Phils, Rays suspended in 6th inning tied at 2

PHILADELPHIA - Game 5 of the World Series was suspended because of rain in the sixth inning Monday night with the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays tied at 2 and the field already a sloppy, soggy mess.

"I can't tell you tonight when we'll resume," commissioner Bud Selig said. "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here."

Rain was expected to continue into Tuesday, delaying the Phillies' chance to wrap up their first championship since 1980. Philadelphia leads three games to one.

There has never been a rain-shortened game in Series history. Whenever this one resumes, it will pick up where it left off, with the Phils about to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

"The weather tomorrow is supposed to be worse," said Bob DuPuy, MLB's chief operating officer.

Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, and the umpires called it moments later. By then, every ball and every pitch had become an adventure because of the miserable conditions.

"The infield was tough. The ball would do funny things," Phillies second baseman Chase Utley said. "It was in bad shape. It was not playable."

If Pena had not tied it, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

"It's not a way to end a World Series," he said. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way."

MLB changed its rules on suspended games in November 2006. Had this happened before then, this game would've been declared a tie and replayed in its entirety.

Tuesday was supposed to be a travel day, if necessary. Instead, the teams will stay in Philadelphia and then head back to Tropicana Field if the Rays win. The delay, however, forced the Rays to find a new hotel in the area.

About 10 minutes after the game was officially suspended, an announcement was made at Citizens Bank Park telling fans wrapped in plastic sheets they were done for the night.

By then, many had left their seats and streamed into the concourses. They crowded six or seven deep, trying to see any of the game before the umps signaled for the tarp.

Because it was only lightly raining when the game started, MLB hoped it could play a full nine innings. Quickly, however, the showers turned to a steady downpour and the field became a quagmire.

By the middle innings, the grounds crew was running shuttles onto the field, carrying bags of a drying agent - baseball's version of cat litter - to absorb the water.

No luck.

A puddle formed on home plate and umpire Jeff Kellogg resorted to using a towel rather than the usual whisk broom to wipe it clean.

Batters kept blinking back the rain drops and pitchers struggled with their footing. Strong gusts dropped the wind-chill factor into the 30s, and fielders covered their bare hands between pitches.

All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies chased a popup all over and dropped it for a tough error in the fifth. There were pools of water at every base and the Phillie Phanatic wore a rain slicker for his routine.

B.J. Upton beat out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth on a ball that Rollins bobbled. Upton stole second and hustled home on Pena's hit, with left fielder Pat Burrell's throw home plopping into a puddle in the grass.

Fans showed up hoping they'd be witnesses to a World Series championship. Shane Victorino got them cheering with bases-loaded single in the first for a 2-0 lead off Scott Kazmir.

Rays manager Joe Maddon tinkered with his lineup, dropping the slumping Pena and Evan Longoria one spot each - they were a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts after four games.

The Tampa Bay stars ended their hitless ruts in the fourth when Pena doubled off the right-field wall and Longoria followed with an RBI single up the middle that made it 2-1.

Baseball rules governing suspended games

PHILADELPHIA - The Major League Baseball rule governing suspended games:

2007-present

Rule 4.12 SUSPENDED GAMES.

(c) A suspended game shall be resumed at the exact point of suspension of the original game. The completion of a suspended game is a continuation of the original game. The lineup and batting order of both teams shall be exactly the same as the lineup and batting order at the moment of suspension, subject to the rules governing substitution. Any player may be replaced by a player who had not been in the game prior to the suspension. No player removed before the suspension may be returned to the lineup. A player who was not with the club when the game was suspended may be used as a substitute, even if he has taken the place of a player no longer with the club who would not have been eligible because he had been removed from the lineup before the game was suspended.

1980-2006

Rule 4.11 (d)

A called game ends the moment the umpire terminates play. EXCEPTION: If the game is called during an uncompleted inning, the game becomes a SUSPENDED game in each of the following situations:

(1) The visiting team has scored one or more runs to tie the score and the home team has not scored.

