Major League Baseball missed out on a marquee Justin Verlander/C.C. Sabathia pitching match-up in game one of the ALDS because of a botched weather forecast, then suffered through two rain delays in the fifth inning of Saturday night’s ALCS game one in Texas. Commissioner Bud Selig and team representatives went into discussions about Sunday night’s ominous forecast and, not taking into consideration that it has rained exactly one time in Texas since 1985 and that was Saturday, postponed the game about five hours before the first pitch.

Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan, a guy who I’m sure has kept cattle from herding off a cliffside during a thunderstorm at least once in his life, explains the call:

“With the forecast that we had … we didn’t want to experience what we did last night; and with the forecast for this evening, it appears that it’s going to be duplication of what we saw last night,” Rangers president Nolan Ryan said. “I think the one thing we’re concerned about is the integrity of the game and not [putting] either team in a situation where possibly the elements could affect the outcome of the game.”

By the time the game had been scheduled to start, the weatherman was calling for a “mostly cloudy” night with a 10% chance of rain. No rain had fallen for three hours, and there was no rain in the area an hour later. The grounds crew left a sad, dry tarp on the diamond as the reality sank in — Major League Baseball had just postponed a playoff game because it might have rained. At no point did Justin Verlander speak up and explain that God was just trying to tell him to knock it off.

I’m sure there was a lot going on behind the scenes. I’m sure the MLB didn’t want to inconvenience FOX Primetime by making them play old episodes of This Week In Baseball or re-runs of The Fresh Prince like TBS does when it rains too much, and sure, when you’re playing a string of important games you don’t want your guys trudging through mud and soggy grass. At the same time, one of the enduring images of sports is warriors battling the elements, powering through snow and torrential rain to prove their might, and what does it say about modern day baseball when dark clouds make two entire teams and a league go “welp, pack it in, too dangerous”?

Anyway, take a look at a few shots from the non-event, and compare/contrast them to Hurricane Katrina pictures at your leisure.

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The 82nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game took place at Chase Field in Phoenix last night, and it appears that the American League’s era of dominance has come to an end. The National League All-Stars won the game 5-1, marking their second consecutive win over the AL losers, who had won the previous 60 All-Star Games or something like that. The NL, of course, now possesses home-field advantage for the World Series, because baseball is run by nincompoops who think this is a good idea. Seriously, how has this not been passed off as a bad joke yet?

Prince Fielder hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning off Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson to give the NL the only offense it would need, after Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo shot in the top of the inning. L.A.’s Andre Ethier and San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval each added a RBI for the NL to cushion the victory. And all the while, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver shared stories about players that none of us could bear listening to. But in case you skipped the game or you just chose not to watch it, I’ve put together this hasty retelling of last night’s action (not entirely in order, mind you). For full appreciation, pull a sheet over your head, fart, inhale it as deep as you can, and then talk like Buck for the next few minutes.

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It’s been almost six months in Internet time since Buster Posey went down to a debilitating “entire body” injury, and Giants fans want answers. Posey’s agent wants Major League Baseball to enact “Buster’s Rule,” a rule wherein players would no longer be allowed to crash into catchers in exciting home plate collisions. Of course, this rule change would instantly heal Posey’s leg, and he’d be able to get back into the starting lineup within days. Hopefully, this will happen.

Arguments and visual aids have been presented across the blogosphere, and now the only respected voice in sports, The Dugout, must make its statement. What follows is the actual transcript between commissioner Bud Selig and Jeff Berry, Posey’s agent and a man who is lucky I haven’t introduced the Quisenberry Challenge to With Leather yet. If you know a baseball fan and they have an opinion, show them this transcript and set them straight. Today’s Dugout follows.

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Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt continues to show the respect and grace that made him a great husband and one of the best owners in baseball by going on MSNBC Thursday and accusing commissioner Bud Selig of “ducking” him. Bud is such a wimp, Frank told him to meet him at the bus stop after school for a fight and Bud didn’t even show up!

“I want to talk to Bud, and I want to know why he’s ducking me,” McCourt said during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday. “I’m here to solve a problem, not make a problem, and you know, we’ll deal with the next steps if he says. I can’t make a person talk to me and can’t make a person focus on the issue.”

One step away from turning into Bryce on season two of “The Joe Schmo Show” (eesh, I typed that and even I don’t get the reference), McCourt insists that if he could “just talk” to Bud, the Dodgers’ issues would be resolved and everything would be fine.

“I just want to talk to Bud … I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more. You know, guys, we all you know run into different jams at different times, and how do you solve them? You communicate.”

He’s like that awful guy on the Internet who quotes your paragraph and responds to it line by line, insisting that HE isn’t the one getting mad, YOU’RE the one getting mad. Stuff like this reminds you of why Jamie McCourt had to go get her headaches healed by John Redcorn. Okay, that one I get.

Hey gang! I’d like to take this opportunity to thank With Leather for allowing me to contribute to the Dugout again. It is truly one of the best things that I have had the honor of being a part of, and writing today’s strip brought back a lot of fond memories. It was a lot of fun reading B’s Dugouts and seeing Jon’s return recently, but I really missed being a part of it.

The Dodgers are about to transform into a pile of mealy horse vomit. The messy divorce of two boring white people has spilled onto the diamond. The players, fans, and employees of the Los Angeles Dodgers will all be affected, if not ground into a fine powder and made into blue glue. Maybe Selig will sell the team to Donald Trump and by presidential decree the Dodgers will make it to the NLCS and actually put up a fight. Please do enjoy this very magical chat room.

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Major League Baseball is taking important steps toward being hockey. Firstly, the number of black players keeps declining, and by 2025 the American League will be a 47-year old Milton Bradley and 349 white guys. Secondly, Bud Selig and The Owners (a great name for a band) are once again talking about expanding the playoffs, adding a second wild card team and allowing ten clubs (1/3rd of baseball) to compete. Right now there are 30 teams in the NHL and 28 of them make the playoffs, so you pretty much have to be the worst thing ever to miss out.

“I would say we’re moving to expanding the playoffs, but there’s a myriad of details to work out,” commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday at his annual meeting with The Associated Press Sports Editors. “Ten is a fair number.”

A few of the details to be worked out include:

1. Is this a thing you honestly want to do, or do you keep allowing more teams in because the Red Sox can’t finish higher than third place?
2. If we’re letting everybody into the playoffs, why are we still playing 162 g.d. games?
3. Do we really want the Rockies in the playoffs every year? The Rockies?
4. Eventually we’re going to have to have a bunch of “best of one” series and Roy Halladay will have to pitch eight times a week.
5. Is ten a fair number if five of the ten come from the AL East?
6. Who gets to cover the Royals/Indians Double Wild Card playoff tiebreaker? HGTV? Can they stand to lose the carryover ratings from their infinite House Hunters marathon?

I miss the good old days, when baseball was a culturally-exclusive work and “two” was a fair number.