The September 11th attack
Players face difficult time refocusing
Advertiser News Services
Major-league baseball players take pride in their ability to block out distractions once the game begins.
Never have those skills been tested so severely.
After a six-day interruption in wake of the deadly terrorist attacks on the United States, the 30 major-league clubs will return to action tomorrow night. Many of the participants, even those engaged in heated pennant races, admit that it will not be easy to refocus on baseball.
"I'll find it hard to get mentally prepared, but that's what I have to do," said Philadelphia pitcher Robert Person, whose team has 19 games left to try to erase a 3 1/2-game deficit to Atlanta in the National League East Division.
"Baseball seems very insignificant right now. All our hearts go out to everybody involved. We just need to take time out and count our blessings."
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced Thursday that no games would be played over the weekend. Players throughout both leagues had made it clear they were not ready to resume play any sooner.
"Yeah, baseball, football, golf and all kinds of things are part of things that go on in America, but lives are obviously more important than any athletic event," said Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell, whose team has a five-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
Keeping the integrity of the season intact, Selig announced that the postponed games would be added to the end of the regular season. Not only does that push back the start of the playoffs, it changes the dynamics of some pennant races.
Los Angeles and San Francisco now finish the season with three games against each other, which could prove crucial. When play resumes tomorrow, the Giants will be atop the NL wild-card standings, with Los Angeles only 1 1/2 games back.
Arizona, in first place in the NL West but only 1 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco and three ahead of Los Angeles, no longer finishes the season with a series against the Dodgers. Instead, the Diamondbacks will wrap up against the Milwaukee Brewers, a much less daunting foe.
Atlanta and Philadelphia will play a rescheduled series during the final week, perhaps giving the Phillies one last chance to close the gap on the Braves. And St. Louis finishes against Houston, which could prove huge if the Cardinals are able to pull within a few games of the Astros.
The reshuffled schedule also allows future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn to finish their careers at home instead of on the road. Baltimore will end the season at home against Boston, not in New York, and San Diego will play host to Colorado instead of a series in San Francisco.
Ripken was scheduled to play his final home game Sept. 23 against the Yankees and his last major-league game Sept. 30 at Yankee Stadium. Both games were sold out, and scalpers were getting in excess of $1,000 a ticket from those seeking to witness history.
Instead, those holding tickets for the game originally scheduled for Sunday against the Red Sox at Camden Yards will get to see Ripken close the curtain on his iron-man career.
Though Gwynn now will bow out at home in a makeup series against the Rockies, the Padres say they will go ahead with plans to honor the eight-time batting champion as scheduled in the series next weekend against San Francisco.
The one allowance made involved the New York Mets, who were scheduled to play host to Pittsburgh in a series starting tomorrow at Shea Stadium. Instead, those games will be played in Pittsburgh, and the Mets' series at PNC Park that was postponed will be played in New York from Oct. 2-4.
That switch prevents games from being played in New York, site of the World Trade Center collapse, until next weekend, when the Mets and Braves square off.
San Francisco's Barry Bonds, eight home runs shy of breaking Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70, now will play his final series of the year at home against Los Angeles instead of San Diego. And he still gets a trip to Houston and Enron Field, one of the most homer-friendly facilities in the league.
By delaying the start of the playoffs by a week, the World Series will start on Oct. 27 instead of Oct. 20. Thus, barring a four-game sweep, it will carry over into November for the first time.