(2) The visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead and the home team has not tied the score or retaken the lead.

Prior to 1980

Rule 4.11(d)

A called game ends the moment the umpire terminates play. EXCEPTION: If the game is called during an uncompleted inning, the game ends at the end of the last previous completed inning in each of the following situations:

(1) The visiting team scores one or more runs to tie the score in the uncompleted inning, and the home team does not score.

(2) The visiting team scores one or more runs to take the lead in the uncompleted inning, and the home team does not score or re-take the lead.

Crew bails out field, Rays save Series' integrity

That was Bud Selig's gift to the Fox network.

That was practice for the groundskeepers and a bonanza for the vendors at Citizens Bank Park.

That was a twisted joke at the expense of Philly fans, who waited a generation to see a World Series championship with their own eyes and sat through a cold downpour for the better part of an hour, until MLB had the guts to admit what everybody else already knew.

That wasn't baseball.

In 2005, staring out at much the same cold, wet weather in Chicago as the White Sox prepared to play host to Houston in Game 2 of the World Series, the commissioner said he would call any game rather than go ahead under conditions that would make playing "farcical."

Too late.

Too bad he didn't draw the line at "cynical."

Because that's exactly what this exhibition turned out to be.

Game 5 of the World Series was suspended at 11:10 p.m. EDT, after Tampa Bay scored a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game 2-2. That run saved Selig's bacon. If unplayable conditions were the real reason for stopping, it could have been called an inning earlier, when the Phillies were still ahead 2-1 and the game was already official.

But that's never happened before in a World Series. And Selig would have had to wear a disguise everywhere in America where pro baseball is played - except maybe Philadelphia.

Remember how unpopular the commissioner was when he decided to end the 2002 All-Star Game in an 11-inning tie? Calling this would have been like doubling down.

If nothing else, credit the commissioner with understanding at least that much. He said if the game had to be called after 5½, instead of a suspension, he would have ruled it a rain delay, forcing both teams to hang around the ballpark until who-knows-when.

"It's my judgment. I have to use my judgment," Selig said. "It's not a way to end the World Series. I have enough authority, frankly, that I'm not only on solid ground, I'm on very solid ground."

As for when play will be resumed, Selig replied, "When I believe that weather conditions are appropriate.

"And as I've told everybody tonight after the game," he added, "while we're at time of year where ideal conditions don't always exist, we're going to be very sensitive and thorough and at least make sure we don't have a situation like we had."

That begs two questions.

First, why wasn't he "sensitive and thorough" before starting play Monday, instead of after? Second, when will Selig grow enough of a spine to a.) shorten the regular season, so the World Series doesn't brush up against November, when the weather is always dicey up north; or b.) start some postseason games in the daytime, making weather less of a factor?

The one thing Selig did was promise the World Series won't leave Philadelphia until Game 5 is finished. Going to back to Tampa's domed stadium for three games instead of two is not an option.

"We'll stay here," he said, in a rare moment of conviction, "if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving."

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org

Soaked Phillies fans sit through wet World Series

PHILADELPHIA - Donna Gentekos was shivering, her zipped-up red jacket the last of four layers of Phillies gear keeping her covered.

Gentekos had long abandoned her prime seat in section 141 and tried to stay warm standing outside Harry The K's, a sports bar located just below the left field scoreboard. Her husband was at the concession stand buying hot cocoa.

She was cold and uncomfortable at Citizens Bank Park, but there was no way she was leaving Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night.

"I just want it done," she said, moments before the tarp came out.

Gentekos was one of 45,940 soggy fans who have to wait another day - or more.

The chance to wash away lousy memories with a Game 5 win instead may have washed a way a chance to win a World Series title at home.

Winning a championship has never been easy in Philadelphia. With the Phillies on the brink of their first World Series championship in 28 years, fans instead had the title drought go on for another day. Game 5 of the World Series was suspended because of rain in the sixth inning with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays tied at 2.

