called about the time of scheduled first pitch at 7:05 p.m. A delay had previously been announced. "Unfortunate misinterpretation of the forecast," Oakland general manager Billy Beane said. The As use a weather consultant to help make decisions during the wet weather and regarding use of the tarp. Rinetti said one-third of an inch of rain hit the area and the infield was under water when officials arrived Friday. The tarp went back on at about 4:35 p.m. when a steady rain began again. "Over the last week weve had probably more rain at the facility than weve had as long as Ive been here, which is many, many years," Rinetti said. "The field has taken a significant hit all week, and weve been working with a weather consultant get as much up to date information as possible. We had information last night that there was going to be a break in the storm. And because of that we wanted to use that opportunity to help dry out the field. Unfortunately we were wrong on the amount of rain, and we got about a third of an inch of rain last night." Players on both sides decided to play one game Saturday afternoon rather than a split doubleheader, which will be played later. Felix Hernandez (1-0) will start as scheduled for Seattle against Dan Straily, who had been set to go Friday in his season debut. "Prepare to pitch tomorrow," Hernandez said. "That happens." Mariners athletic trainer Rick Griffin recalled a time in Chicago in the late 90s when Seattle played on a soggy field and lost one player to a groin injury and another to a pulled hamstring, prompting manager Lou Piniella to tell everyone, "Nobody run hard," Griffin said, quoting the former skipper. This marked Oaklands third weather-related game to be called off in seven days after the preseason Bay Bridge finale against the Giants was cancelled last Saturday. Tuesdays game was also postponed by rain and made up Wednesday as part of a day-night doubleheader. For the Mariners, it was another strange visit to the rundown Oakland Coliseum. Last June 16, a clogged pipe caused a sewage backup and flooding on the bottom floor of the ballpark that sent the Mariners and As scrambling around in towels. They headed for higher ground, to shower in the Oakland Raiders locker room. A hazmat crew inspected the affected areas for E-coli and a huge cleanup operation ensued — including the installation of new carpeting and the removal of some lockers in the visiting clubhouse to repair water-damaged walls with new sheet rock and wooden supports. In addition, new drywall was put in about a foot above the floor. New cabinets were needed in the visiting training room, and a new dining table and vanity in the nearby umpires room. Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik considers the incidents separate. He is more concerned with playing baseball. "Its a dated facility, what can you say?" Zduriencik said. "Its unusual. Very unusual. But they just didnt get the tarp down is what they said. They couldnt get the field ready. Well see what happens. They said theyll work on it all night and what that means, well have to see. But they have a lot of work to do to get it ready." 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Christopher Nkunku Paris Saint-Germain Jersey .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Thomas Meunier Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died.TAMPA, Fla. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves and the Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Thursday night. The second-place Lightning have a one-point lead over Toronto and Montreal, which beat Vancouver 5-2. "The last week and a half (has been tough)," said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, whose team has lost four of five. "I dont mind where we are in the standings as of today. We kind of built a bulge in the standings, point-wise, and now weve lost some of it. But in saying that, I rather be where we are right now than where some other teams are." Mason Raymond, Jay McClement, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak scored for Toronto, which was coming of a 4-1 loss Tuesday night at Florida. "We needed a response from our effort the other night, and we got it tonight," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "If you dont have goaltending, you dont have a starting point in the NHL. Were not any different than any other hockey club. The goaltender is your last line of defence, and our guys have given us a chance for a better part of this year." The Maple Leafs are 10-2-1 over their last 13 games. "We want to finish strong before the (Olympic) break with as many points as possible," Bernier said. Bernier had a number of strong saves early when Tampa Bay dominated the first half of the first period, and he made a glove save on J.T. Brown during the second. "It didnt look like we had it early, and once again Bernie was ready to play and kept us in it," McClement said. "Then we were able to get our legs." Ondrej Palat had the lone goal for Tampa Bay. Lightning goalie Ben Bishoop left after two periods with an upper-body injury and was replaced by Cedrick Desjardins, and centre Valtteri Filppula also left due to a lower-body injury.dddddddddddd Desjardins is filling in for backup Anders Lindback, who is sidelined by a lower-body injury. Both Bishop and Filppula will be evaluated Friday. McClement made it 2-0 on an in-close backhander that eluded Desjardins at 2:19 of the third. After Desjardins make a glove save a couple of minutes later on Troy Bodies breakaway shot, the Maple Leafs turned an errant pass by the Lightning into a 3-0 advantage on van Riemsdyks point-blank goal at 8:10. Bozak added an empty-net goal with 2:52 to play. Palat ended Berniers shutout bid and cut Tampa Bays deficit to 3-1 at 10:28 of the third. There was a scrum between the teams with 1:42 remaining after a Toronto defender made contact with Brown, who ended up colliding with Bernier. Five players received penalties on the play. Raymond opened the scoring 7:57 into the second when he skated in alone from the left wing boards and lifted a backhander over Bishop. Bishop kept the Lightning within a goal when he stopped a shot during a breakaway by Bozak with 4 minutes left in the second. The Maple Leafs, despite allowing eight of the first nine shots, outshot Tampa Bay 12-9 during a scoreless first period. NOTES: Tampa Bay RW Martin St. Louis will replace injured Lightning C Steven Stamkos on Canadas Olympic hockey team. Doctors ruled out Stamkos because he hasnt recovered sufficiently from a broken right leg. ... St. Louis has gone eight games without a goal since he tied a team record with four goals against St. Jose on Jan. 18. He had an assist Thursday. ... Toronto C Nazem Kadri had his six-game points streak end. 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