RAINFALL CLASSIC: WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Since the baseball writers don't have an actual game to write about tonight -- and judging from the weather forecasts for St. Louis and Detroit, they might not tomorrow or the next day -- they've had to find something else to write about.

Like, should Major League Baseball at least consider playing the World Series at a neutral site -- in a dome or a more temperate climate, such as San Diego?

Given the glacial pace of a change in baseball and the lack of central leadership (here's looking at you, Bud Selig), this has no chance of happening any time soon. It took about 30 years each of chewing it over before the designated hitter and interleague play were implemented.

Just don't be so quick to shrug it off as the idle musings of sportswriters with deadlines to meet and suddenly no games to cover. It has some merit, although it would become one more way that baseball is becoming like the NFL, and no one should want that. Baseball should strive to not follow football's example whenever possible. Besides, Selig apparently doesn't have enough clout to have access to the weather-control devices the powerful NFL owners have. Knowing Selig's luck, the first time they announced the World Series will be played entirely at a neutral site, San Diego gets a freak snowstorm.

This has happened before. The 1962 World Series saw four days pass between games 5 and 6. Of course, there were no league playoffs then, so the deciding game was played Oct. 16. In the classic '75 Series, wet weather meant four days passed between the fifth game and Game 6 (the Carlton Fisk game). Of course, the league playoffs were just a single best-of-5 round, so the Reds and Red Sox wrapped it up Oct. 22.

The solution probably isn't a neutral site; it probably lies in getting the regular season finished quicker -- which would mean playing more doubleheaders. Of course, since the fans would stand to benefit from that most of all, it'll never happen.

Related:
World Serious: Carpenter Helps Nail Down Where Detroit Is Vulnerable (Oct. 25)
Crasnick: Hold the Series at a hot spot? (ESPN.com)

Back with more later tonight. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.