Philly fans have waded through 25 years of bad trades, bad luck, and bad players waiting for a parade and a party that would make ‘em all forget about 1980. Now add rain to the lengthy list of roadblocks.

"This is exactly why you don't want to start a World Series game so late," said fan John Vanore. "It's going to the wee hours of the morning and you're going to lose a lot of spectators. They knew the rain was coming. They should have played tomorrow."

Now the Philly fans again have to wait to celebrate.

The start of Game 3 on Saturday night was delayed 91 minutes by rain. The first pitch wasn't thrown until 10:06 p.m. - the latest start in Series history - and the Phillies' 5-4 win ended at 1:47 a.m.

Fans fled seats that cost hundreds of dollars and flooded the concourses looking for cover. They couldn't do more than shuffle along in the rising puddles. They stood huddled in their Phillies sweaters, garbage bags and rain coats six or seven deep behind home plate, straining to catch a glimpse of Cole Hamels before the tarp came on the field.

A downpour didn't dampen the enthusiasm of Paul Daly, who was willing to stay until the end.

"It's the World Series. It's a clincher," he said. "We watched every game this season. We're not leaving until it starts to snow."

"And I have school tomorrow!" piped in his 8-year-old son, Colin.

Ashburn Alley, the outfield entertainment area normally stuffed with fans, was almost vacant. They traded waiting for Tony Luke's cheesesteaks to gather around TVs at the covered concession stands to watch the game played behind them.

Rob Menapace left his soggy seat in section 418 to escape the rain.

"I'd rather play the game in this than 70 degree weather, especially if they win," he said. "This is crazy, but it's fun. We've been waiting a long time for this. A little rain isn't going to stop us."

"It's the experience. The cold rain, the weather, it adds to the whole experience."

Minutes after the game was suspended, Nicole DeLuca was on her cell phone calling out of work on Tuesday.

A college student in New York City, she was down to cheer on her hometown Phils and needed someone to cover her shift at the restaurant where she works.

"You don't get a World Series every year," she said.

Outside the park, fans were just as wet and disappointed.

Paul Murtha, 47, of Harrisburg, won't be able to come back to the city for tomorrow's game.

"I'm disappointed, but you can't control the weather," Murtha said, walking through Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia, which would have been the site of a Phillies celebration. "It would have been nice to see them win today, but I'm confident they're going to win it anyway, that they'll do it tomorrow or in Tampa."

-- Dan Gelston

Amaro likely next Phillies GM

PHILADELPHIA - Ruben Amaro Jr. isn't ready to talk about possibly replacing Pat Gillick as Phillies general manager after the World Series.

"What I can say is that we're pretty much focused on winning the World Series and trying to do what we can to bring home a championship to Philadelphia," Amaro said before Game 5 against Tampa Bay on Monday. "As far as the GM situation is concerned, that's a decision that's not mine to make. I think most people in the organization are thinking on what their job is today."

The 71-year-old Gillick said last year he wants to retire after this season, and he hasn't backed off that plan. Gillick has a home in Seattle and his wife lives there throughout the year.

Amaro, in his 10th season as assistant GM, has long been considered the front-runner to replace Gillick. Mike Arbuckle, an assistant GM since Oct. 2001, also would have to be considered.

Amaro joined the Phillies immediately after his playing career ended in 1998. He worked under former GM Ed Wade for seven seasons and the last three with Gillick.

Arbuckle was promoted to his current position after seven seasons as the team's director of scouting.

Whoever gets the job has big shoes to fill. Gillick turned an underachieving team into a winner. He's also taken four different teams to the league championship series.

FAN BEHAVIOR

Joe Maddon has enjoyed some good-natured ribbing about beer and baseball with fans behind the Rays' dugout.

