Watergate Update

As the Nats are battling the Dodgers in LA, here's a quick update:

Baseball denies Mets' rain protest

May 4, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) -- Major League Baseball denied Wednesday a protest by the New York Mets, who felt the grounds crew at RFK Stadium performed poorly during a rain-shortened loss to the Washington Nationals.

Mets manager Willie Randolph protested Saturday's 5-3 loss based on Rule 4.16, which reads: "A game shall be forfeited to the visiting team if, after it has been suspended, the orders of the umpire to groundskeepers respecting preparation of the field for resumption of play are not complied with."

Rain fell steadily from the fifth inning on, and there were two rain delays before the game was called in the eighth inning. In the eighth, the grounds crew took about half an hour to fully cover the infield because the tarp had been folded improperly. The team brought in people working in the stadium's parking lots to help.

"We never said that they did anything intentionally. We felt that the grounds crew was trying its best," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "You never know when you file a protest."