Oct. 25, 2005, 12:44AM
'The stars at night' will be visible, MLB says
Astros want roof closed for Game 3 for action deep in heart of Texas
By BRIAN MCTAGGART
In a city known for air conditioning and indoor baseball, the first World Series game in its history may be played under the stars instead of under a roof.
Major League Baseball officials say they, and not the Astros, will have final word on whether the retractable roof at Minute Maid Park will be open for tonight's Game 3 against the Chicago White Sox.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Monday the league will have control of the roof and prefers keep it open, weather permitting. Forecasters are predicting clear skies and 62 degrees at first pitch, with temperatures falling into the mid-50s during the game.
"MLB controls the postseason, certainly the World Series," Selig said. "We really haven't gotten heavily involved in the debate. Our position is that we want teams to do what they do during the regular season.
"If, say, 80 degrees is the cutoff during the regular season, that's what it should be in the postseason. I don't want it to become a farce. Let's say it's 72 degrees. Why wouldn't the roof be open? Why do you have a retractable roof in the first place?"
Open-and-shut case
The Astros have made it clear they prefer to have the roof closed during the postseason to take advantage of the noise that can be created as sound bounces off the roof.
"Major League Baseball trying to step in and close the roof just because they can get an aerial shot on television, frankly, doesn't cut it," said catcher Brad Ausmus, echoing the sentiment of the majority of his teammates.
The roof was closed for both home games in the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves and all three home games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series.
Astros general manager Tim Purpura was adamant last week the roof would stay closed the remainder of the postseason but backed off Monday.
"When you get to the World Series and the jewel events, it's a cooperative effort between Major League Baseball and its clubs to put on the best show possible, and that's what we're trying to do," he said. "In some ways, people are making this out to be a bigger deal than it really is.
"I think when you get to this point of year and the weather is like this and you have an opportunity to open it, you would try to open it."
This isn't a new issue in the World Series. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson wanted the roof closed at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix in 2001. MLB did not.
McLane may have pull
Purpura said no decision on the roof would be made until this afternoon, but he's hopeful MLB will weigh heavily the Astros' preference.
"Our owner (Drayton McLane) and commissioner Selig have a longstanding relationship and they know and respect each other very well," Purpura said.
"They both want what's best of the game and both of them are going to do what's right for the game or right for the Astros."
Considering the Astros played 53 of their 81 regular-season home games this year with the roof closed from start to finish, it's no surprise the players would like it that way during the World Series.
"If that's what it turns out to be — that they want a blimp shot — that's not shooting people straight," third baseman Morgan Ensberg said. "I'm shooting you straight in that I like the advantage of the roof being closed because of the sound and (the wind) doesn't swirl.
"I guess I don't understand why they would want it open or closed. Why didn't they tell us on Aug. 20 what they wanted? It seems kind of ridiculous. If Major League Baseball is involved in telling an owner to open or close the roof, you're going to lose credibility."
Watching the skies
Rob Matwick, the Astros' senior vice president for ballpark operations and customer service, said the top concerns during the regular season are the threat of precipitation and the temperature.
"The No. 1 decision-maker probably ends up being the chance of rain in the summer," he said. "If the rain chance is 60, 70 percent, we'll err on the side of caution and stay closed. From there, heat and humidity and the heat index-type numbers are the criteria we would look at."
Matwick said the typical rule of thumb during the summer is the roof will be closed if the temperature is 85 degrees or above at scheduled first pitch for a night game.
"Our only experience with cold is during the College Classic (a baseball tournament in February), and we've played Classic games in the bright sunshine and roof closed just because it's too cold," Matwick said.
Purpura is convinced Minute Maid Park will be rocking regardless of what's overhead.
"I think I know my fans well enough to know that they're going to be just as loud with the roof open as they were with the roof closed," he said. "Maybe there's some echo effect we could get off the roof, but the fans here are so excited about the World Series. It's going to be loud one way or the other."
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Bud Selig once again proves that he is the biggest moron ever to be in charge of a major sport. Bite me Selig!!!
This is horrible, and should not even be in discussion. The Astros have the right to open or close their Stadium roof
Also the game time temp will be in the 40's. The Houston Astros are a Texas team, they do not play baseball in cold weather very often, this just hurts them even more, not just because of the lack of crowd noise. This just pisses me off to no end. I can not believe this .
Valid points, Jim. I think the Astros should do as they please....
They made the mistake of making it public. They should have closed the roof and not said anything about it.
This is some BS.
Close the roof and sabotage the button that re-opens it. The Astros had to deal with the cold and the rain for game two and I think that was a huge advantage for the White Sox.
Stros should just keep it closed and say YOU MLB!I swear this MLB is all for the White Sox winning, especially all these calls White Sox have got the whole playoffs.
Where was this for the NLCS???