The Tampa Bay manager, though, was angered when some of that notorious bad behavior by the Philadelphia fans surfaced during Games 3 and 4. Maddon said family members of players and other members of Tampa Bay's organization have been verbally harassed by Phillies fans. He said some Phillies fans even threw mustard packets from the concession stands at his granddaughter.

"I know it's been well documented. I've attended events here as a fan myself," said Maddon, raised about 100 miles outside Philly. "But when it strikes home at your family, then you have to say something. I think somebody has make a stand at some point."

Rays officials have been in touch with the Phillies about tightening security. Maddon said before Game 5 he was hopeful that would improve the hostile situation.

"Throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool," Maddon said. "The other part about it I'm good with. If you want to be vociferous with us, I am fine with that. If you want to have arguments about Coors Light versus Rolling Rock, I'm good with that, but leave the families alone."

FLY, PHILLIES, FLY

Andy Reid is ready to trade some Eagles green for Phillies red.

The Eagles coach is doing more than pulling for the Phillies to win the World Series. The mild-mannered coach is doing something he would never do before a big NFC East showdown: guaranteeing victory.

"You know what, they are going to win," Reid said on Monday. "I'm going to take the ‘if' out of that for you. They are going to win, and the city will love every minute of it. It will be great for the city."

Reid and Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb attended the Game 4 victory. McNabb wore a red Phillies cap while he visited with players outside the clubhouse.

"I'm going to be pulling hard for the Phillies, baby, and for Charlie (Manuel)," Reid said. "I had a chance to go to the game yesterday and that place was electric over there. They have a great thing going, and I'll have the red on today."

Reid should know that playing Tampa Bay in Philadelphia with a championship at stake doesn't guarantee a victory. The Buccaneers stunned the Eagles 27-10 in frigid temperatures to win the NFC championship in 2003.

If there is a victory parade down Broad Street, Reid said he'd watch.

"I will just open my curtains and it will go right past me right there, so I'll be there," he said.

BALLGIRLS VS. RAY TEAM

Here's an idea for some pregame entertainment: Have the Phillies ballgirls play the Ray Team in a softball showdown.

"If it were logistically possible, we'd love to have our own friendly version of the World Series," said Michele DeVicaris, supervisor for the Phillies ballgirls.

The Philly gals are confident they'd win, even though the Ray Team has two guys on their squad.

"Play them in softball? A real game? Maybe we should play them in MLB 2K8. It might be more fair," said Lindsay Brown, a two-year member of the ballgirls. "Maybe they at least have athletic hands. Even with their team being coed, we'd still make them look silly. Well, sillier than they already look."

Now, that sounds like a challenge.

The group of 17 Phillies ballgirls were selected among 600 candidates. They work the foul lines during games and participate in various charity events, including softball games. They won a summer tournament that included the 76ers dance team and Flyers ice team and other girls.

The Ray Team was put together in 2006. You won't find these ladies - and two men - catching foul balls, though. Their duties include greeting fans, giving away prizes and sometimes dancing on the dugout.

"We have an unfair advantage since we actually play softball," said Jocelyn Brown, a second-year ballgirl and team blogger. "To be fair, if there happens to be a ‘Dance on the Dugout while Wearing Sarah Palin Glasses,' or ‘Pretend You're Sweaty and Pose for a Calendar Contest,' they'd probably win, because they have more experience."

GOVERNOR'S PROMISE

Jake Lancianese is a 10-year-old who knows the two things you need when calling in a promise from a politician: a good memory and rock-solid documentation.

That's how the fifth-grader from Aston, Pa., got to attend Game 4 of the World Series with Gov. Ed Rendell on Sunday.

Rendell visited Hilltop Elementary School in 2004, when Jake was in first grade, and asked students why early childhood education was important. What would happen, he asked, if a strong building was built on a weak foundation?

Jake raised his hand. "It would fall down."

Rendell told the boy he was right, and added that the next time the Phillies made it to the World Series he would get him a ticket.

