I’m not sure what the MLB rulebook say about it, but Jacobs Field was the venue for a freak of nature-type scenario on Friday night, which allowed the Tribe to score the tying run, and eventually win the game taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the NLDS. Inexplicably, in the bottom of the eight inning in tonight’s game, a giant swarm of gnats decended so fast and so quickly onto players at Jacobs Field that umpires and players were forced to an emergency dousing of bug rellent. But it didn’t work, in fact it backfired. Joba Chamberlain, who pitched a spectacular 5 pitch, two-out, seventh, was covered in bugs despite muttiple dosings of bug spray. TV shots showed hundreds of insects on Chamberlain’s neck and face, and all Yankees infielders were swatting at flies. The playing conditions were so ridicuylously absurd, that Chamberlain couldn’t function. After a virtually perfect 24 innings this year, Chamberlain walked 1, hit one, threw 2 wild pitches and gave up a run without giving up a hit. He literally became unraveled because of the bugs. Now, just as it is with rain, according to MLB rules, acts of nature that interrupt and affect play are subject to Umpire judgement. So, this means umpires could have (and should have) halted play on Friday night. Anyone watching noticed that, after the game had gone into the 11th inning, that the bug problem had eased considerably. So, had the umpires decided to invoke a ‘bug delay’ for about 30 minutes, the game might not have hinged on such a freak occurrence.