MLB has jurisdiction over stadiums during the WS, like the NBA during the Finals, and the NFL during the SB.
Seems fair to me. Play in the same conditions.
Its not fair??? awwww......
Both teams would be playing in the same condition: Roof closed.
Baseball is meant to be played outside anyways.
Soldier up Astros.
Yeah and I'm sure God is a White Sox fan, since he'll control the weather in Chicago's favor.
I wish everyone would stop making excuses as to why Houston will lose a game they haven't even played yet. It's like you want them to lose just so you can say, "See? The MLB is Rigged!"
Dan Patrick has a great idea.
He says that Drayton should just wait till right before the 1st pitch and just start closing the roof...preferably to Star Wars music...the crowd will go crazy, the White Sox will be saying..."oh crap, what is going on"
Talk about great theater...that would be awesome.
I mean, what will they do to the Astros? Fine them a million dollars?
What? Luke Oswalt and Hans Berkman make their stand? No-lan Kenowbi as Luke's mentor? R2Biggio and C3cianio?
That's soooo 1964.
This can only be described as bull .
Astros have to play their way through it. It's all part of becoming a champion. They need to look at themselves in the mirror and realized they have no excuse for not winning game 2. They are more than capable of winning game 3, roof or no.
Stros players are pissed, Oswalt was on ESPN talking about it that its their field and they should be able to do whatever they want, if they want it open or closed.
What will truely be un ingbelievable is if that suck ass closer gives up another homerun to Billy Average.
OH MY GOD!!
You mean they have to play baseball outdoors?????
IN THE COLD???
What is the Commish thinking? BASEBALL WAS MEANT TO BE PLAYED INDOORS WITH THE AIR CONDITIONING....
What I don't get is the Commissioner's notion that the games should be played under the same conditions. Part of baseball is that the conditions are always quite different. That's the beauty of differently sized parks with different nooks and crannies and different features. If the Commissioner truly wanted the conditions to be the same, he'd require that all World Series games be played in the same stadium. Roof closed is one of the features of Minute Maid Park.
Of course, if he had been truly concerned with keeping conditions similar, it wouldn't have taken Congress getting on his ass for his league to develop some sort of realistic steroid testing policy . . . . among other things.
The idea that the conditions be geneous is another foible in Bud's Folly (aka, anything baseball after Fay Vincent).
Baseball was also meant to be played during the Summer.
Brad Lidge = Mitch Williams
Why does the MLB want the White Sox to win.
Bud Selig is not a positive figure in baseball, period.
Oswalt's pissed? Good.
The New York Times
October 25, 2005
White Sox Lead Series, 2-0
Baseball Tells Astros to Open Stadium Roof
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:22 p.m. ET
HOUSTON (AP) -- Major League Baseball pulled the roof out from over the Houston Astros' heads. Over the objections of the Astros, the commissioner's office ordered the roof open at Minute Maid Field for Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night and said all games in Houston this week are likely to be played outdoors.
''It is a gorgeous day,'' baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. ''In Milwaukee, you don't get a day like this until July Fourth.''
Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office, made the announcement on the field about four hours before the scheduled first pitch. It was 71 degrees and the sky was cloudless when Solomon spoke.
The forecast called for a game time temperature in the low 60s, and Solomon said it would not get too cold for fans.
''This is not unprecedented. It happened in 2001 down in Arizona. The roof was open all four games there,'' Solomon said. ''We looked at everything. We looked at wind. We looked at humidity. We looked at the temperature.''
The Astros like playing with the roof closed because, among other things, it increases the noise. They were not thrilled with the decision.
''They had the opportunity to close it in the division series, they had the chance in the championship series, they didn't say anything then,'' shortstop Adam Everett said. ''It surprises me they're saying something now.''
''This is our home field. If we want to close it, we should be able to close it. That being said, they are Major League Baseball and they have their rule.''
Solomon said the commissioner's office followed the Astros' regular-season guidelines, which he said call for the roof to be open when the temperature is under 80 degrees and there is no rain. Astros spokeswoman Lisa Ramsperger said there are no specific guidelines.
''I think it's a disregard to our fans, the comfort of our fans,'' Astros manager Phil Garner said.
Solomon said that the forecast is favorable for the rest of the week and that the roof is likely to be open for all games in Houston. The Astros played their first five postseason games this year with the roof closed. Solomon said the temperature was over 80 degrees for all except Game 3 of the first-round series against Atlanta.
''By the time we got here to look at the roof it was already there and we could not change it in time,'' he said.
During the regular season, the Astros were 36-17 at home when the roof was closed, 15-11 when it was rolled back and 2-0 in games that began indoors and finished in fresh air. It was open just twice after May -- for a pair of games against the Chicago Cubs during the final series of the regular season.
''If we say anything, it's going to be critical, so I have no comment,'' Astros president for baseball operations Tal Smith said.
* Copyright 2005 The Associated Press
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