The governor promptly forgot. Not Jake.

When the Phillies took a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National Division Championship Series earlier this month, Jake composed a letter to Rendell.

"Well, it took us four years, but we're almost there," he wrote. "I was hoping you'd still be the governor when they made it and lucky for me you are."

Jake included his baseball card from last summer at the Phillies Baseball Academy and a copy of an article in the Delaware County Daily Times about Rendell's visit to his school.

Jake highlighted the lines about the Phillies ticket.

After receiving the boy's letter - sent by certified mail - Rendell told his wife, Midge, an appellate court judge, that they'd be attending the game with a guest.

From their seats 23 rows behind the visitor's dugout, the Rendells, Jake and his father, Pat, a third-shift Amtrak maintenance foreman, watched the Phillies rout the Rays 10-2.

-- Dan Gelston

Phillies past and present eager for new legacy

PHILADELPHIA - Steve Carlton showed up to throw a ceremonial first pitch. Robin Roberts, too.

Mike Schmidt schmoozed behind the batting cage, Tug McGraw's ashes were scattered on the mound - hey, there goes Dallas Green down the hall.

With such a long history of losing, the Philadelphia Phillies and their loyal fans certainly adore stars of the past. You get the feeling that if Chuck Klein and Grover Cleveland Alexander were still alive, they'd be co-hosting a World Series radio show from Ashburn Alley.

With Schmidt, Carlton and McGraw leading the way, Green managed the Phillies to their first championship at old Veterans Stadium in 1980 - a team that's still cherished like an only child in this tough-talking town.

Going into Monday, it was the club's lone title in 125 seasons. Now, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and these Fightin' Phils are eager to leave their own lasting legacy at sparkling Citizens Bank Park.

"I think they deserve to put 1980 in the past," Green said. "It's about time. Let's face it, we're almost ancient history for crying out loud! It's time for this organization to freshen up its history."

The Phillies had a perfect chance to do that at home Monday night when they sent October ace Cole Hamels to the mound in Game 5 looking to close out Tampa Bay.

Boosted by its frenzied fans, Philadelphia entered 6-0 at Citizens Bank Park this postseason. One more win would set off quite a party - and another packed parade.

Green remembers the one 28 years ago as if it happened yesterday, with millions of people lined up on Broad Street.

"That team is still revered. These guys I hope get a chance to experience that," said the 74-year-old Green, now a senior adviser to Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, 71. "This is a great sports city. They're dying for a winner."

The City of Brotherly Love hasn't had a major pro sports championship to celebrate since the NBA's 76ers in 1983. So it's no wonder fans embrace all the Phillies lore at their new ballpark, which opened in 2004.

There is Greg Luzinski's Bull's BBQ out in right field, located at one end of Ashburn Alley. The festive walkway is named for Hall of Famer and late broadcaster Richie Ashburn, one of the city's most popular figures.

He's also honored with one of four statues around the stadium, along with Schmidt, Carlton and Roberts, who pitched the 1950 "Whiz Kids" to an NL pennant.

Inside, ex-closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams hosts a radio call-in show on the main concourse, greeting fans and signing autographs during commercial breaks.

And before Game 3 against the Rays, McGraw's son, country music singer Tim McGraw, accompanied kids from a local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club to the mound. He brought some of his father's ashes along and sprinkled them near the rubber.

"It's good to have those guys around, just because they're Hall of Famers and stuff like that. To meet ‘em and actually talk with ‘em and then tell us good luck," Phillies pitcher Brett Myers said. "But they had their time, you know what I mean? They did what they had to do. Now it's our turn to be talked about for the next 28 years or whatever."

All-Star reliever Brad Lidge has only pitched in Philadelphia for one season, but he quickly realized how much history means around here.

"You can get a feeling of it, for sure. And it's a pretty special feeling right now to be where we're at," he said. "Those guys are inspiring. I mean, seeing Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt walking around the clubhouse is pretty cool. Those are two of the better players in the game. Hopefully for us the magic they had will continue to flow."

