Muddy decision making

You go, Ken Rosenthal. I can barely stomach you with a microphone in your hand, but when you pick up a pen, or your blackberry, or a laptop, or whatever it is you used to write this, you do well, sir.

World Series games should never, ever be played in conditions that compromise the integrity of the competition.

That's what happened Monday night, no matter how commissioner Bud Selig wants to spin it. Selig again was in something of a no-win position because of inaccurate weather forecasts. But he should have halted Game 5 much sooner.

Instead, the game was not suspended until after the top of the sixth inning, an inning in which the Rays tied the score, 2-2, with standing water in the infield.

I can't read the mind of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, but I'm willing to bet that he didn't speak to the media afterward because he believes his team still should be leading, 2-1.

Not only was I disappointed with the decision to play on, it was a disservice to the two teams. Baseball waited until Tampa Bay tied the game so they didn't have to face a potential short-game nightmare in the clinching game of a World Series. Here's an idea: don't allow 5-inning World Series games! Postpone them at worst. Finish them the next day. You're doing that now, anyway, with mud on your face.