Nothing would be more satisfying for Rollins and Howard, the past two NL MVPs. The Phillies, who reached 10,000 losses last season, have piled up more defeats than any franchise in pro sports.

"I didn't really buy into the whole thing about the city and the drought and all that kind of stuff," Howard said. "The team that we have right now, I mean, we're in that position to change the label."

Rollins articulated a similar sentiment.

"When I first got drafted to this organization I kind of vowed to myself that I was going to try to change the face of it and change the way people think about the Phillies and note them as winners," he said. "It's just taken a whole bunch of years."

-- Mike Fitzpatrick

World Series slumps can come out of nowhere

Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt hit 548 home runs and was a 12-time All-Star. A three-time NL MVP, the third baseman was MVP of the 1980 World Series when the Phillies won their only championship.

Every World Series has a hitter or two that gets strapped with a funk.

It happened to me in 1983 against the Orioles, getting only one hit in over 20 at bats, and it was a broken-bat blooper over short. I was the same guy who got eight hits and an MVP in the 1980 Series.

Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, they're doing fine for the Phillies after slow starts. Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena, no luck for Tampa Bay through the first four games.

So what happens when hitters go cold and experience record-setting futility in pressure situations?

Sure, good pitching stops good hitting. Cole Hamels stopped the Rays in Game 1, and a couple relievers have dominating stuff. But from my couch, just plain and simple bad hitting.

Hitters are like snowflakes, there's only one of each of them when all elements are considered. Some look the same, may have the same coach, exposed to similar thinking, but no two hitters have like metabolism, hand-eye reaction and application, and sense of pitcher vs. hitter combat.

Because they're all different, there has been no pat answer as to why someone funks in the World Series. A good regular-season stroke can leave and not even say goodbye.

The simplest explanation: There are two kinds of hitters, spray and pull. I've been both.

Up until 1979 I was predominantly a pull-side hitter, as was most of that generation. We were taught to hit the ball out in front of the plate.

From 1979 on, I was a spray hitter, which meant I waited longer, let the ball come to me and used the entire field. I hit about one-third of my home runs straight away or to the opposite field.

Spray power is harder to defend. This hitter is much less vulnerable to the pitcher's trickery, therefore more productive and consistent. For me the proof was in the stats.

In its simplest form, a spray hitter will have a better chance of producing no matter what the level of pressure. The pull hitter's stroke comes and goes, and good pitching eats him up. His pull stroke can leave after a key strikeout and return after a roll-over infield chopper for a hit.

The problem is it never stays around long because percentages won't allow it. And in the World Series, where pressure is real, the pull hitter's stroke is a crapshoot.

The pull hitter is a dying breed in today's game. Today's generation of hitters were taught to stay inside the ball and use the entire field from the beginning. This is a more productive and consistent style, especially with today's small parks and lively balls.

That being said, in the World Series we see many spray hitters that succumb to the pull-hitting style and are slumping. Trust me, this isn't the plan. He's "trying to do too much" or he's "expanding the zone" or he's "overanxious" are what the so-called experts say.

So what happens inside the mind of a hitter that prevents him from executing good, fundamental at-bats in pressure situations? I think it is the inability to commit to a plan of attack that includes patience, deep counts and straightaway hitting in all situations. You must fight the home run temptation.

Imagine you're at the plate in the World Series, and the pitcher is getting his sign. In your mind you are concentrating and visualizing something. Throughout the regular season, for the most part, you were relaxed, willing to accept the moment as just another at-bat. You were in your routine and it felt good.

As the pitcher winds up, you're still conscious and in control, but as he delivers the ball you enter the react mode. Optimally, your final conscious visual was a crisp line drive up the middle, or sharp ground ball to second, or taking a strike, whatever the situation required.

But when you're in a funk, you can't control your pre-swing mental visual. Physically, you're overanxious, jumpy and tense. And at the moment of truth, at contact, you overdo it.

You swing to lift and pull the ball, and that leads to outs and slumps. You feel it, but don't sense the time available to correct it.

Why? It's the World Series. Every movement, facial expression and reaction is broadcast worldwide. Your results could be headlines for years and can affect your career and life.

This is no time for holding back or experimenting. That's why under postseason pressure, as the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, a productive spray hitter with few holes in his swing becomes an inconsistent pull hitter. His visual of a crisp line drive becomes a long home run, and any hitter visualizing a home run as the pitch enters the hitting zone is an easy out.

That's the psychology of it. If you watch on TV, these slumping hitters miss good pitches to hit in every at-bat. With men in scoring position, they take good pitches to hit and swing at bad pitches.

I did it, and as long as there is baseball, all hitters will do it. Watch the hitters - the ones slumping will be off-balance in swings, fouling or missing their pitches and hooking soft ground balls to their pull side.

That's baseball. Remember one thing though: Today is always a new day in a hitter's mind, and today any hitter can execute the perfect swing at the perfect time and erase everything.

Who remembers a 1-for-20 if you are a world champion?

-- Mike Schmidt

Blind radio announcer brings color to Rays games

Enrique Oliu breathes baseball. The crack of the bat and the cheers of the crowd run through his veins.

He's also a human baseball encyclopedia, with an uncanny ability to make his listeners get a full feel for the game.

Oh, one other thing about the color analyst for the Tampa Bay Rays' Spanish radio broadcasts: He's blind.

"I always run into skeptical people, but I've never had any problem doing my job," Oliu said during the World Series between the Rays and Philadelphia. "I'm a smart guy, and I've always wanted to be a leader, to be an example."

"As my father used to tell me when I was a kid, ‘You've got to decide if you want the band to play your music, or if you want to play someone else's music,"' the 45-year-old native of Nicaragua said.

Born blind, he was 10 when his parents sent him to the United States to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine. Oliu quickly showed interest in sports and later majored in communications at the University of South Florida.

"I started knocking doors everywhere, trying to get a break. I covered for free a lot of stuff just to get into radio," he said.

His first job doing professional commentary was with a minor league affiliate of the Montreal Expos in 1989 in Jacksonville, Fla.

All his perseverance paid off in 1998 when Tampa Bay Devil Rays, about to make their debut in the major leagues, asked him to become the color analyst of the team.

Several hours before each game at Tropicana Field, Oliu starts his routine of interviewing players, coaches and colleagues to gather every possible piece of information and detail to help him in his broadcasts.

Oliu also fashions a mohawk haircut, the style of choice for these Rays.

At the booth of the radio station, Genesis 680 AM, he works alongside his wife, Debbie. She whispers to him statistical data and descriptions about the game.

"The rest is just intuition and instincts," he said. "You know I played this sport and bunch of others, adapted, but I played. Blind or not blind, I have an opinion and I just state mine. That's what people want."

Oliu and broadcast partner Ricardo Taveras do all 81 home games. When the Rays are on the road, as they were in Philadelphia this week, Oliu and Taveras do their broadcast from a studio at Tropicana Field off a television feed.

The one person who never stops marveling at Oliu's gift is Taveras, who has done play-by-play with him since 1999.

"You never stop learning with him. He has such an amazing memory. He hates being called blind," Taveras said.

"I mean, you could tell him something and he will remember it in a thousand years," he said. "That's his biggest virtue. That's has made him successful".

But what Taveras really considers remarkable is Oliu's "sixth sense" to guess plays ahead of time.

"I will never forget when there was a roller toward second base and he goes to make the description, ‘roller to second, the second baseman fields it, throw to first and he's out," Taveras said. "I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. I told him, ‘Hey Enrique, how do you know that?' Nobody was telling him anything.

"He just said that, ‘I just heard the crack of the bat and I knew it that the ball was headed to second base."'

No doubt that Oliu's crowning achievement is getting to work the World Series with the Rays. He mentions spring training trips to Mexico and Venezuela as his most rewarding experiences.

"As a blind person, it was something that gave me a lot of pride, to work in countries in which there are now laws to protect the rights of the handicapped," he said. "I was so proud of showing people that you can do it."

-- Eric Nunez

Umpires acknowledge another missed call in Series

PHILADELPHIA - For the second time in two days, umpires acknowledged they missed a key call in the World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored in the first inning of Game 4 on Sunday night after Jimmy Rollins scampered safely back to third during a rundown. But television replays showed he was tagged on the backside by Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and should have been called out by third base ump Tim Welke.

"He's seen the replay. He knows he missed it," Mike Port, Major League Baseball's vice president for umpiring, said Monday.

This is the first postseason in which baseball is using replay - though only to review home run calls.

Longoria swiped his arm in frustration after Rollins was called safe, and Rays manager Joe Maddon came out for a brief argument.

"I just saw him swing and miss. I never saw a tag," Welke explained after Sunday night's game. "That's a swipe tag. A lot of times on a swipe tag, the glove will pause. I saw him try to make a swipe tag but I never saw the glove pause."

Rollins wound up scoring when Pat Burrell drew a bases-loaded walk from Andy Sonnanstine, and the Phillies went on to a 10-2 victory that gave them a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Series.

It was the Rays who got a break in Game 3, when speedy Carl Crawford was called safe by first base umpire Tom Hallion on a seventh-inning bunt single. Replays showed Jamie Moyer's glove flip to first baseman Ryan Howard beat Crawford on a close play.

"Bang-bang play, and I tried to get the best angle on it," Hallion told a pool reporter. "I really didn't get a sound to be able to judge. It winds up being a great play. And looking at a replay here, they just got him."

Crawford scored as part of a two-run rally and Tampa Bay tied it later, but Philadelphia won 5-4.

There were a couple of disputed calls during the first two games at Tampa Bay, too. Maddon screamed for a balk on Cole Hamels when he picked off a runner in the opener, and Rocco Baldelli drew a key walk on a checked swing in Game 2 that the Phillies thought had been called strike three.

-- Mike Fitzpatrick

Rays change batting order for Game 5

PHILADELPHIA - In desperate need of an offensive spark, the Tampa Bay Rays tinkered with their batting order before Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night.

With the AL champions trailing the best-of-seven series 3-1 and facing Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels, Carl Crawford was shifted from fifth to his customary No. 2 hole and B.J. Upton was dropped from second to third. Also, Carlos Pena was moved from third to cleanup and Evan Longoria from fourth to fifth.

Pena and Longoria were a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts through the first four games of the series. The Rays were batting .187 with just three home runs - two by Crawford - after hitting a record 16 homers against Boston in the American League championship series.

"It's bumping Carl up as much as anything, too," manager Joe Maddon said of the decision to drop Pena and Longoria one spot in the order.

"I wanted Carl to get up there. He's been a successful two-place hitter for us. And I wanted to unfreeze those two guys a little bit. The fact that they've had a little bit of problems in the normal slots for both of them, I thought just by giving them a little different perspective today may help."

Crawford batted second most of the year. He was inserted into the No. 5 hole when he returned for the playoffs after missing more than seven weeks injuring the middle finger on his right hand.

Game 4 draws highest Series TV ratings so far

NEW YORK - Game 4 drew the highest television ratings so far of the World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies' 10-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night earned a 9.3 rating and 15 share on Fox, the network said Monday.

That's down 11 percent from the last Game 4 in which a team didn't have a chance of clinching. Cardinals-Tigers in 2006 drew a 10.4/18.

The first four games are averaging an 8.0/14, a 25-percent decrease from the 10.6/18 for the Boston Red Sox's sweep of the Colorado Rockies last year.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.